The structure of international cricket has evolved only recently from a traditional ad hoc basis. It had long been traditional for the countries, without any interference from a body such as the International Cricket Council (ICC), to organize for themselves the various cricket matches. Recently, however, the ICC has committed the Test cricket playing nations to play each other in a programme of matches over a period of 10 years. This was set up to encourage some of the better established countries to play the lesser nations more frequently. Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means for this [purpose]. It generally signifies a solution that has been tailored to a specific purpose, such as a tailor-made suit, a handcrafted network protocol, and specific-purpose equation and things like that. ... ICC logo The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the governing body for international Test match and One-day International cricket. ... For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ... Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. ...

The structure will no doubt evolve further as a result of the first Twenty20 international match between New Zealand and Australia on February 17, 2005 and the popularity of Twenty20 cricket in general. Warks v Worcs in the Twenty20 Cup, Edgbaston, 7 July 2006 Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in the United Kingdom for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2003. ... February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Warks v Worcs in the Twenty20 Cup, Edgbaston, 7 July 2006 Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in the United Kingdom for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2003. ...

General structure

Most Test matches and One-Day - series take place in the form of "tours." In a tour, one nation travels to another and plays warm-up matches, first-class matches against domestic teams such as county or state teams, a series of Test matches against the host nation, and either a series of one-day matches against the host nation or a tournament involving the host nation and another touring nation. The "triangular tournament" format is often used when one tour is about to conclude and the other has just begun. In the tournament, the three teams play each other either two or three times. The two teams with the most points (usually two points for a win, one point for a no-result or tie, and no points for a loss) qualify for the one-game final. The bonus point system is also often used in a triangular tournament - if a team's run rate is a fixed percentage higher than the opponent's (usually 33%), an extra bonus point is awarded to the winner. Examples of tournaments where the bonus point system is used include the VB Series and the NatWest Series. A night match at Old Trafford. ... First-class cricket matches are those between international teams or the highest standard of domestic teams in which teams have two innings each. ... The run rate, in cricket, is the number of runs a batsman (or the batting side) scores per over of 6 balls. ... The VB Series is the current name for the international cricket tournament held in the height of the Australian cricket season, i. ... The NatWest Series is an annual one day international cricket tournament held in England involving the home side and two of the seasons touring teams. ...

The Test series can last from two matches to six matches. Six-match series were common around 1980, and the Ashes Test series in England was a six-match series from 1981 to 1997 (but five matches in Australia). The last six-match series was held in 1997-98 between the West Indies and England. The most important series last five matches, while the less important ones last two to four matches. The length of the series is based on the home country's attitude towards the modern form of cricket, one-day internationals; traditional nations such as England and Australia usually organize five-match series, while one-day crazy nations such as India and Pakistan favour three-match series. At most, a perpetual trophy is awarded to the winning team, or to the winner of the previous series in the case of a drawn series. The Ashes (for England versus Australia) is the most famous perpetual trophy. Other perpetual trophies include: 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... For other uses of this term, see The Ashes (disambiguation). ... In the 1981 English cricket season a change of sponsorship ended the Gillette Cups 18-year tenure as a household name and the knockout competition was renamed the NatWest Trophy, which lasted for twenty years. ... // The 1997 English cricket season centred on the six Test Ashes series against Australia. ... West Indies cricket team shirt (ODI, 2004) The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies, is a national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of the Caribbean countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and... The logo of the England Cricket Team which shows the three Lions of England below a five-pointed crown The England cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales, operating under the auspices of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). ...

• Frank Worrell Trophy (Australia-West Indies)
• Chappell-Hadlee Trophy (Australia-New Zealand)
• Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Australia-India)
• Wisden Trophy (England-West Indies)

The One-day series lasts from three to seven matches. Usually, the shorter one-day series are played at the same time as longer Test series - although the one-day matches and Test matches are usually played in groups. These days, it is rare that a Test series is interrupted by one-day internationals. In addition to tours, nations may organize one-day matches at neutral venues. The Sahara Cup was a one-day series played annually between India and Pakistan in Toronto, until the Indian government ordered the suspension of all cricketing ties with Pakistan, which were revived in 2004. Similarly, a semiannual Triangular Tournament was organized at Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. The tournament almost always involved the traditional rivals India and Pakistan. However, the tournament has lost its luster due to the fact that the overwhelming number of cricket matches has spoiled the pitch. In contrast to the one-dayers, Tests are almost never held in neutral venues. A triangular Test tournament was held in England in 1912, requiring South Africa to play Australia in Manchester, London and Nottingham. One notable recent exception occurred when Pakistan played some Test matches in Sharjah; many other nations had decided to boycott Pakistani grounds due to violence, including bombings, that had occurred during a tour by the New Zealand cricket team. The Frank Worrell Trophy is awarded for the winner of the West Indies - Australia test match series in cricket. ... For more coverage of cricket, go to the Cricket portal. ... For more coverage of cricket, go to the Cricket portal. ... The Wisden Trophy is a cricket award given to the winner of the Test cricket series played between England and West Indies. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Emirate of Sharjah (Arabic: الشارقة) extends along approximately 16 kilometres of the United Arab Emiratess Persian Gulf coastline and for more than 80 kilometres into the interior. ... The 1912 Triangular Tournament was the first competition where all of Test cricketing nations of Australia, England and South Africa, played together. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Old Trafford cricket ground has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since 1856. ... The Pavilion The Grand Stand Match in progress The Media Centre at Lords Cricket Ground This memorial stone to Lord Harris is in the Harris Garden at Lords Lords Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in St Johns Wood in London, at grid reference TQ268827. ... For more coverage of cricket, go to the Cricket portal. ...

Security implications have also affected tours to Sri Lanka, and tours to Zimbabwe are currently being questioned due to the political situation in that country. In the 2003 World Cup tournament, New Zealand forfeited its game scheduled in Kenya.

In addition to the one-day series and tournaments organized by the nations themselves, the ICC organizes two tournaments. The World Cup is held every four years; it involves all the Test-playing nations, Kenya, and also a number of qualifying nations. The ICC Champions Trophy, previously known as the ICC Knockout Cup, is held every two years in between World Cups. In the Champions Trophy, a single loss is likely to eliminate a team from the tournament. Cricket World Cup 2007 logo The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of one-day cricket in the world. ... ICC Champions Trophy 2006 The ICC Champions Trophy is crickets one-day international tournament second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup. ...

ICC Ten Year Plan

This is a plan designed to make all countries play each other for Test cricket over a period of ten years, was approved in February 2001 by the ICC member countries. Starting from 2002 and running until 2011, it ensures that each Test country will play the other nine home and away over a period of ten years, in addition to any matches the individual cricket boards organise on their own. Thus, India and Pakistan played 12 ODIs and 6 Tests against each other in their respective countries (not including neutral ground ODI tournaments such as the Asia Cup) from 2004 to April 2005, and played a further series of 3 Tests and 5 ODIs in the winter of 2006. However, because of the rigorous schedule of the Ten Year Plan, there is hardly any time left over to schedule other series, and there have been voices criticising the amount of international cricket that is played ^[1], with the risk of injury and player burnout as reasons for why this amount should be reduced. The ICC have defended their policy, citing the number of international players in English county cricket as a sign that there is not too much cricket for the players. ^[2] This article is about the year 2001. ... The Asia Cup is an international cricket tournament. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Test Championship

Main article: ICC Test Championship

The ICC instituted the Test Championship table to permit fans to compare all the Test teams. The Table is a running one, that is, whoever is on top at a certain time will formally hold the Test trophy. (The Table is not like a league standings table, where the top team at the end of a certain period of time becomes Champion.) The ICC Test Championship is a notional competition run by the International Cricket Council in the sport of cricket for the 10 nations that play Test cricket. ...

ODI Championship

Main article: ICC ODI Championship

The ODI (One-day International) championship was created for reasons similar to the Test one, and it has a similar structure. The championship does not replace the World Cup; the latter still carries much more significance to most cricket fans. The ICC ODI Championship is a notional competition run by the International Cricket Council in the sport of cricket for the 10 nations that play Test cricket. ...

See also

Cricket Portal

• International cricket in 2005
• International cricket in 2005-06

Image File history File links Portal. ... The International Cricket Council organise international cricket This article discusses International cricket in the 2005 season. ... This article contains information on International cricket in the 2005-06 cricket season, as defined by Cricinfo - mainly containing the results and schedules of tours from September 2005 until May 2006. ...

References

1. ↑  "Too much cricket hurting the game: Kapil Dev" from rediff.com, 20 March 2002 (accessed 22 September 2005)
2. ↑  "Mani dismisses suggestions there is too much cricket from Daily Times Pakistan, 9 July 2004 (accessed 22 September 2005)
3. HindustanTimes.com - ICC Ten Year Plan