Highest governing body | International Cricket Council (formerly International Women's Cricket Council) |
---|---|
First played | 26 July 1745, Surrey (first recorded) [4] |
Characteristics | |
Contact | No |
Team members | 11 players per side (substitutes permitted in some circumstances) |
Mixed-sex | Women only |
Type | Team sport, Bat-and-Ball, women's sport |
Equipment | Cricket ball, Cricket bat, Wicket (Stumps, Bails), Protective equipment |
Venue | Cricket field |
Glossary | Glossary of cricket terms |
Presence | |
Country or region | Worldwide (most popular in the Commonwealth) |
Olympic | No |
Part of a series on |
Cricket |
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Women's cricket |
Records |
Women's cricket is the team sport of cricket when played by women. Its rules are almost identical to those in the game played by men, the main change being the use of a smaller ball. Women's cricket is beginning to be played at professional level in 11 of the 12 full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), [note 1] and is played worldwide, especially in Commonwealth nations.
The first recorded cricket match between women was held in England on 26 July 1745. [4] The game continued to be played socially by women until clubs for women were formed in the late 1800s. In 1926, the creation of the Women's Cricket Association (WCA) in England began the process of formalising the game and organising international matches. Like many women's sports, the further development of women's cricket was hampered by sexism and a lack of structural support.
Although women have historically played Test cricket and first class cricket, the focus of the women's game in the last 50 years has been mostly on limited overs cricket. The introduction of Twenty20 cricket (T20) in 2003 created more opportunities for the growth of the women's game. As well as competing against each other in tours, national teams also compete in several tournaments, including the Cricket World Cup and the T20 World Cup. Women's cricket has also been part of several multi-sport events.
In domestic cricket, many countries have T20 cricket and List A cricket competitions that are run either alongside or separately from men's competitions. Grass roots cricket is growing, especially in England and Australia, although many barriers still remain. Cricket boards often organise competitions that use new formats that are intended to appeal to women. Cricket for women with disabilities is also growing, especially in South Asia.
The first recorded cricket match between women was reported in The Reading Mercury on 26 July 1745; the match was contested "between eleven maids of Bramley and eleven maids of Hambledon, all dressed in white". [6] [4] The first known women's cricket club the White Heather Club was formed in 1887 in Yorkshire. Three years later, a team known as the Original English Lady Cricketers toured England, reportedly making substantial profits before the manager absconded with the money. [7]
In Australia, a women's cricket league was set up in 1894 and Port Elizabeth, South Africa, had a women's cricket team named the Pioneers Cricket Club. [8] In Canada, a women's cricket team in Victoria played at Beacon Hill Park. [9]
In India, cricket teams for women existed as early as the 1920s. Delhi Ladies Cricket Club beat the men's Marylebone Cricket Club in a half-day game on their 1926–27 tour of India, one of the only matches they lost on the tour. [10] [11] Because it was a women's team, the game is omitted from records of the tour. [12] During the 1950s and 1960s, cricket was strongest in the urban centres Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. The most-notable club in this period is Albees in Mumbai; many Albees players were female family members of prominent men's Test cricketers. [13]
In 1958, the International Women's Cricket Council (IWCC) was formed to co-ordinate women's cricket around the world, taking over from the English Women's Cricket Association (WCA), which had been working in a de facto role since its creation 32 years earlier. In 2005, the IWCC was merged with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to form a unified body to manage and develop cricket.[ citation needed ]
Much of the language of cricket is heavily gendered; terms such as maiden over, nightwatchman, and third man are not officially sanctioned but remain in colloquial use. [14] In 2021, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) amended the rulebook, the Laws of Cricket , to replace the term "batsman" with the term "batter" to better reflect the modern game. [15] There was some derision in parts of the cricketing and wider press but others responded that the term "batter" had been in widespread use through much of the 18th and 19th centuries. [14]
In The Laws of Cricket , the only explicit difference between men's and women's cricket is the ball size. According to The Laws of Cricket:
Clause 4.6.1 Women’s cricket
Weight: from 4.94 ounces/140 g to 5.31 ounces/151 g
Circumference: from 8.25 in/21.0 cm to 8.88 in/22.5 cm.
For comparison, the ball in the men's game should weigh between 5.5 and 5.75 oz (156 and 163 g), and be between 8.81 and 9 in (224 and 229 mm) in circumference. [16] Many tournaments and forms of cricket, however, have additional differences in rules between women's and men's games.
In the 2023 ICC rules, the main differences from the men's games are:
By the June 2023 ICC rules for One Day International (ODI) matches, the main differences are:
By the June 2023 ICC rules, the main differences are:
Initially, like men, women played cricket in clothes that were similar to their everyday wear. With changes in womenswear in the late Victorian period, clothes for middle-and-upper-class women to undertake physical activity became more available. The Rational Dress Society had an outfit for cricket in its 1883 catalogue. [62]
During the interwar period, women's sportswear became more available and the Women's Cricket Association (WCA) encountered something they named "the clothing problem". [63] The debate about what women should wear when playing cricket was intense; a debate about it can be found in the minutes of every Annual General Meeting of the WCA from its foundation until its last AGM before World War II. There was tension between the needs of female players who wished to wear comfortable, practical clothing, and the need to appear as "respectable" women to the public and to the male establishment who owned the cricket grounds. There was also anxiety about women cross-dressing and the need to maintain gender roles while playing sport. [64]
Photographs in the British press in the early 20th century often showed women playing cricket with bare legs and in bathing costumes but most played in more-practical clothing. [67] [66] Rules about women playing in white dresses and skirts were imposed on high-level women's cricket but in local games, it was common to play in flannels of any colour. [68]
Following England's first tour of Australia and New Zealand, the England, Australia and New Zealand teams adopted the white divided skirts as part of their uniforms. England continued to play in skirts until 1997. [66] Diving for the ball in a skirt risked injury and friction burns. The move to trousers eliminated this danger for women players, and the tan lines between the bottom of the skirts and the socks. [69] [70] The New Zealand team were given a sewing pattern and fabric, and were expected to make their uniforms or have them made. [70]
According to the 2023 ICC rules, the rules on men's and women's attire in international cricket are identical. [71] The only gender-specific clothing rule allows cricketers to wear hijab in ICC events provided it does not obscure any logos and names on the playing uniform. For Test matches, scarves must be black or white but for ODIs and T20s, they can be black or the same colour as the team cap but they cannot be white. [72]
Appropriate equipment has long been an issue for women in cricket. Players have often had to use poorly fitting small men's or juniors equipment, which impeded performance. [73] England wicket keeper Betty Snowball avoided this problem by having her gloves and pads custom made. [74] Many women players prefer smaller, lighter bats. [75] [76] Labeling of equipment has been exclusionary; equipment for children has been labelled as "boys" but this has begun to change. [77] Present and former cricketers, such as Lydia Greenway, [75] Ellyse Perry [78] and Heather Knight, [79] have been involved with leading changes in the design of equipment for women. The brands Kookaburra, SM Cricket, Viking, Gray-Nicolls and JPGavan all now produce equipment intended for women. [75] [78] The brands NEXX and Lacuna Sports have been launched in the UK to provide clothing and equipment to women who play cricket. [80] [81]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(September 2023) |
Women's cricket has been played internationally since the inaugural women's Test match between England's and Australia's women's teams in December 1934. The following year, New Zealand joined them. in 2007 Netherlands became the tenth women's Test nation in their debut against South Africa. A total of 145 women's Test matches have been played.[ citation needed ]
Women's One Day Internationals (ODIs) were introduced in 1973 at the inaugural Women's Cricket World Cup. The 1,000th women's ODI took place in 2016. Australia has dominated the format, having claimed the World Cup six times and won 80% of their matches.[ citation needed ]
In 2004, a shorter-still format, the Twenty20 International (T20I) was introduced; matches are restricted to twenty overs per side. Initially, women's T20 cricket was played little at international level; four matches were played by the end of 2006. The following three years saw a rapid growth in women's T20 Internationals; six matches were played in 2007, ten in 2008 and thirty in 2009, which also saw the first ICC Women's World Twenty20. In April 2018, the ICC granted its members full women's T20 International status.[ citation needed ]
In November 2021, the ICC retrospectively applied first-class and List A status to women's cricket, aligning it with the men's game. [82] [83]
In July 2023, the ICC announced equal prize money will be available for ICC global events, meaning future Women's Cricket World Cup and Women's T20 World Cup competitions will have the same prizes for winners and runners up as male competitions. [84]
The ICC maintains rankings of the 13 teams with ODI status and all teams who play T20I matches. [85] As of August 2023 [update] , Australia top both tables. [86] [87]
|
|
The ICC also maintains individual player rankings in ODI and T20I based on batting, bowling and all-round performance. [85]
ICC ODI and T20I Player Rankings | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Batting | Bowling | All-Rounder | |||
ODI | T20I | ODI | T20I | ODI | T20I | |
Nat Sciver-Brunt | 2nd | 14th | 25th | 50th | 3rd | 6th |
Chamari Athapaththu | 1st | 7th | 72nd | 69th | 12th | 8th |
Laura Wolvaardt | 3rd | 4th | - | - | - | - |
Beth Mooney | 4th | 1st | - | - | - | - |
Ellyse Perry | 6th | 21st | 47th | 92nd | 7th | 11th |
Sophie Ecclestone | 91st | 95th | 1st | 1st | 13th | 10th |
Deepti Sharma | 24th | 32nd | 2nd | 6th | 6th | 4th |
Jess Jonassen | 67th | 117th | 3rd | 25th | 10th | 23rd |
Ashleigh Gardner | 19th | 10th | 4th | 16th | 2nd | 3rd |
Megan Schutt | 113th | 266th | 5th | 10th | 26th | 47th |
Marizanne Kapp | 9th | 61st | 9th | 44th | 1st | 13th |
Hayley Matthews | 7th | 3rd | 8th | 11th | 4th | 1st |
Amelia Kerr | 12th | 14th | 14th | 14th | 5th | 2nd |
Tahlia McGrath | 29th | 2nd | 58th | 124th | 19th | 12th |
Smriti Mandhana | 5th | 5th | - | - | - | - |
Darcie Brown | 231st | 458th | 30th | 2nd | - | 102nd |
Nonkululeko Mlaba | 106th | 212th | 24th | 2nd | 41st | 37th |
Sadia Iqbal | 120th | 257th | 21st | 4th | 42nd | 44th |
Sarah Glenn | 168th | 145th | 59th | 5th | 87th | 22nd |
Nida Dar | 39th | 39th | 19th | 18th | 9th | 5th |
Boxes coloured blue and in bold are Top 5 rankings. References: ICC Women's ODI Rankings and ICC Women's T20I Rankings, 7 January 2024. |
The men's game has a long history of perpetual trophies but there are two only in women's cricket: The Women's Ashes and The Rose Bowl.
In 1998, the Women's Cricket Association (WCA) created a set of Ashes to be contested by Australia and England. The Australia and England men's teams play for their own set of Ashes. [88] In 2013, it changed from being a Test series to a series of ODIs, T20Is and a Test to better reflect the formats of cricket women regularly play. [89]
The Rose Bowl is an ODI series played between Australia and New Zealand, and has been contested since the 1984–85 season, the most-recent being in 2020. [90]
Before the start of the 2023–24 series, the Pakistan captain Nida Dar and South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt revealed an as-yet-unnamed new trophy for their teams to contest. [91]
The Asia Cup began in 2004 as an ODI competition between members of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). It initially ran every two years until 2008, then reformed in 2012 as a T20 tournament. The ACC intend to continue to run in it biannually, although on several occasions it has run every four years. The change to T20 cricket allowed the ACC to include more Associate nations in the tournament. [92] [93]
Women's Asia Cup Winners and Runner-ups | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Country | Wins | Runners-up | Total Appearances |
1 | India | 7 | 1 | 8 |
2 | Bangladesh | 1 | 0 | 5 |
3 | Sri Lanka | 0 | 5 | 8 |
4 | Pakistan | 0 | 2 | 7 |
Updated as of the end of the 2022 Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup. |
The first ever Cricket World Cup was the Women's Cricket World Cup organised in 1973 by the WCA; it was based on an idea of cricketer Rachael Heyhoe Flint and businessman Jack Hayward. [94] After the success of the Women's Cricket World Cup, the men's tournament took place two years later. [95]
Seven teams competed in the inaugural tournament, which took place in England over five and a half weeks. Each ODI match was 60 overs and every team played each other in a round-robin league format. [96] Subsequent tournaments were hampered by lack of funds for women's teams, meaning their scheduling was inconsistent for many years. [97] The 1997 World Cup was the first to be played with 50 overs and a knock-out stage. [98]
Since the inaugural tournament, there have been 12 World Cups with the 13th planned for 2025 in India.
Women's Cricket World Cup Winners and Runner-ups | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Country | Wins | Runners-up | Total Appearances |
1 | Australia | 7 | 2 | 12 |
2 | England | 4 | 4 | 12 |
3 | New Zealand | 1 | 3 | 12 |
4 | India | 0 | 2 | 10 |
5 | West Indies | 0 | 1 | 7 |
Updated as of the end of the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup. |
Women's European Cricket Championship Winners and Runner-ups | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Country | Wins | Runners-up | Total Appearances |
1 | England | 8 | 1 | 12 |
2 | Ireland | 3 | 6 | 12 |
3 | Netherlands | 1 | 3 | 12 |
4 | Denmark | 0 | 2 | 5 |
Updated as of the end of the 2014 tournament. |
Originally called the "Kwibuka Cricket for Peace Women's T20 Tournament", the Kwibuka T20 Tournament is an annual T20 tournament that is played in Rwanda. It was founded in 2014 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and to promote peace through cricket. It is unusual among women's tournaments because there is no male equivalent. [99] [100] African nations including Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda, and the hosts Rwanda compete in the tournament. The Brazilian and German teams have also taken part. [101] [102]
The word 'Kwibuka' means "to remember" in Kinyarwanda, the Rwandan national language, and is the title of annual commemorations of the genocide. [103]
Rank | Country | Champions | Runners-up | Apps. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kenya | 4 | 1 | 6 |
2 | Uganda [lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 5 | 8 |
3 | Tanzania | 2 | 0 | 2 |
4 | Rwanda | 1 | 2 | 9 |
5 | Namibia | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Updated as of the end of the 2023 Tournament. [104]
|
Women's T20 World Cup Winners and Runner-ups | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Country | Wins | Runners-up | Total Appearances |
1 | Australia | 6 | 1 | 8 |
2 | England | 1 | 3 | 8 |
3 | West Indies | 1 | 0 | 8 |
4 | New Zealand | 0 | 2 | 8 |
5= | India | 0 | 1 | 8 |
5= | South Africa | 0 | 1 | 8 |
Updated as of the end of the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup. |
Following the introduction of T20 cricket, cricket has been included at several multi-sport events; the women's game is often added after the successful establishment of a men's tournament. As of August 2023 [update] , five different major games have held women's cricket medal events; a sixth – the African Games – is scheduled for early 2024 and a seventh – the Olympics – is scheduled for 2028. [105]
The 2023 African Games in Accra, Ghana will mark the game's debut in the African Games. [106]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Totals (0 entries) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cricket made its debut at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, with men's and women's T20 cricket matches. [107] It returned for the 2014 Asian Games [108] Cricket was removed from the 2018 Asian Games to reduce the burden on the Indonesian organisers. [109]
The 2022 Asian Games were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic but cricket returned when the Games were held in September 2023. [110] [111] Eight teams competed, including India who sent a team to the games for the first time and went home with their first gold medal. [112] [113]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pakistan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2 | India | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
3 | Bangladesh | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
4 | Sri Lanka | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
5 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Totals (5 entries) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
In August 2019, the Commonwealth Games Foundation announced the addition of women's cricket to the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The matches were held at Edgbaston, and included eight teams competing in a T20 format [115] during July and August 2022. [116] Only a women's tournament was part of the Games. [117] [118]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2 | India | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
3 | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Totals (3 entries) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Women's cricket has never been included in the Olympic Games. There was hope T20 cricket would be included in the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. [120] It was on the shortlist for inclusion but was not chosen for the 28-sport provisional list, making its inclusion unlikely. [121] The ultimate decision was made in October 2023 at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee Executive board by the nod of inclusion of cricket in 2028. [122] [105]
With the 2032 Summer Olympic Games being hosted in Brisbane, Australia, the governing body Cricket Australia have also have noted their intention to have the game included. [123]
Men's cricket has been part of the Pacific Games since 1979 and a women's competition was introduced for the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. [124] It appeared again at the 2019 Pacific Games [125] but was dropped for the 2023 games. [126]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Samoa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2 | Papua New Guinea | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
3 | Fiji | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Vanuatu | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (4 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Women's cricket made its debut at the 2019 South Asian Games in Pokhara, Nepal, in the T20 format. The Maldives set one of the lowest scores in International Women's Cricket, all out for 8 runs. [129]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bangladesh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2 | Sri Lanka | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
3 | Nepal | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Totals (3 entries) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Cricket made its debut at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It did not appear in another Southeast Asian Games until the 2023 Games. [131]
Unusually among modern multi-sport events, the SEA Games do not keep to just the T20 format. For the 2017 tournament, women only played T20 but for the 2023 tournament they competed in 6s, T10, T20 and 50-over competitions and each had medals available. [131]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Thailand | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
2 | Indonesia | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
3 | Philippines | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
4 | Malaysia | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
5 | Myanmar | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Totals (5 entries) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
The majority of high-level women's domestic cricket in ICC Full Member countries consists of 50-over and Twenty20 competitions. [134]
Since the 2021 Taliban offensive and the Fall of Kabul in 2021, cricket for women is in practice banned due to the Taliban's policies on women. [5]
Eight state-based teams play 50-over cricket in the Women's National Cricket League, which has run since the 1996–97 season. [135] Since the 2015–16 season, eight city-based franchises have played T20 cricket in the Women's Big Bash League. [136]
The Bangladesh Women's National Cricket League has been played variously as a 50-over and a Twenty20 competition. [137]
Eight regional teams compete in the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Twenty20 Charlotte Edwards Cup, while eight city-based teams compete in The Hundred, a 100-ball cricket competition. [138] The English counties play in the Women's Twenty20 Cup. [139]
Previously[ when? ], the English counties played in the Women's County Championship, while six semi-professional teams played in the Women's Cricket Super League. [138] [139]
To grow women's participation in the game, including those who have never played cricket, in 2017, the England and Wales Cricket Board created a format called softball cricket. [140] It uses a modified scoring system, has 6-to-8 players per team and lasts just over an hour. It has a more-relaxed playing style than hardball cricket; for example underarm bowling is allowed and more-complicated rules such as leg before wicket are not included. [141] Conventional cricket played by women is occasionally called "women's hardball cricket" to distinguish it from softball cricket. [142]
Several domestic women's cricket competitions exist in India. State teams play for the 50-over Women's Senior One Day Trophy and the Women's Senior T20 Trophy, while composite teams play for the 50-over Senior Women's Challenger Trophy and the Women's Senior T20 Challenger Trophy. Domestic first-class women's cricket was last played in India in the form of the Senior Women's Cricket Inter Zonal Three Day Game, which ended after the 2017–18 season. [143] The domestic red-ball game for women has been revived in the 2023-24 season with the Senior Women's Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy. A total of six zonal teams competed in a knockout format. [144]
In 2018, women's franchise cricket in India began with the Women's T20 Challenge, which began as a two-team competition. The following year, the competition was expanded to a three-team tournament. [145] The Women's Premier League, a five-team franchise T20 competition, was created in 2023 to replace the T20 Challenge. [146]
The Women's Super Series in Ireland in contested by three teams. From 2021, the competition has been split into separate 50-over and Twenty20 sections. [147]
Six regional-based teams compete in the 50-over Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, which has existed since the 1935–36 season, and the Twenty20 Super Smash, which began in the 2007–08 season. [148]
The 50-over Pakistan Women's One Day Cup has run since the 2017–18 season while the PCB Women's Twenty20 Tournament began in the 2019–20 season. Previously, state and departmental teams competed in the National Women's Cricket Championship, the Women's Cricket Challenge Trophy and the Departmental T20 Women's Championship. [149]
Provincial teams play in the 50-over CSA Women's Provincial Programme, previously the CSA Women's Provincial One-Day Tournament, which has run since the 1995–96 season, and in the CSA Women's Provincial T20 Competition. which began during the 2012–13 season. Since 2019, composite teams have played in the Women's T20 Super League. [150]
In August 2023, Cricket South Africa announced a new structure for domestic cricket. It will be composed of six teams that will have increased funding to professionally contract more players and hire full-time coaching staff. [151]
The 50-over competition is the Sri Lanka Women's Division One Tournament. Several Twenty20 competitions have taken place, including the Super Provincial T20 Tournament and the Super 4 Twenty20 Competition. [152]
The nations that make up the West Indies have competed in the Women's Super50 Cup since 1975 and in the Women's Twenty20 Blaze since 2012. [153]
In 2022, Cricket West Indies and the Caribbean Premier League jointly launched two women's competitions: a T10 cricket competition called The 6ixty and the Women's Caribbean Premier League, both with three teams that are aligned with men's sides. [154] [155] The 6ixty was partly inspired by the women's exhibition T10 matches that were played just before the 2019 Caribbean Premier League playoff matches. [156] [157]
The 50-over competition is the Fifty50 Challenge and the Twenty20 competition is the Women's T20 Cup, both of which are competed for by four teams that are aligned with men's sides. [158]
Women are known to have playinged blind cricket in Australia since at least the 1940s, when they competed with and against men. [159]
England and Nepal have had women's international teams since at least November 2014, when Nepal beat England 3-0 in a three game series. [160] In 2018, England toured the West Indies and won the series 4–1. [161] [162]
The first international series played in Pakistan was held in January and February 2019. [163] The Pakistan Blind Cricket Council formed a national women's team in 2018 that played the Nepalese blind women's team in five T20 games. The Pakistani team were publicly supported by Sana Mir and other professional cricketers. [164] Nepal won the series 4–0. [165]
In 2019, the Cricket Association for the Blind in India created a blind cricket league for women consisting of teams from seven states. [166] Odisha won the inaugural tournament, beating Karnataka 218/8 (20.0) to Karnataka's 131/8 (20.0). [167] The 2020 and 2021 tournaments were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [168] It expanded to 14 states for the 2022 tournament, which was won by Karnataka. [169] [170] The 2023 tournament had 18 teams. Odisha regained the title. [171]
India formed a national team in 2020 but had to cancel its intended 2021 tour of England because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [172] Their first tour was in Nepal in April 2023. [173] [174] Nepal won that series 3–1. [175]
The 2023 IBSA World Games in Birmingham, England, included cricket for the first time and India was the first country to announce it would be sending a team. [176] England and Australia also sent teams to the Games; it was the Australian team's international debut. [177] [178] The Pakistani team was unable to participate due to lack of funds. [179] India was the first team to reach the finals by winning their first three matches and won all four matches of their group games. Australia won the other place with a higher net run rate than England. [180] India beat Australia in the final and were publicly praised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. [181]
Cricket values records and statistics. Women's records have often been overlooked, especially when a women's record precedes or exceeds a men's record. [182] For example, Belinda Clark made the first double century in ODI cricket in the 1997 World Cup, 23 years earlier than Sachin Tendulkar's 200* in 2010. [182] [183] Betty Wilson became the first player to score a century and take ten wickets in a Test match in 1958. [184] Ian Botham did not achieve this until 1980. [185]
Among Test nations, Australia holds the record for the most wins, having won 21 of their 77 Test matches. [186]
The all-time-leading women's Test batter is Denise Annetts of Australia with a Test batting average 81.90. [187] As of 2023 [update] , she is third behind Don Bradman's famous 99.94 and Saud Shakeel's current 87.50. [188] [note 2]
The player with the highest bowling average is Australian Betty Wilson with an average of 11.80. [189] This puts her second to the 10.75 of George Lohmann. [190]
International cricket matches are played between the teams representing their nations, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The main forms are Test matches, One-Day matches and Twenty20 matches.
Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innings each, which is restricted to a maximum of twenty overs. Together with first-class and List A cricket, Twenty20 is one of the three current forms of cricket recognised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as being at the highest international or domestic level.
The Hong Kong men's national cricket team is the team that represents Hong Kong in international competitions. It played its first match in 1866 and has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1969.
The Scotland national men's cricket team represents the country of Scotland. They play most of their home matches at The Grange, Edinburgh, as well as at other venues around Scotland.
The Afghanistan men's national cricket team represents Afghanistan in international cricket. Cricket has been played in Afghanistan since the mid-19th century, but it was only in the early 21st century that the national team began to enjoy success. The Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995, becoming an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and a member of the cricket confederation, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in 2003. After nearly a decade of playing international cricket, on 22 June 2017 full ICC membership was granted to Afghanistan. Alongside Ireland, this took the number of Test cricket playing nations to twelve. Afghanistan is the first country to achieve Full Member status after holding Affiliate Membership of the ICC. In view of the persistent conflict and insecurity in Afghanistan, following this status, the team moved to a new home ground in Dehradun, in India. The current home ground of the Afghanistan Men's Cricket team is the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE.
The Ireland women's cricket team represents Ireland in international women's cricket. Cricket in Ireland is governed by Cricket Ireland and organised on an All-Ireland basis, meaning the Irish women's team represents both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The Pakistan women's national cricket team, also known as Green Shirts or Women in Green, represents Pakistan in international women's cricket. One of ten teams competing in the ICC Women's Championship, the team is organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The Scotland women's national cricket team, nicknamed the Wildcats, represents Scotland in international women's cricket. The team is organised by Cricket Scotland, an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup, is the Twenty20 International cricket tournament, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2007.
The Bangladesh women's national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Bangladesh in international women's cricket matches. They made their international debut when they played, and won, two matches against Thailand in July 2007 before participating in and winning the 2007 ACC Women's Tournament. Bangladesh were granted One-Day International (ODI) status in 2011 after finishing fifth in the 2011 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier. They subsequently qualified for the 2014 ICC Women's World Twenty20 as hosts, making their first appearance at a top-level women's international tournament. They have also won the 2018 edition of ACC Women's Asia Cup. This was the only instance in ACC Women's Asia Cup where any team other than India won the tournament. However, they finished fifth in the next edition of Women's Asia Cup, but has since went on to become one of the most competitive women's cricket teams in Asia. The team made its first World Cup appearance at the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup, and has participated in every edition of the World Twenty20 since making its debut at the 2014 edition.
The history of cricket in Pakistan predates the creation of the country in 1947. The first international cricket match in what is now Pakistan today was held in Karachi on 22 November 1935 between Sindh and Australia. The match was seen by 5,000 Karachiites. Cricket was introduced by the British during their colonial rule of British India, which covered the area now known as Pakistan. Cricket is the most popular sport in the country. The Pakistan Cricket Board controls all domestic cricket in Pakistan and the national teams. Pakistan is an official member of the International Cricket Council and the Asian Cricket Council. Regarded as one of the best and most passionate cricketing nations, Pakistan has won the Cricket World Cup in 1992, ICC T20 World Cup in 2009, the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2004 and 2006, the ACC Asia Cup in 2000 and 2012. Pakistan were runner ups in the 1999 Cricket World Cup and 2007 and 2022 T20 World Cups. Pakistan have also been runner ups in several Asia Cup editions.
Suzanne Redfern MBE is an English cricket umpire and former cricketer. She played for the England women's team between 1995 and 1999, including at the 1997 World Cup.
Cricket in Nepal has gained popularity over the years and has become the country's one of the most popular and widely followed sport. It rapidly grew popularity in the mid 2010s, following the slight successes of the Nepalese cricket team as well as the country's explosive rise in social media and television viewing influence from neighboring country India. It is played by many people throughout the country, especially in the Terai region. The biggest cricketing achievement of the national cricket team was when the team reached the qualification tournament of 2014 ICC World T20 held in Bangladesh. Nepal's playing season runs from September to November and starts again in March before finishing in May. As of October 2023, there were 3400 senior cricket clubs and over 35000 registered players in Nepal.
Harmanpreet Kaur is an Indian cricketer who serves as the captain of the India women's national cricket team in all formats. She plays for and captains Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League. She plays as an all-rounder for the Indian women's cricket team; and was awarded the Arjuna Award for Cricket in the year 2017 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Hayley Kristen Matthews is a Barbadian sportswoman. She plays international cricket for the West Indies as an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm off break. She plays domestic cricket for Barbados, Barbados Royals and Melbourne Renegades, and has previously played for Tasmania, Lancashire Thunder, Southern Vipers, Loughborough Lightning, Velocity and Hobart Hurricanes. She has also represented Barbados in the javelin throw at several international track and field competitions. In June 2022, Matthews was named as the captain of the West Indies women's cricket team, taking over from Stafanie Taylor.
The Germany woman's national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Germany in international women's cricket matches. The team is organised by German Cricket Federation and has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1999. Germany was previously an affiliate member from 1991 to 1999.
The 2018 international cricket season was from May 2018 to September 2018. 16 Test matches, 27 One-day Internationals (ODIs) and 33 Twenty20 International (T20Is), as well as 14 Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs) and 81 Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is), were played during this period.
The 2019 international cricket season was from May 2019 to September 2019. The 2019 Cricket World Cup in England and Wales took place during this time, starting on 30 May 2019. 10 Test matches, 78 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 109 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), as well as 1 Women's Test, 9 Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs) and 130 Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is), were played during this period. Additionally, a number of other T20I/WT20I matches were also scheduled to be played in minor series involving associate nations. The season started with India leading the Test cricket rankings, England leading the ODI rankings and Pakistan leading the Twenty20 rankings. On 3 May, the International Cricket Council (ICC) expanded the men's T20I rankings to include all current Full Member and Associate members of the ICC, featuring 80 teams. In the women's rankings, Australia women lead both the WODI and WT20I tables.
The Brazil women's national cricket team represents the country of Brazil in women's cricket matches. The team made its international debut in 2007, with Brazil having been a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2002. Brazil is one of the leading teams in the ICC Americas region, along with the United States and Canada, but is yet to qualify for any global tournaments.
The 2022–23 international cricket season was from September 2022 to April 2023. This calendar included men's Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) matches, women's Test, women's One Day Internationals (WODIs) and women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is) matches, as well as some other significant series. In addition to the matches shown here, a number of other T20I/WT20I series involving associate nations were also played during this period.
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