The sport of cricket has a known history beginning in the late 16th century England. It became an established sport in the country in the 18th century and developed globally in the 19th and 20th centuries. International matches have been played since the 19th-century and formal Test cricket matches are considered to date from 1877. Cricket is the world’s second most popular spectator sport, after association football (soccer).[1]
Internationally, cricket is governed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which has over one hundred countries and territories in membership, although only twelve currently play Test cricket.
The game’s rules are defined in the “Laws of cricket“. The game has various formats, ranging from T-10(Ten-10) played in around 90 minutes to Test matches, which can last up to five days.The International Cricket Council, aka 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. In 1965, the body was renamed as the International Cricket Conference and adopted its current name in 1987. ICC has its headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The ICC currently has 108 member nations: 12 Full Members that play Test matches, and 96 Associate Members.[3] The ICC is responsible for the organisation and governance of cricket’s major international tournaments, most notably the Cricket World Cup, T20 World Cup, and ICC World Test Championship. It also appoints the umpires and referees that officiate at all sanctioned Test matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals. It promulgates the ICC Code of Conduct, which sets professional standards of discipline for international cricket,[4] and also co-ordinates action against corruption and match-fixing through its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.
The ICC does not control bilateral fixtures between member countries, which include all Test matches outside of the World Test Championship Final, and neither does it govern domestic cricket within member countries. It does not make or alter the laws of the game, which have remained under the governance of the Marylebone Cricket Club since 1788.[5]
The Chairman heads the board of directors and on June 26, 2014, Narayanaswami Srinivasan, the former president of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was announced as the first chairman of the council.[6] The role of ICC president became a largely honorary position after the establishment of the chairman role and other changes made to the ICC constitution in 2014. It has been claimed that the 2014 changes have handed control to the ‘Big Three’ nations of England, India and Australia.[7] The last ICC president was Zaheer Abbas,[8] who was appointed in June 2015 following the resignation of Mustafa Kamal in April 2015. When the post of ICC president was abolished in April 2016, Shashank Manohar, who replaced Srinivasan in October 2015, became the first independent elected chairman of the ICC.[9]
History
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1909–1963 – Imperial Cricket Conference
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On 30 November 1907, Abe Bailey, the President of the South African Cricket Association, wrote a letter to the Marylebone Cricket Club‘s (MCC, England) secretary, Francis Lacey. Bailey suggested the formation of an ‘Imperial Cricket Board’. In the letter, he suggested that the board would be responsible for the formulation of rules and regulations that would govern the bilateral international matches of the three members, Australia, England and South Africa. Bailey wanted to host a Triangular Test series among the participant countries in South Africa. However, Australia rejected the offer. Still, Bailey did not lose hope. He saw an opportunity of getting the three members together during Australia’s tour of England in 1909. After continued lobbying and efforts, Bailey was successful.[10]
On 15 June 1909, representatives from England, Australia and South Africa met at Lord’s and founded the Imperial Cricket Conference. A month later, a second meeting between the three members was held. The rules were agreed upon amongst the nations, and the first-ever Tri-Test series was decided to be held in England in 1912.[10]
In 1926, West Indies, New Zealand and India were elected as Full Members, doubling the number of Test-playing nations to six. After the formation of Pakistan in 1947, it was given Test status five years later in 1952, becoming the seventh Test-playing, nation. In May 1961, South Africa left the Commonwealth and therefore lost membership