Typically, two-innings matches have at least six hours of playing match each day. Limited overs matches often last six hours or more. There are usually formal intervals on each day for lunch and tea with brief informal breaks for drinks. There is also a short interval between innings. Historically, a form of cricket known as single wicket had been extremely successful and many of these contests in the 18th and 19th centuries qualify as major cricket matches. In this form, although each team may have from one to six players, there is only one batsman at a time and he must face every delivery bowled while his innings lasts. Single wicket has rarely been played since limited overs cricket began.
Test Cricket:
Although the term "Test match" was not coined until much later, Test cricket is deemed to1876-77 Australian season have begun with two matches between Austrailia and England in the . Subsequently, eight other national teams have achieved Test status: South Africa (1889), West Indies (1928), New Zealand (1929), India (1932), Pakistan (1952), Sri Lanka (1982), Zimbawe (1992) and (2000). Zimbabwe subsequently suspended its Test status in 2006 due to its inability to compete against other Test teams and has yet to resume playing Test cricket.
Welsh players are eligible to play for England, which is in effect an England and Wales team. The West Indies team comprises players from numerous states in the Caribbean, notably Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands.
Test matches between two teams are usually played in a group of matches called a "series". Matches last up to five days and a series normally consists of three to five matches. Test matches that are not finished within the allotted time are drawn. In the case of Test and First-class cricket: the possibility of a draw often encourages a team that is batting last and well behind to bat defensively, giving up any faint chance at a win to avoid a loss.
Since 1882, most Test series between England and Australia have been played for a trophy known as The Ashes. Some other bilateral series have individual trophies too: for example, the Wisden Trophy is contested by England and West Indies; the Frank Worrell Trophy by Australia and West Indies and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia
Limited Overs:
Standard limited overs cricket
was introduced in England in the 1963 season in the form of a knockout
cup contested by the first-class county clubs. In 1969, a national
league competition was established. The concept was gradually introduced
to the other major cricket countries and the first limited overs
international was played in 1971. In 1975, the first Cricket World Cup
took place in England. Limited overs cricket has seen various
innovations including the use of multi-coloured kit and floodlit matches
using a white ball.A "one day match", named so because each match is scheduled for completion in a single day, is the common form of limited overs cricket played on an international level. In practice, matches sometimes continue on a second day if they have been interrupted or postponed by bad weather. The main objective of a limited overs match is to produce a definite result and so a conventional draw is not possible, but matches can be undecided if the scores are tied or if bad weather prevents a result. Each team plays one innings only and faces a limited number of overs, usually a maximum of 50. The Cricket World Cup is held in one day format and the last World Cup in 2011 was won by the co-hosts, India. The next World Cup will hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2015.
Twenty20 is a new variant of limited overs itself with the purpose being to complete the match within about three hours, usually in an evening session. The original idea, when the concept was introduced in England in 2003, was to provide workers with an evening entertainment. It was commercially successful and has been adopted internationally. The inaugural Twenty20 World Championship was held in 2007 and won by India. 2009's Twenty20 World Championship was staged in England and won by Pakistan. The next Twenty20 World Championship will be held in the West Indies. After the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 many domestic Twenty20 leagues were born. First of them was Indian Cricket League which is a rebel league since it is unauthorized by BCCI and led to form an official league called the Indian Premier League. Both these leagues are cash rich and attracted players and audience around the globe. Recently Twenty20 Champions League was formed as a tournament for domestic clubs of various countries
