Test cricket
Encyclopedia
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
(ICC), with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days. It is generally considered the ultimate test of playing ability and endurance in the sport. The origin of the name test stems from the fact that the long, grueling match is a "test" of the relative strength of the two sides.
The first officially recognised Test match commenced on 15 March 1877, contested by England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
(MCG), where Australia won by 45 runs. England won the second ever match (also at the MCG) by four wickets, thus drawing the series 1–1. This was not the first ever international cricket match
United States v Canada (1844)
The Canadian cricket team in the United States in 1844 was the first international team to travel to another country and the match between the two national sides that year, billed as "United States of America versus the British Empire's Canadian Province", was the first official international...
however. That was played between Canada and the United States, on 24 and 25 September 1844.
A Test match to celebrate 100 years of Test cricket was held in Melbourne from 12 to 17 March 1977. In this match, Australia beat England by 45 runs, the same margin as the first Test match in 1877, which the 1977 match was commemorating.
Test status
Test matches are a subset of first-class cricketFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
(ICC). , ten national teams have Test status, the most recent being Bangladesh in 2000. Zimbabwe was a Test nation, but voluntarily suspended their test status due to poor performance. The team made its return on 4 August 2011 against Bangladesh.
A list of matches defined as Tests was first drawn up by Australian Clarence Moody in the 1890s. Representative matches played by simultaneous England touring sides of 1911–12 (in Australia and South Africa) and 1929–30 (in the West Indies
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and New Zealand) are deemed to have Test status.
In 1970, a series of five "Test matches" was played in England between England and a Rest of the World XI. These matches were originally scheduled to be contested by England and South Africa, but were amended after South Africa were suspended from international cricket due to their government's policy of apartheid. Although initially given unofficial Test status (and included as Test matches in some record books, notably Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
), this was later withdrawn and a principle was established that official Test matches can only be between nations. The series of "Test matches" played in Australia between Australia and a World XI in 1971/72 do not have Test status. The commercial "Supertests" organised by Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
as part of his World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
enterprise and played between "WSC Australia", "WSC World XI" and "WSC West Indies" from 1977 to 1979 have never been regarded as having official Test match status.
In 2005 the ICC ruled that the six-day Super Series
ICC Super Series 2005
The ICC Super Series 2005 was a cricket series played in Australia in October 2005 and featuring some of the world's best cricketers. There were two teams playing: Australia, the world's ranked number one side, and an ICC World XI made up of some of the best non-Australian cricketers...
match that took place in October 2005 between Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
and a World XI was an official Test match. This ICC decision was taken despite precedent (e.g. the ICC's earlier ruling on the 1970 England v Rest of the World series) that only matches between nations should be given Test match status. Many cricket writers and statisticians, particularly Bill Frindall
Bill Frindall
William Howard Frindall, MBE was an English cricket scorer and statistician. He was familiar to cricket followers from his appearances on the BBC Radio 4 programme Test Match Special, nicknamed the Bearded Wonder by Brian Johnston for his ability to research the most obscure cricketing facts in...
, have decided to ignore the ICC's ruling and have excluded the 2005 match from their records.
History
1789–1883
Leading English cricketers first visited a foreign country in 1789, when John Sackville, 3rd Duke of DorsetJohn Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset
John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset was the only son of Lord John Philip Sackville, second son of Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset. He succeeded to the dukedom in 1769 on the death of his uncle, Charles Sackville, 2nd Duke of Dorset...
, organised a tour of France. However, this was swiftly abandoned due to the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Sides designated as "England" began to play in the late 18th century, but these teams were not truly representative. William Clarke formed the All-England Eleven
All-England Eleven
In cricket, the term All-England has been used for various non-international teams that have been formed for short-term purposes since the 1739 English cricket season and it indicates that the "Rest of England" is playing against, say, MCC or an individual county team...
in 1846
1846 English cricket season
The 1846 English cricket season saw the foundation of William Clarke's famed All-England Eleven.-First-class matches:-Events:The earliest first-class match at the Oval was Surrey Club v. MCC on 25 & 26 May. Only 194 runs were scored in the match with a top score of 13. WR Hillyer took 14 wickets...
, and this was the first representative England side, which toured the country taking on local sides.
Jemmy Dean
Jemmy Dean
James "Jemmy" Dean was an English cricketer who played for Sussex County Cricket Club in the 19th century....
and John Wisden
John Wisden
John Wisden was an English cricketer who played 190 first-class cricket matches for three English county cricket teams, Kent, Middlesex and Sussex...
formed a rival team, the United All-England Eleven
United All-England Eleven
The United All-England Eleven was an English cricket team formed in 1852 by players breaking away from William Clarke's All-England Eleven . Key UEE players included John Wisden and Jemmy Dean, who became joint secretaries of the team....
, in 1852
1852 English cricket season
The 1852 English cricket season saw the introduction of a rival to the All-England Eleven-First-class matches:* -Events:The United All England Eleven was established as a rival to the AEE...
. Matches between Wisden's team and Clarke's quickly became the highlight of the cricketing year. A side comprising six players from each team toured North America in 1859, which was highly successful.
By 1861, the year of the next tour, the United States was plagued by Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, so the cricketers headed to Australia instead. They then visited both Australia and New Zealand in 1863/64. The Australians reciprocated, as the Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
became the first cricketers to tour England in 1868
1868 English cricket season
-Events:* C A Absolom became the first player to be given out obstructing the field when playing for Cambridge University v. Surrey at The Oval.* A team of Australian Aboriginals was the first overseas side to tour England...
. The English visited North America again later that year and again in 1872.
Two rival tours were vying to become the first official test tour, with James Lillywhite
James Lillywhite
James Lillywhite was a first-class and Test cricketer and umpire. He was the first ever captain of the English cricket team in a Test match, captaining 2 Tests against Australia in 1876-77, losing the first, but winning the second.Lillywhite was born in Westhampnett in Sussex, the son of a...
campaigning for a professional tour and Fred Grace
Fred Grace
George Frederick Grace was the youngest of the three Grace brothers to play Test cricket for England.Although his elder brothers E. M. and W. G...
for an amateur one. Grace's tour fell through, though, and it was Lillywhite's understrength team that toured New Zealand and Australia in 1876/77. Two matches against a combined Australian XI became the first official test matches. The first test was won by Australia, by 45 runs.
The Australians then toured England and North America in 1878
Australian cricket team in England and North America in 1878
In 1878, an Australian cricket team made the inaugural first-class tour of England by a representative overseas side. The tour followed one made by an England cricket team to Australia in 1876/77, during which the first Test matches were played....
, leading to more official tests against the English. England returned to Australia in 1878–79 for a one off test match, and when the Australians came to England in 1880
Australian cricket team in England in 1880
The Australian cricket team in England in 1880 played nine first-class matches including one Test, which was the first ever played in England. They were captained by W.L. Murdoch...
, a firm pattern of tours was established.
A team of Lillywhite, Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw
Alfred Shaw was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings . He who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888...
and Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury was an English cricketer, and rugby football administrator, who organised the first British Isles rugby tour to Australasia in 1888, and who was widely rated as competing with W. G...
financed England's next tour to North America and Australia, in 1881/2, and it was during this tour that the first accusations of match fixing appeared, during England's match against a Victoria XI.
The legend of the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
was established during the Australian tour of England in 1882. An easy England victory disappeared in the closing stages thanks to some incredible bowling from Australia's Fred Spofforth
Fred Spofforth
Frederick Robert "Fred" Spofforth , also known as "The Demon Bowler", was arguably the Australian cricket team's finest pace bowler of the nineteenth century and was the first bowler to take 50 Test wickets, and the first to take a test hat-trick in 1879...
, seemingly in response to unsportsmanlike behaviour earlier in the game from WG Grace. A mock obituary was published in the Sporting Times the following day, mourning the death of English cricket, as this was the first time that an England team had lost on home soil. The phrase in the obituary "The body shall be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia" led the creation of the Ashes urn. England reclaimed the Ashes at the first attempt, during their tour of Australia in 1882/3.
1884–1889
England would be the first team to retain the Ashes when Australia visited them in 1884. They won one and drew two in a heavily rain disrupted series. England would win yet again as Lillywhite, Shaw and Shrewsbury organised another tour to Australia in 1884/5. The series, which was the first to be held over five matches, as we know it today, was won 3–2 by England. Shaw, writing in 1901, considered this side to be "the best ever to have left England".England then took the first ever Ashes white wash, as they defeated the Australians 3–0 at home in 1886. WG Grace scored an English record 170 at the Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
during this series. The next tour, in Australia in 1886/7, was poorly promoted and poorly attended, not helped by the fact that the victorious England team was considered to play unattractive cricket.
Chaos descended on English cricket in the Australian summer of 1887/8, as Lillywhite, Shaw and Shrewsbury organised their customary tour, at the invitation of the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
, while a rival tour, that of the future Lord Hawke, was invited by their Sydney counterparts. Eventually, neither of these sides matches against Australia were to be considered test matches. They did, however, unite for one match in Sydney, which England, captained by Walter Read
Walter Read
Walter William Read was an English cricketer, who was a fluent right hand bat. An occasional bowler of lobs, he sometimes switched to quick overarm deliveries. He captained England in two Test matches, winning them both...
, won.
Many considered the next team to leave Australia, that of 1888, was considered by many to be worst ever to do so. However, they won all four of their warm up matches and the first test of the series. This was the first time they had won in England since the match that started the Ashes legend six years earlier. However, England won the next two and the series.
The first ever test series not to involve Australia occurred in 1888/9, as an understrength England side toured South Africa. The South Africans, however, lost both the tests in Port Elizabeth.
1890–1899
The Australian tour of England in 1890 was known as the battle of the greats. The rivalry between English captain WG Grace and his opposite number Billy MurdochBilly Murdoch
William Lloyd Murdoch was an Australian cricketer, who captained the Australian team on tours to England in 1880, 1882 , 1884 and 1890...
was hotly anticipated. England continued their winning streak however, winning the first two tests. The third test, held at Old Trafford, became the first test to abandoned entirely because of rain, so England secured the series undefeated.
Lord Sheffield led England to Australia in 1891–92, and what was considered to be a very strong England team succumbed to their first series defeat for some years.
Test cricket playing teams
There are currently ten Test-playing teams, the majority of which are individual nations (except for England and the West Indies).Test status is conferred upon a country or group of countries by the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
. Teams that do not have Test status can only officially play a shortened version of cricket, except in events such as the ICC Intercontinental Cup
ICC Intercontinental Cup
The ICC Intercontinental Cup is a cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council as part of its cricket development programme...
, which was specifically designed to allow non-Test teams to play under conditions similar to Tests
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
. The teams are listed below with the date of each team's Test debut:
| Order | Test team | Date of first Test Match | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  England |
15 March 1877 | At the time represented all of Britain. Now officially represents England and Wales. |
| 2 |  Australia |
15 March 1877 | |
| 3 |  South Africa |
12 March 1889 | Did not participate in international cricket International structure of cricket There was no formal structure of international cricket until the early twenty first century. It had long been traditional for countries, without any intervention from a body such as the International Cricket Council , to organize for themselves the various cricket matches... between 10 March 1970 and 10 November 1991. This was due to a decision by the International Cricket Conference International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The... in 1970 to suspend South Africa, in response to the then South African Government's policy of apartheid. |
| 4 |  West Indies |
23 June 1928 | Consists of players from a number of Caribbean nations and dependencies. |
| 5 |  New Zealand |
10 January 1930 | |
| 6 |  India |
25 June 1932 | Before partition of India Partition of India The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15... in 1947, included territory that now forms Pakistan and Bangladesh. |
| 7 |  Pakistan |
16 October 1952 | Before Bangladeshi independence Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh.... in 1971, included territory that is now Bangladesh. |
| 8 |  Sri Lanka |
17 February 1982 | |
| 9 |  Zimbabwe |
18 October 1992 | Suspended from involvement in Test cricket between 10 June 2004 and 6 January 2005, and from 18 January 2006 until 3 August 2011 |
| 10 |  Bangladesh |
10 November 2000 |
In 2003, the ICC announced its intention to confer Test status upon Kenya in the near future. Kenyan cricket has been through difficulties since then . Ireland has stated its intention to apply for Full Membership of the ICC with the aim of achieving Test status. Afghanistan has also stated its intentions to play Test cricket in the future, although the current security situation and lack of proper facilities, as well as a fledging domestic structure make this aim hard to achieve.
Playing time
Test cricket is played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days (though finishing earlier if a result is reached before the maximum time). On each day there are usually three two-hour sessions, with a forty minute break for "lunch" and a twenty minute break for "tea". For example, in England, common times of play are as follows:- First session: 11am – 1 pm
- Second session: 1:40 pm – 3:40 pm
- Third session: 4 pm – 6 pm
In addition, short breaks (5 minutes) may be taken during each session for "drinks", commonly after an hour of play. A 10 minute interval is also taken between changes of innings.
The times of sessions and intervals may be altered in certain circumstances, for example:
- If bad weather or a change of innings occurs close to a scheduled break, the break may be taken immediately;
- If there has been a loss of playing time, for example due to bad weather, the session times may be adjusted to make up for the lost time;
- If the batting side is nine wicketsDismissal (cricket)In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out . Colloquially, the fielding team is also said to have snared, bagged or captured a wicket. At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings...
down, the tea break is delayed the earlier of 30 minutes or until the team is all out; - The final session may be extended by up to 30 minutes if 90 or more oversOver (cricket)In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
have not been bowledBowling (cricket)In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
in that day's play (subject to any reduction for adverse weather); - The final session may also be extended by 30 minutes (except on the 5th day) if the umpires believe the match can be decided within that time (this is in addition to any time added to complete the prescribed number of overs). In these circumstances the extra time played is taken off the end of the scheduled final day's play.
In the early days
History of Test cricket (to 1883)
Test matches in the period 1877 to 1883 were organised somewhat differently from international cricket matches today. The teams were rarely representative, and the boat trip between Australia and England, which usually lasted about 48 days, was one that many cricketers were unable or unwilling to...
of the game, Test matches were played over three or four days. Up until the 1980s, it was usual to include a 'rest day', often on the Sunday. There have also been 'Timeless Test
Timeless Test
A timeless Test is a match of Test cricket played under no limitation of time, which means the match is played until one side wins or the match is tied, with theoretically no possibility of a draw. The format means that it is not possible to play defensively for a draw when the allotted time runs...
s', which did not end after a predetermined maximum time. In 2005 Australia played a six-day match against a World XI, which the ICC sanctioned as an official Test match even though the match reached a conclusion on the fourth day. There have been attempts by the ICC, the sports governing body, to
introduce day-night Test Matches.
Order of play
Test cricket is played in "innings" (the word denotes both the singular and the plural). In each innings, one team batsBatting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
and the other bowls
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
(or fields
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
). Ordinarily four innings are played in a Test match, such that each team bats twice and bowls twice.
To decide which team bats first, prior to the start of play on the first day, the two team captains and the match referee meet at the centre of the wicket for a coin toss. The home captain will toss the coin, with the visiting captain calling either "Heads" or "Tails" while the coin is in the air. The captain who wins the toss has the privilege of deciding whether his team will bat or bowl first.
In the following scenarios, the team that bats first is referred to as "Team A", and their opponents as "Team B".
Usually the teams will alternate at the completion of each innings. Thus, Team A will bat (and Team B will bowl) until its innings comes to a close, at which point Team B will commence its first batting innings and Team A will bowl. At the completion of Team B’s innings, the same sequence repeats for each team’s second innings. A team’s score for the match is the combined total of runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
scored in each of its innings.
End of an innings
A team's innings may be completed in one of the following ways:- The team is "all out", not having at least two batsmen to defend the wickets. This usually occurs when a team lose ten wickets (ten of the eleven batsmen have been dismissedDismissal (cricket)In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out . Colloquially, the fielding team is also said to have snared, bagged or captured a wicket. At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings...
) and are "bowled out". However, it may occur with the loss of fewer wickets if one or more batsmen are unavailable to bat (for example, because of their injury during the match). - The team's captain elects to cease batting (a declarationDeclaration and forfeitureIn the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
). This includes forfeiture of an innings where the team does not play a single ball. - The team batting 4th, score the required number of runs to win. (See End of Game discussion below).
- The prescribed time for the match expires. (See End of Game discussion below).
Law 12.1(b) also makes provision for teams to agree, before the match, to limit the length of an innings to a prescribed number of overs or length of time; however, this Law does not apply to Test cricket.
Clearly, a team will also cease batting if the game ends (i.e.: if a result is achieved, or the maximum time limit is reached).
The follow-on
If, at the completion of its first innings, Team B’s first innings total falls short of Team A’s first innings total by at least 200 runs, the captain of Team A may (but is not required to) order Team B to follow on. If he does so, Team B must commence its second batting innings immediately, that is, before Team A commences its second innings. Thus, the usual order of the third and fourth innings is reversed: Team B will bat in the third innings, and Team A will bat in the fourth.It is extremely rare for a team forced to follow on to win the match. Out of over 285 follow-ons enforced in the history of Test cricket, the following-on team has come back to win the match only three times, and Australia was the losing team on each occasion: twice to England, in 1894 and in 1981, and once to India in 2001.
The new ball
After 80 overs, the captain of the bowling side has the option to take a new ballCricket ball
A cricket ball is a hard, solid leather ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level...
. A new ball, which is harder and smoother than an old ball, generally favours fast bowlers who can make it bounce at a greater range of (unpredictable) heights and speeds. The roughened, softer surface of an old ball is more conducive to spin bowlers or those using reverse swing. The captain may delay the decision to take the new ball if he wishes to continue with his spinners (because the pitch favours spin), but most regard the new ball as an opportunity to introduce new life into the bowling and more chances of taking wickets. Should an innings last a further 80 overs after a new ball has been taken, the captain will again have the option to take another new ball.
End of the game
A Test match may end in one of seven scenarios:- All four innings have concluded. The team batting fourth are all out and failed to overtake the other team, so the team that batted third are the winners. The winning margin is the difference in the aggregate run totals of the two teams (for example, "Team A wins by 95 runs").
- All four innings have concluded with the scores tied. To be tied, the aggregate run total of each team must be equal. However, such an occurrence is rare; in over 2,000 Test matches played, only twoTied TestTied Test refers to a rare result in Test cricket. Only two ties have occurred in the 2,000 Tests played since 1877. The first was in 1960 and the second in 1986...
have been tied. - The team batting in the fourth innings overtakes the opposing team's run total. The match ends immediately and the batting team is the winner. The winning margin is the number of wickets remaining in the innings (for example, "Team B wins by five wickets").
- The third innings concludes with the team that batted twice still trailing the team that batted once. The match ends without playing a fourth innings and the team that batted once is the winner. The winning margin is "an innings" plus the difference in aggregate run totals of the teams (for example, "Team B wins by an innings and 96 runs").
- The match is awarded due to forfeiture. If a team refuses to take the field of play, the umpires may award the match to the opposing team. Such an occurrence has only happened once in Test cricket, in the 2006 Fourth Test between England and Pakistan, when Pakistan refused to take the field after tea on day four. The umpires awarded the match to England, in accordance with Law 21.3, a decision ultimately (in 2009) upheld by the ICC.
- Time for the match expires without a result being reached. This usually occurs at the end of the fifth day. The match is a draw and neither team wins, regardless of the relative positions of the teams at the time. A common contributory factor to drawn results is the loss of playing time to adverse weather conditions.
- The match is abandoned because the ground is declared unfit for play. This has occurred three times, resulting each time in a draw being declared:
- England v Australia at HeadingleyHeadingley StadiumHeadingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, 1975. Abandoned after four days because of vandalism. Campaigners for the release of George Davis (armed robber)George Davis (armed robber)George Davis is an ex-armed robber in the United Kingdom, who became widely known through a very successful campaign by friends and supporters to free him from prison after his wrongful conviction in March 1975 for an armed payroll robbery at the London Electricity Board offices in Ilford on 4...
dug holes in the pitch and poured oil on it overnight. - West Indies v England at Sabina ParkSabina ParkSabina Park is the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica and is often referred to as "The Holiday Home of Cricket"....
, Kingston, JamaicaKingston, JamaicaKingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, 1998. Abandoned after less than one hour because of dangerously variable bounce from the newly re-laid pitch. - West Indies v England at Sir Vivian Richards StadiumSir Vivian Richards StadiumSir Vivian Richards Stadium is a stadium in North Sound, Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda. It was built for use in the 2007 Cricket World Cup where it hosted Super 8 matches. The stadium usually caters for 10,000 people, but temporary seating doubled its capacity for the 2007 Cricket World Cup...
, AntiguaAntiguaAntigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
, 2009. Abandoned after a few minutes because fast bowlers could not safely run up on the sandy surface.
- England v Australia at Headingley
Competitions
Test cricket is almost always played as a series of matches between two countries, with all matches in the series taking place in the same country (the host). The number of matches in a series varies from one to six. Often there is a perpetual trophy traded between a pair of teams when series between them are won or lost (the most famous of these being the AshesThe Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
contested between England and Australia). There have been two exceptions to the bilateral nature of Test cricket: the 1912 Triangular Tournament
1912 Triangular Tournament
The 1912 Triangular Tournament was a Test cricket competition played between Australia, England and South Africa, the only Test-playing nations at the time....
, a three-way competition between England, Australia and South Africa (hosted by England), and the Asian Test Championship
Asian Test Championship
The ACC Asian Test Championship is a professional Test cricket tournament contested between the Test playing nations of Asia: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It is not a regular event in the cricketing calendar and has so far been held only twice; in 1998-99 when Pakistan won and in...
, an event held in 1998–99 and 2001–02.
Until recently Test series between international teams were organised between the two national cricket organisations with umpires
Umpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
provided by the home team. However, with the entry of more countries into Test cricket competition, and a wish by the ICC
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
to maintain public interest in Tests (which was flagging in many countries with the introduction of one-day cricket
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
), a new system was added to Test match competition. A rotation system that sees all ten Test teams playing each other over a six-year cycle, and an official ranking system
ICC Test Championship
The ICC Test Championship is an international competition run by the International Cricket Council in the sport of cricket for the 10 teams that play Test cricket...
(with a trophy held by the highest-ranked team) were introduced. It was hoped by the ICC that the new ranking system would help maintain interest in Test cricket in nations where one-day cricket is more popular.
In the new system, umpires are provided by the ICC. An elite panel of eleven umpires has been established, and the panel is supplemented by an additional International Panel that includes three umpires named by each Test-playing country. The elite umpires officiate almost all Test matches (usually not a Test involving their home country); the International Panel is only employed when the cricketing calendar is filled with activity, or for one-day internationals (ODIs).
See also
- Toss (cricket)
- ICC Test ChampionshipICC Test ChampionshipThe ICC Test Championship is an international competition run by the International Cricket Council in the sport of cricket for the 10 teams that play Test cricket...
- List of Test cricket grounds
- List of Test cricket records
- List of Test cricketers
- Women's Test cricketWomen's Test cricketWomen's Test cricket is the longest format of women's cricket and is the gender equivalent to men's Test cricket. Matches comprise four-innings and are held over a maximum of four days between two of the leading cricketing nations...