by Tim Harry

Created on: July 12, 2009   Last Updated: November 15, 2009

Despite being ostensibly the same game as played by W.G.Grace over a hundred years ago, there has been some spectacular developments in the game of cricket. International cricket has never been more popular and the introduction of Twenty20 games has helped revive some of the fortunes of domestic cricket. The game of cricket has evolved to meet the needs of the spectators, the sponsors and the television companies, but there is though much more to cricket than the fast paced Twenty20 game.

In most forms of the game, cricket matches are played on a cricket pitch, where two teams of eleven face each other, with decisions made by two on field umpires. Cricket matches though are played at international, county (or equivalent) or club level, and this often has an influence on the type of cricket matches being played.

At the highest level of the game, and viewed as the pinnacle of a professional cricketers career is the Test Match. Now played over five days, with ninety overs bowled each day, the Test Match comprises two innings for both teams. The winner being decided by whoever scores the most combined runs, and who bowls out the other team twice. This format though does lead to a number of draws being achieved where either team fails to bowl out the opposition twice. The Ashes series is comprised of five Test Matches. The Test Match format of cricket has evolved though, the five day limit being different from the non-existent time limit played in the earliest matches.

Test matches are classed as First Class games, which are joined in the class by County or State games. These games are played in the same way as Test Matches with two innings for both teams, rather than five days though the games are played over either four or three days. The Test Match playing nations all have their own version of these cricket matches, making up domestic leagues. The shorter length of the matches though does mean that there are more draws than in Test Matches, although certainly in the England and Wales cricket leagues, the British summer rain does play a huge role in the draws.

The longer forms of the games are not very spectator friendly, and although Test Matches are still well attended over the five days, many County games are watched by a very sparse crowd. The need to raise the popularity of cricket saw an introduction of Limited Overs games in the 1960s. The idea being that games could be completed in one day, with more positive results with an outright winner.

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