History of Cricket

Cricket is most popular game over 2.5 Billion viewership takes Cricket popularity in top beside Soccer. International Cricket Council (ICC) recognizes more than 125 countries that play cricket. ICC has 10 Full Members, 38 Associate Members and 59 Affiliate Members. That adds up to 107 countries. The West Indies cricket team is only team that does not represent a single country.

Cricket is a bat & ball game played between two teams of eleven players. It is set on a cricket field centered on a 20-meter (22-yard) pitch with two wickets each comprising a bail balanced on three stumps.

History of Cricket

Cricket was started in the world in the 16th Century originated in south-east England it became the country’s national sport in the 18th century and has developed globally in the 19th and 20th centuries. International matches have been played since 1844 and Test cricket began, retrospectively recognized, in 1877.

The world’s first cricket club was formed in Hambledon in the 1760s, and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787. During the 1760s and 1770s, it became common to pitch the ball through the air rather than roll it along the ground.

These are Evolution of the cricket bat as time to time look first cricket bat in this image the first bat is not cricket bat it is hockey stick as time to time it changed in to cricket bat.

As time goes Evaluations are in cricket comes, the only cricket matches that are played are Test matches. As time goes the matches are changed From Test match to One Day and One Day to  Twenty20.

The rise of limited overs cricket

In 1963 Cricket entered in a new era when cricket playing countries introduce the limited over variant. As it was produce result, limited overs cricket was money-making and it takes cricket in higher level where its popularity reaches at peak. The first Limited Overs International was played in 1971 and the governing International Cricket Council (ICC), seeing its potential, staged the first limited overs Cricket World Cup in 1975. In the 21st century, a new limited overs form, Twenty20, made an immediate impact on popularity. 

On 22 June 2017, Afghanistan and Ireland became the 11th and 12th ICC full members, enabling them to play Test cricket. Before that there are only 10 full member of  International Cricket Council (ICC) listed below.

International Cricket Council (ICC)

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body of Cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England and South Africa. It was renamed as the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.

The ICC has 103 members: 12 Full Members that play Test matches and 91 Associate Members. The ICC is responsible for the organisation and governance of cricket’s major international tournaments, most notably the Cricket World Cup. It also appoints the umpires and referees that officiate at all sanctioned Test matches, One Day International and Twenty20 Internationals. It promulgates the ICC Code of Conduct, which sets professional standards of discipline for international cricket, and also co-ordinates action against corruption and match-fixing through its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. (ACSU).

Full Member of ICC

Full Members are the governing bodies for cricket in a country or a group of associated countries representing a geographical area. All Full Members have a right to send one representative team to play official Test matches. Also, all Full Member nations are automatically qualified to play ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals.^[2] West Indies cricket team does not represent one country, but rather an amalgamation of more than 20 countries and territories from the Caribbean. The English Cricket team represents both England and Walesand the Ireland cricket team represents all of the island of Ireland.

Among these 12 nations, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland have played as associate nations under the ICC before becoming full members.

Country	Teams	Governing body	Full Member since	Current ranking
				Test	ODI	T20
Afghanistan	Men • Women • U19	Afghanistan Cricket Board	22 June 2017	—	10	8
Australia	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Australia	15 July 1909	3	6	3
Bangladesh	Men • Women • U19	Bangladesh Cricket Board	26 June 2000	9	7	10
England	Men • Women • U19	England and Wales Cricket Board	15 July 1909	5	1	4
India	Men • Women • U19	Board of Control for Cricket in India	31 May 1926	1	2	2
Ireland	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Ireland	22 June 2017	—	12	17
New Zealand	Men • Women • U19	New Zealand Cricket	31 May 1926	4	3	5
Pakistan	Men • Women • U19	Pakistan Cricket Board	28 July 1952	7	5	1
South Africa	Men • Women • U19	Cricket South Africa	15 July 1909	2	4	6
Sri Lanka	Men • Women • U19	Sri Lanka Cricket	21 July 1981	6	8	9
West Indies	Men • Women • U19	Cricket West Indies	31 May 1926	8	9	7
Zimbabwe	Men • Women • U19	Zimbabwe Cricket	6 July 1992	10	11	12

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