1.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
South Africa
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Mapungubwe Hill, the site of the former capital of the
Kingdom of Mapungubwe
South Africa
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Flag
South Africa
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Arrival of
Jan van Riebeeck, the first European to settle in South Africa, with
Devil's Peak in the background
South Africa
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Depiction of a
Zulu attack on a Boer camp in February 1838
2.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
Australia
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Aboriginal rock art in the
Kimberley region of Western Australia
Australia
Australia
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Portrait of Captain
James Cook, the first European to map the eastern coastline of Australia in 1770
Australia
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Tasmania's
Port Arthur penal settlement is one of eleven UNESCO World Heritage-listed
Australian Convict Sites.
3.
Michael Klinger
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Michael Klinger is an Australian cricketer currently listed with Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers. His nickname is the Jewish Bradman, before the 2008–09 season, Klinger played for Victoria and for St Kilda Cricket Club in Premier Cricket. He joined the South Australia Redbacks for the 2008–09 season, was named their Captain in 2010 and he was one of the 350 players under the hammer for the IPL Auction 2011, and was bought by Kochi Tuskers Kerala. He attended Mount Scopus Memorial College, from which he graduated in 1998, as a young batsman, Klinger was named Captain of the Australia Under 19s Mens Cricket team – his deputy being Michael Clarke who subsequently became captain of the national team. Klinger began as an 18-year-old in the 1998–99 season and this caused Klinger some great upset, and following it Klinger had several less successful years, but returned to contention for a spot in the Victorian Bushrangers side for the 2005–06 season. In 2003 he was the professional for Walkden in the Bolton Cricket League. In Season 2006–07 he started off in the outer from the Pura Cup side, but started off his Ford Ranger Cup season in style, nearly getting an early on. He led the scoring in the competition for much of the season. Klinger was soon to do the same for the 1st XI, on 11 December 2008, Klinger posted his highest individual score in one day cricket, with an unbeaten 133 off just 128 balls. This guided South Australia to victory in their match against the Tasmania Tigers at the Adelaide Oval. This was Klingers fourth one-day century and he won the Australian Cricketers Associations December 2008 Johnnie Walker player-of-the-month award. In 2010, Klinger was named Captain of the Redbacks, Klinger was one of the 350 players under the hammer for the IPL Auction 2011, and was bought by Kochi Tuskers Kerala for US$75,000. He is joint third along with Luke Wright in the list for scoring most number of centuries in all forms of T20s. In December 2012, Klinger was signed by English county Gloucestershire, not only as their overseas player for the 2013 season and he had previously stood in for Phillip Hughes at Worcestershire at the beginning of the previous season. He scored over 1000 runs in the County Championship, scoring 6 centuries, due to his success, Klinger returned to captain Gloucs again for the 2014 season. He was their leading run scorer in the One Day Cup, in August 2015, he was confirmed as staying with the club for the 2016 season. Klinger signed a contract with Western Australia in April 2014. He recovered from the arm to make his debut for WA in the 2014–15 Matador BBQs One-Day Cup in October
Michael Klinger
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Michael Klinger
Michael Klinger
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Michael Klinger batting in the nets in February 2010
4.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
England
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Stonehenge, a
Neolithic monument
England
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Flag
England
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Boudica led an uprising against the
Roman Empire
England
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Replica of a 7th-century ceremonial
helmet from the
Kingdom of East Anglia, found at
Sutton Hoo
5.
Richard Dawson (cricketer)
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Richard Kevin James Dawson is an English first-class cricketer, who plays primarily as an off-spinner. Born 4 August 1980, Doncaster, Yorkshire, Dawson attended Batley Grammar School and he first appeared for Yorkshire in 2001. He made his Test match debut against India in 2001/02, however, since then he has found himself out of the England set up. He bowled the ball in which Steve Waugh hit his famous last ball of the day century in the 2002/03, in the 2006 season, Dawson captained the Yorkshire 2nd XI but at the end of that season he was released from his contract with Yorkshire. He was signed by Northamptonshire to provide cover for their England spinner Monty Panesar, Dawson was released by Northamptonshire at the end of the 2007 season, and began training as a journalist in September 2007. In February 2014 Dawson was appointed as the Second XI coach of Yorkshire County Cricket Club to replace the departing Paul Farbrace with his appointment beginning on 1 April 2014. On 30 January 2015, Dawson was appointed the new coach of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club following the departure of director of cricket John Bracewell
Richard Dawson (cricketer)
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Richard Dawson
6.
Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia near south-east India. Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest, Sri Lankas documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka was known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lankas recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, in addition to the majority Sinhalese, it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a semi-presidential system. The legislative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the capital and largest city. Along with the Maldives, Sri Lanka is one of the two countries in South Asia that are rated among high human development on the Human Development Index. In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names, according to the Mahavamsa, the legendary Prince Vijaya named the land Tambapanni, because his followers hands were reddened by the red soil of the area. In Hindu mythology, such as the Mahabharata, the island was referred to as Lankā, in Tamil, the island is referred to as Eelam. Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobanā or Taprobanē from the word Tambapanni, as a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon, it achieved independence as the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. The country is known in Sinhalese as Śrī Laṃkā and in Tamil as Ilaṅkai, in 1972, its formal name was changed to Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka. Later in 1978 it was changed to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, as the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government announced in 2011 a plan to rename all those over which it has authority. The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years, the era spans the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron Ages. Among the Paleolithic human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, Pahiyangala and it is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful emperor who built a mythical flying machine named Dandu Monara. The modern city of Wariyapola is described as Ravanas airport, early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably ancestors of the Vedda people, an indigenous people numbering approximately 2,500 living in modern-day Sri Lanka. According to the Mahāvamsa, a written in Pāḷi, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the Yakshas and Nagas. Ancient cemeteries that were used before 600BC and other signs of advanced civilization has also discovered in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
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Avukana Buddha statue, a 12 metres (39 ft) standing Buddha statue belongs to the reign of
Dhatusena of Anuradhapura, 5th century
Sri Lanka
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Flag
Sri Lanka
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Ptolemy's world map of Ceylon, first century CE, in a 1535 publication.
Sri Lanka
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The
Sigiriya rock fortress
7.
Thisara Perera
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Narangoda Liyanaarachchilage Thisara Chirantha Perera, popularly as Thisara Perera, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who represents Sri Lanka in limited over formats. Domestically he plays for Colts Cricket Club, Rising Pune Supergiants, primarily a bowling all-rounder, he is an aggressive left-handed batsman who can hit big sixes in death overs and is a useful right-arm medium-fast bowler. On 26 July 2013 against South Africa, Perera hit Robin Peterson for 35 runs in one over, which is recorded as the second most expensive over in ODI History. Perera was a part of the Sri Lankan team that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, on 12 February 2016, Perera joined Brett Lee to take hat-tricks in both ODI & T20I. In Australia he is known by his nickname panda, which was bestowed upon him by George Bailey during his stint at BBL with the Brisbane Heat, Thisara Perera started his cricket career as a teenager at St. Anthonys College, Wattala. He later attended the prestigious St. Josephs College, Colombo and he represented Sri Lanka at various youth levels, and was selected for the 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Perera made his debut for Sri Lanka in December 2009. He took his first five-wicket haul in international cricket in August 2010 and he took five wickets in an ODI against Australia on the same tour. Perera was a member of Sri Lankas squad for the 2011 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka, India and he was part of the team defeated in the final of the tournament by India, scoring 22 not out off ten deliveries and taking the wicket of Gautam Gambhir. In the 2nd ODI of 2012 series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, he done brilliant late-order hitting and became first ever person to take 6 wickets against Pakistan in an ODI - his career best and this performance won him the Man of the Match as well. Perera also has the record for the highest ODI score for Sri Lanka when batting at number 9 position or lower when he scored unbeaten 80 runs and he was selected in Sri Lankas Test squad for a series against England. He made his debut in the first Test of the series at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. [ In an innings defeat, he scored 25 and 20 with the bat and he played in all three Tests of the tour, scoring 81 runs and taking five wickets. In May 2010, he made his Twenty20 international debut, representing Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies, Perera also contributed to the win 2014 ICC World Twenty20 championship which was Sri Lankas first World T20I title. In that innings against India in the final, Perera had a partnership with Kumar Sangakkara. He also took a Hat-Trick on 12 February 2016 in a T20I series against India, however, he was gone for nought in batting and Sri Lanka lost the match by 69 runs. He has played the most number of T20I innings for Sri Lanka without scoring a T20I fifty, barely a year later he was called up to the national team and made his senior international debut. Perera was purchased by the Chennai Super Kings for US$50,000 in the auction for the 2010 Indian Premier League and his price increased for the 2011 Indian Premier League, fetching US$80,000 from the Kochi Tuskers Kerala. During the 2016 Indian Premier League auction he was sold to new franchise Rising Pune Supergiants for INR1 crore in the second round, Perera joined Melbourne Renegades in January 2017 after Renegades star all rounder, Dwayne Bravo, suffered a hamstring injury
Thisara Perera
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Thisara Perera තිසර පෙරේරා
Thisara Perera
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Thisara Perera batting against England
8.
Bristol County Ground
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The Bristol County Ground, known for sponsorship reasons as The Brightside Ground, is a senior cricket venue in Bristol, England. It is in the district of Ashley Down, the ground is home to Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. Initially known as Ashley Down Ground, it was bought in 1889 by W. G. Grace and has home to Gloucestershire ever since. It was sold to local confectionery firm J. S. Fry & Sons, the club bought the ground back in 1933 and it reverted to its original name. The ground hosts One Day Internationals, usually one per year, England are due to face Sri Lanka in 2016, West Indies in 2017, India in 2018 and Pakistan in 2019 at the ground. In addition, four matches will be played at the ground as part of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, the ground has long boundaries in comparison to most county cricket clubs. The former concrete roof over the terraces, which has now been demolished, was formed from eight hyperbolic-paraboloid umbrellas each approximately 30 ft square. In July 2009, Gloucestershire C. C. C. announced plans to redevelop the ground into a 20, 000-capacity stadium, the ground now includes a world class media centre and conference facilities. To help fund the project, student accommodation is included in the development, in March 2010, Bristol City Council gave the go-ahead for the new ground. The following year, the club revised its plans due to concerns from residents on the adjacent Kennington Avenue over permanent stands at the boundary of their property and these plans were approved on 31 May 2012 and development began in October 2012. The Bristol Pavilion opened in August 2013, montpelier railway station is under a mile from the ground. Main line stations Bristol Temple Meads railway station and Bristol Parkway railway station are 2.5 miles and 3.8 miles, respectively, former station Ashley Hill railway station was situated outside the ground but was closed in 1964. There are plans to reopen the station as part of the Greater Bristol Metro proposals, there are five ODI centuries have been scored at the venue. List of cricket grounds in England and Wales
Bristol County Ground
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Bristol County Ground
9.
Surrey County Cricket Club
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Surrey County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the county of Surrey. The clubs limited overs team is called Surrey, Surrey teams formed from 1709 by earlier organisations always had senior status and so the county club is rated accordingly from inception, i. e. Home of the club since its foundation in 1845 has been the Oval, the club also has an out ground at Woodbridge Road, Guildford, where some home games are played each season. Surrey CCC has had three periods of great success in its history. In 1955, Surrey won 23 of its 28 county matches, to date, Surrey has won the official County Championship 18 times outright, more than any other county with the exception of Yorkshire. The clubs traditional badge is the Prince of Waless feathers, in 1915, Lord Rosebery obtained permission to use this symbol from the Prince of Wales, hereditary owner of the land on which the Oval stands. It is widely believed that cricket was invented by children living on the Weald in Saxon or Norman times, although not the games birthplace, Surrey does claim the honour of being the location of its first definite mention in print. Evidence from a January 1597 court case confirms that creckett was played by schoolboys on a plot of land in Guildford around 1550. In 1611, King James I gave to his eldest son, Henry, Prince of Wales, the manors of Kennington and Vauxhall, to this day, the Prince of Waless feathers feature on the cricket clubs badge. Cricket became well established in Surrey during the 17th century and the earliest village matches took place before the English Civil War and it is believed that the earliest county teams were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration in 1660. The earliest known match in Surrey was Croydon v London at Croydon on 1 July 1707. In 1709, the earliest known inter-county match took place between Kent and Surrey at Dartford Brent with £50 at stake, Surrey would continue to play cricket against other representative teams from that time onwards. Probably its greatest players during the era were the famous bowler Lumpy Stevens and the wicket-keeper/batsman William Yalden. A further meeting at the Tavern on 18 October 1845 formally constituted the club, appointed officers, a lease on Kennington Oval, a former market garden, was obtained by a Mr Houghton from the Duchy of Cornwall. Mr Houghton was of the old Montpelier Cricket Club,70 members of which formed the nucleus of the new Surrey County club, the Honourable Fred Ponsonby, later the Earl of Bessborough was the first vice-president. Surreys inaugural first-class match was against the MCC at the Oval at the end of May,1846, the clubs first inter-county match, against Kent, was held at the Oval the following month and Surrey emerged victorious by ten wickets. However, the club did not do well that year, despite the extra public attractions at the Oval of a Walking Match, by the start of the 1847 season the club was £70 in debt and there was a motion to close
Surrey County Cricket Club
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Surrey's home ground the Oval, overlooked by the famous gasholders.
Surrey County Cricket Club
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Surrey CCC
Surrey County Cricket Club
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Surrey's all-time top scorer
Jack Hobbs.
Surrey County Cricket Club
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Current player
Jade Dernbach runs up to bowl against
Sussex at the
County Ground in
Hove in the
2008 Twenty20 Cup.
10.
Durdham Down
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Durdham Down is an area of public open space in Bristol, England. With its neighbour Clifton Down to the southwest, it constitutes a 400-acre area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walking, jogging and its exposed position makes it particularly suitable for kite flying. Durdham Down is the part of the Downs north of Stoke Road, Durdham Down was long used as grazing land. An Anglo-Saxon charter of 883 grants grazing rights over part of Durdham Down, the down was the commons of pasture for the manor of Henbury during the Middle Ages. In 1643 and 1645, during the English Civil War, Royalist, in 1861 Durdham Down itself was bought by the City from the Lords of the Manor of Henbury for £15,000 via an Act of Parliament. Grazing on the down declined during the 19th century, and finally ceased in 1925, since 1861 Durdham Down has been managed, with Clifton Down, by the Downs Committee, a joint committee of the corporation and the Society of Merchant Venturers, which owns Clifton Down. The committee appoints a Downs Ranger to oversee the Downs, the Down features clumps of scrubby hawthorns, the avenues of massive horse-chestnuts, the flat swathes of grass and the elegant bordering of Victorian houses. The White Tree roundabout is a junction on Durdham Down. The roundabout was constructed in the 1950s, but the name appears to date back to the 19th century, for a short period in 1908, the White Tree was the terminus of the tram, before it was extended to Westbury. There have been several trees at the junction, either a silver birch or a tree with a trunk painted white. One white tree was demolished to make way for the roundabout, another white tree was cut down during the 1970s outbreak of Dutch elm disease. The Seven Sisters are a group of trees on Durdham Down. A number of the trees have been lost over the years - notably in the 1990 Burns Day storm - leaving three survivors, replacement trees in the group have been vandalised, so an entirely new group of seven has been planted nearby. In the 19th century horse-races were held, especially at Easter, as well as wrestling and boxing contests, nowadays the sporting tradition carries on with the Bristol Downs Football League playing on permanently laid out pitches. The Gloucestershire County Cricket Club played its initial first-class match, which was against Surrey CCC, Bristol City Council, The Downs Map of Durdham Down circa 1900
Durdham Down
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Only three of Durdham Down's "Seven Sisters" now remain
11.
County Championship
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The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. The competition consists of eighteen clubs named after, and originally representing, historic counties, seventeen from England, from 2016, the Championship will be sponsored by Specsavers, who replaced Liverpool Victoria after 14 years. In contrast, the term County Champions applies in common parlance to a team that has won the title since 1890. The most usual means of claiming the title was by popular or press acclaim. In the majority of cases, the claim or proclamation was retrospective, the unofficial title was not proclaimed in every season up to 1889 because in many cases there were not enough matches or there was simply no clear candidate. The concept of the title has been utilised ad hoc. The official County Championship was constituted in a meeting at Lords Cricket Ground on 10 December 1889 which was called to enable club secretaries to determine the 1890 fixtures. While this was going on, representatives of the eight leading county clubs held a meeting to discuss the method by which the county championship should in future be decided. A majority were in favour of ignoring drawn games altogether and settling the championship by wins, under this system defeats were subtracted from victories and the county with the highest total were champions. The new competition, which had official sanction, began in the 1890 season and at first featured Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Sussex and it is difficult to know when the concept of a county championship originated. While early matches were often between teams named after counties, they were not the teams the usage would imply today. That may be so re the actual terminology but closer examination of the sources indicate a much earlier expression of the idea. The earliest known inter-county match was in 1709 between Kent and Surrey but match results are unknown until the 1720s. The first time a source refers to the superiority of one county is in respect of a match between Edwin Steads XI and Sir William Gages XI at Penshurst Park in August 1728, Steads XI won by an unknown margin although Gages XI needed just 7 in their second innings. The source says that the game could be called Kent v Sussex as the players were reported as 11 of each county, Sir William Gage was a Sussex landowner and Edwin Stead was a resident of Maidstone in Kent. Evidently Mr Steads Kent team also won two games earlier that season against the Duke of Richmonds XI, the source states that was the third time this summer that the Kent men have been too expert for those of Sussex. This clearly implies that Kent was considered to be the county at that time. In 1729, Sir William Gages Sussex team defeated Kent on 5 September, The latter got in one hand and this may have been the earliest known innings victory
County Championship
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County Championship
12.
Royal London One-Day Cup
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The Royal London One-Day Cup is a fifty-over limited overs cricket competition for the England and Wales first-class counties. It began in 2014 as a replacement for the ECB40 tournament that ran from 2010 to 2013, the number of overs per innings has been increased to 50 to bring the competition in line with One Day Internationals. The competition consists of two groups of nine teams, from which the top four teams each group progress to the quarter-finals. The competition contains two groups of nine, a random draw is used to place the teams into groups. The top four teams in each progress to the quarter-finals. The participating teams are the 18 England and Wales first-class counties, the Royal London Cup is the latest in a line of limited over competitions in county cricket. The John Player Special League was launched in 1969, as the second competition in England. The 17 counties of the time played each other in a format on Sunday afternoons throughout the season. These matches were enough to be shown on television, with BBC2 broadcasting one match each week in full until the 1980s. For close finishes for the title, cameras appeared at the grounds where the contenders for the title were competing, Refuge Assurance replaced John Player Special as the sponsor of the competition in 1987 and then in 1988 started an end-of-season play-off competition known as the Refuge Assurance Cup. On Friday 5 July 1991, Somerset played Lancashire at Taunton in the first Sunday League match not to be played on a Sunday, the Sunday League was not sponsored in 1992, the year, but in 1993 AXA Equity and Law became the sponsor. The matches this season were 50 overs per innings, the first round of matches that took place on 9 May 1993 were the first official matches in England to be played in coloured clothing and with a white ball. The following season the competition reverted to 40 overs per innings, on Wednesday 23 July 1997 Warwickshire played Somerset at Edgbaston in the first competitive county game to be played under floodlights. The National League was launched in 1999 with the 18 first-class counties split into two divisions with three teams promoted and relegated from each, the matches were played over 45 overs and the competition was sponsored by Norwich Union. Matches were spread over the rather than Sundays only. The counties incorporated nicknames into their names for the National League. For example, Kent became the Spitfires, Middlesex the Crusaders, the following season the Scotland Saltires took part in the League until 2005. In 2006, the National League was renamed the NatWest Pro40 and was played in the part of the season with the teams playing each other once
Royal London One-Day Cup
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Royal London One-Day Cup logo
13.
Cricket clothing and equipment
–
Cricket clothing and equipment is regulated by the Laws of Cricket. Cricket clothing, known as whites, or flannels, is slightly loose fitting so as not to restrict players movements. Use of protective equipment, such as helmets, gloves and pads, is also regulated, collared shirt with short or long sleeves depending on the climate or personal preference. Jockstrap with cup pocket into which a box, or protective cup, is inserted, abdominal guard or box or an L Guard for male batsmen and wicket-keepers. It is usually constructed from high density plastic with a edge, shaped like a hollow half-pear. This is used to protect the genitals against impact from the ball, sun hats, cricket cap or baseball cap Spiked shoes to increase traction Helmet, worn by batsmen and fielders close to the batsman on strike to protect their heads. Leg pads, worn by the two batsmen and the wicket-keeper, used to protect the shin bone against impact from the ball, the wicket-keeping pads are slightly different from the batsmens. Fielders that are fielding in close to the batsmen may wear shin guards as well, thigh guard, arm guards, chest guard, and elbow guards to protect the body of the batsmen. Gloves for batsmen only, thickly padded above the fingers and on the thumb of the hand, usually includes webbing between the thumb and index fingers. Safety glasses, for wicket-keepers, to prevent damage to the eyes from dislodged bails impacting between the grill and peak of the helmet, batsmen are allowed to wear gloves while batting. The batsman can be caught out if the ball touches the glove instead of the bat. This is because the glove is considered to be the extension of the bat, the batsman may also wear protective helmets usually with a visor to protect themselves. Helmets are usually employed when facing fast bowlers, while playing spinners, it might not be employed. Fielders cannot use gloves to field the ball, if they wilfully use any part of their clothing to field the ball they may be penalised 5 penalty runs to the opposition. If the fielders are fielding close to the batsman, they are allowed to use helmets, as the wicket-keeper is positioned directly behind the batsman, and therefore has the ball bowled directly at him, he is the only fielder allowed to wear gloves and leg guards. Ball – A red, white or pink ball with a cork base, the ball should have a circumference of 9.1 in unless it is a childrens size. Bat – A wooden bat is used, the wood used is from the Kashmir or English willow tree. The bat cannot be more than 38 inches long and 4.25 inches wide, the bat has a long handle and one side has a smooth face
Cricket clothing and equipment
–
Australia Test Cricketer
Alan Fairfax wearing the traditional white sweater and the NSW XI cap.
Cricket clothing and equipment
–
A thigh pad, worn by batsmen
14.
County cricket
–
Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. County cricket started in the century, the earliest known inter-county match being played in 1709. The most successful county teams were Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, there was, however, often a crossover between town and county with some strong local clubs tending at times to represent a whole county. One of the best county teams in the late 18th century was Berkshire, the exception to this was the 1919 season, when there was an experiment with two-day matches played over longer hours, up to nine oclock in the evening in mid-summer. From 1988 to 1992 some matches were played over four days, from 1993 onward, all matches have been scheduled for four days. By 2008, many voices were heard questioning the future of the financial structure of many counties, poor attendances. However, doubts have been raised over many decades concerning viability, the eighteen English first-class counties are the main cricket teams in England. They are all named after historic English counties, although Glamorgan is a Welsh county, it is generally included when referring to the English first-class counties. The English first-class counties are, The full name of the team is usually formed from the name of the county followed by the words County Cricket Club. The opening first-class game of an English county cricket season has traditionally played at Lords between the MCC and the Champion County. When the Marylebone Cricket Club plays against one of the first-class counties, the six MCC-sponsored University teams, are also afforded first-class status for some of their matches against a first-class county. This is partly because the start of the season coincides with the end of the university academic year. The minor counties are the counties of England that are not afforded first-class status. Before this, it was common for a player to play for both counties during the course of a single season. That should any question arise as to the qualification, the same shall be left to the decision of the Marylebone Cricket Club. The County Championship is the domestic cricket competition in England. All of the first-class counties compete in a league format. The Royal London One-Day Cup is a 50 over one-day cricket competition in county cricket and it is played between the 18 English county sides from the end of July to the end of September
County cricket
–
Yorkshire v
Surrey at
Headingley,
Leeds in 2005
15.
Cricket
–
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a cricket field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch with a wicket at each end. One team bats, attempting to score as many runs as possible, each phase of play is called an innings. After either ten batsmen have been dismissed or a number of overs have been completed, the innings ends. The winning team is the one that scores the most runs, including any extras gained, at the start of each game, two batsmen and eleven fielders enter the field of play. The striker takes guard on a crease drawn on the four feet in front of the wicket. His role is to prevent the ball hitting the stumps by use of his bat. The other batsman, known as the non-striker, waits at the end of the pitch near the bowler. A dismissed batsman must leave the field, and a teammate replaces him, the bowlers objectives are to prevent the scoring of runs and to dismiss the batsman. An over is a set of six deliveries bowled by the same bowler, the next over is bowled from the other end of the pitch by a different bowler. If a fielder retrieves the ball enough to put down the wicket with a batsman not having reached the crease at that end of the pitch. Adjudication is performed on the field by two umpires, the laws of cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council and the Marylebone Cricket Club. Traditionally cricketers play in all-white kit, but in limited overs cricket they wear club or team colours. In addition to the kit, some players wear protective gear to prevent injury caused by the ball. Although crickets origins are uncertain, it is first recorded in south-east England in the 16th century and it spread globally with the expansion of the British Empire, leading to the first international matches in the mid-19th century. ICC, the governing body, has over 100 members. The sport is followed primarily in Australasia, Britain, the Indian subcontinent, southern Africa, womens cricket, which is organised and played separately, has also achieved international standard. A number of words have been suggested as sources for the term cricket, in the earliest definite reference to the sport in 1598 it is called creckett. One possible source for the name is the Old English cricc or cryce meaning a crutch or staff, in Samuel Johnsons Dictionary, he derived cricket from cryce, Saxon, a stick
Cricket
–
A
bowler bowling to a
batsman. The paler strip is the
cricket pitch. The two sets of three wooden stumps on the pitch are the
wickets. The two white lines are the
creases.
Cricket
–
Francis Cotes, The Young Cricketer, 1768
Cricket
–
The first English team to tour overseas, on board ship to North America, 1859
Cricket
–
Don Bradman of
Australia had a Test average of 99.94 and an overall first-class average of 95.14, records unmatched by any other player.
16.
Wales
–
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
Wales
–
Bryn Celli Ddu, a late Neolithic chambered tomb on Anglesey
Wales
–
Flag
Wales
–
This article is about the country. For other uses, see
Wales (disambiguation).
Wales
–
Coin of
Magnus Maximus
17.
Historic counties of England
–
The historic counties of England were established for administration by the Normans, in most cases based on earlier kingdoms and shires established by the Anglo-Saxons and others. They ceased to be used for administration with the creation of the counties in 1889. They are alternatively known as ancient counties or traditional counties, where they are not included among the modern counties of England they are also known as former counties. Counties were used initially for the administration of justice, collection of taxes and organisation of the military and they continue to form the basis of modern local government in many parts of the country away from the main urban areas, although sometimes with considerably altered boundaries. The name of a county often gives a clue to how it was formed, either as a division took its name from a centre of administration. The majority of English counties are in the first category, with the name formed by combining the central town with the suffix -shire, for example Yorkshire. Former kingdoms, which became earldoms in the united England did not feature this formulation, so for Kent, Counties ending in the suffix -sex are also in this category and are former Saxon kingdoms. Many of these names are formed from compass directions, the third category includes counties such as Cornwall and Devon where the name corresponds to the tribes who inhabited the area. County Durham is anomalous in terms of naming and origin, not falling into any of the three categories, instead it was a diocese that was turned into the County Palatine of Durham, ruled by the Bishop of Durham. The expected form would otherwise be Durhamshire, but it was rarely used, there are customary abbreviations for many of the counties. In most cases these consist of simple truncation, usually with an s at the end signifying shire, some abbreviations are not obvious, such as Salop for Shropshire, Oxon for Oxfordshire, Hants for Hampshire and Northants for Northamptonshire. Counties were often prefixed with County of in official contexts, such as County of Kent and those counties named after central towns lost the -shire suffix, for example Yorkshire would be known as County of York. This usage was sometimes followed even where there was no town by that name, the -shire suffix was also appended for some counties, such as Devonshire, Dorsetshire and Somersetshire, despite their origin. There is still a Duke of Devonshire, Great Britain was first divided into administrative areas by the Romans, most likely following major geographical features such as rivers. Before their arrival there were distinct tribal areas, but they were in a constant state of flux as territory was gained, the areas that would later form the English counties started to take shape soon afterwards, with the Kingdom of Kent founded by settlers around 445. Once the Kingdom of England was united as a whole in 927 it became necessary to subdivide it for convenience and to this end. The whole kingdom was divided into shires by the time of the Norman conquest, robert of Gloucester accounts for thirty-five shires and William of Malmesbury thirty-two, Henry of Huntingdon, thirty-seven. In most cases the counties or shires in medieval times were administered by a sheriff on behalf of the monarch, after the Norman conquest the sheriff was replaced and the shires became counties, or areas under the control of a count, in the French manner
Historic counties of England
–
Map of the English and Welsh counties in 1824
Historic counties of England
–
Counties of England in 1851 with major rivers, the
ridings of Yorkshire, and the
remaining exclaves shown
Historic counties of England
–
This (rather inaccurate) 1814 map shows
Dudley in a
detached part of
Worcestershire surrounded by
Staffordshire. Note the detached portion of
Shropshire (the parish of
Halesowen), just to the south-east and part of Staffordshire (
Broome and
Clent) to the south-west as well.
Historic counties of England
–
The ancient county boundaries of
Warwickshire covered a larger area than the county in 1974 (in green).
18.
Gloucestershire
–
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the fertile valley of the River Severn. The county town is the city of Gloucester, and other towns include Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud. Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century, though the areas of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire originally included Bristol, then a small town. The local rural community moved to the city, and Bristols population growth accelerated during the industrial revolution. Bristol became a county in its own right, separate from Gloucestershire and it later became part of the administrative County of Avon from 1974 to 1996. Upon the abolition of Avon in 1996, the north of Bristol became a unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire and is now part of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire. The official former postal county abbreviation was Glos, rather than the frequently used but erroneous Gloucs. or Glouc. In July 2007, Gloucestershire suffered the worst flooding in recorded British history, the RAF conducted the largest peace time domestic operation in its history to rescue over 120 residents from flood affected areas. The damage was estimated at over £2 billion, the county recovered rapidly from the disaster, investing in attracting tourists to visit the many sites and diverse range of shops in the area. This is a chart of trend of gross value added of Gloucestershire at current basic prices published by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Gloucestershire has mainly comprehensive schools with seven schools, two are in Stroud, one in Cheltenham and four in Gloucester. There are 42 state secondary schools, not including sixth form colleges, all but about two schools in each district have a sixth form, but the Forest of Dean only has two schools with sixth forms. All schools in South Gloucestershire have sixth forms, each has campuses at multiple locations throughout the county. Most of the old market towns have parish churches, at Deerhurst near Tewkesbury, and Bishops Cleeve near Cheltenham, there are churches of special interest on account of the pre-Norman work they retain. These are, however, adjudged to be of English workmanship, other notable buildings include Calcot Barn in Calcot, a relic of Kingswood Abbey. Thornbury Castle is a Tudor country house, the pretensions of which evoked the jealousy of Cardinal Wolsey against its builder, Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham, near Cheltenham is the 15th-century mansion of Southam de la Bere, of timber and stone. Memorials of the de la Bere family appear in the church at Cleeve, the mansion contains a tiled floor from Hailes Abbey
Gloucestershire
–
A campus of the
University of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
–
Flag
Gloucestershire
–
Parish Church of St. Mary, Fairford
Gloucestershire
–
Zoo
19.
W. G. Grace
–
William Gilbert W. G. Grace, MRCS, LRCP was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest-ever players. Universally known as W. G. Right-handed as both batsman and bowler, Grace dominated the sport during his career and his technical innovations and enormous influence left a lasting legacy. An outstanding all-rounder, he excelled at all the skills of batting, bowling and fielding. He is held to have invented modern batsmanship, usually opening the innings, he was particularly admired for his mastery of all strokes, and his level of expertise was said by contemporary reviewers to be unique. He generally captained the teams he played for at all levels because of his skill, Grace came from a cricketing family, E. M. Grace was one of his elder brothers and Fred Grace his younger brother. In 1880, they were members of the same England team, Grace took part in other sports also, he was a champion 440-yard hurdler as a young man and played football for the Wanderers. In later life, he developed enthusiasm for golf, lawn bowls and he qualified as a medical practitioner in 1879. Because of his profession, he was nominally an amateur cricketer. He was a competitive player and, although he was one of the most famous men in England, he was also one of the most controversial on account of his gamesmanship. W. G. Grace was born in Downend, near Bristol, on 18 July 1848 at his parents home, Downend House, and was baptised at the local church on 8 August. He was called Gilbert in the circle, except by his mother who called him Willie. His parents were Henry Mills Grace and Martha, who were married in Bristol on Thursday,3 November 1831 and lived out their lives at Downend, where Henry Grace was the local GP. Downend is near Mangotsfield and, although it is now a suburb of Bristol, it was then a village surrounded by countryside. Henry and Martha Grace had nine children in all, the number as Victoria and Albert –. Grace was the child in the family, he had three older brothers, including E. M. and four older sisters. Only Fred, born in 1850, was younger than W. G. Grace began his Cricketing Reminiscences by answering a question he had frequently been asked, i. e. was he born a cricketer. His answer was in the negative because he believed that cricketers are made by coaching and practice, though he adds that if he was not born a cricketer and his father and mother were full of enthusiasm for the game and it was a common theme of conversation at home. All nine children in the Grace family, including the four daughters, were encouraged to play cricket although the girls, Grace claimed that he first handled a cricket bat at the age of two
W. G. Grace
–
Portrait of Grace by
Herbert Rose Barraud.
W. G. Grace
–
An 1877 illustration of Grace by
Leslie Ward emphasises his trademark beard and MCC cap
W. G. Grace
–
Grace in 1885
20.
Captain (cricket)
–
The captain of a cricket team, often referred to as the skipper, is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of the other players. Before the game the captains toss for innings, during the match the captain decides the teams batting order, who will bowl each over, and where each fielder will be positioned. While the captain has the final say, decisions are often collaborative, a captains knowledge of the complexities of cricket strategy and tactics, and shrewdness in the field, may contribute significantly to the teams success. Before the start of a match the captain tosses a coin. The captain who wins the toss is given the choice of whether to bat or bowl first, the decision usually depends on the condition of the pitch and whether it is likely to deteriorate, the weather conditions and the weather forecast. The decision also depends on the strengths of the teams batting and bowling. Similarly a side with a weak opening batting pair may choose to bowl first in order to protect their batsmen, the captain decides where the fielders will stand, in consultation with the bowler and sometimes other senior players. The fielding positions will usually be dictated by the type of bowler, the batting style. The captain decides when each bowler will bowl, if the regular bowlers are not achieving the desired results, the captain may decide to use non-regular bowlers to attempt to unsettle the batsmen. The captain may also change the bowlers around to introduce variation, in the longer forms of cricket, when a new ball becomes available the captain decides whether to use it. When the team bats, the captain decides the batting order, in professional cricket the captain usually changes the established batting order only for exceptional reasons, because batsmen tend to specialise in batting at certain positions. However, in certain circumstances it may be in the teams interest to change the batting order, if quick runs are needed, a naturally attacking batsman may be promoted up the order. A player who is in form may be promoted to a higher batting position, if the nightwatchman does get out, the cost of losing a late wicket will have been minimised, because the specialist batsman is still available to bat. In a two-innings match, if the situation arises the captain decides whether to impose the follow-on, the captain is also consulted on whether an injured batsman from the opposing team may use a runner when batting. Permission is usually if the batsman has become injured during the course of the match. As well as decisions taken either immediately before or during a match, for instance, they may decide when the team is to practise, and for how long. Prior to July 2015, the captain was responsible for deciding when to take batting and bowling powerplays in limited overs matches, the captain may be assisted by a vice-captain. This is particularly useful if the captain is forced to leave the field of play during fielding, some teams also allocate the vice-captain a more or less formal role in assisting with team selection, discipline, field-setting and so on
Captain (cricket)
–
Ricky Ponting, former captain of the
Australia Test, ODI, and T20I cricket teams.
Captain (cricket)
–
Steve Smith, current captain of
Australia's Test and ODI cricket team.
Captain (cricket)
–
Michael Clarke, former captain of the
Australia Test, ODI, and T20I cricket teams.
Captain (cricket)
–
David Warner, current vice-captain of
Australia.
21.
Marylebone Cricket Club
–
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London, founded in 1787. It owns, and is based at, Lords in St Johns Wood, MCC was formerly the governing body of cricket both in England and Wales as well as worldwide. In 1993 many of its functions were transferred to the International Cricket Council and its English governance passed to the Test. MCC revised the Laws of Cricket in 1788 and continues to reissue them, since its foundation, the club has raised its own teams which are essentially occasional and have never taken part in any formal competition. Depending on the quality of the opposition in any match, MCC teams have held important match status from 1787 to 1894. MCC has never played in a List A match, MCC teams play many matches against minor opposition and, on these occasions, they relinquish their first-class status. Traditionally, to mark the beginning of each English season in April, MCC plays the reigning County Champions at Lords, the exact date of MCCs foundation is lost but seems to have been sometime in the late spring or the summer of 1787. Many of its members became dissatisfied with the surroundings and complained that the site was too public. They asked Thomas Lord, a bowler at the White Conduit, to secure a more private venue within easy distance of London. When Lord opened his new ground in May 1787, the White Conduit moved there, there was a match at Lords starting on 30 July 1787 titled Marylebone Cricket Club v White Conduit Club. The England touring team wore the red and yellow stripes of the Marylebone Cricket Club as their colours for the last time on the tour to New Zealand in 1996/97. The true provenance of MCCs colours is unknown, but its players often turned out sporting Sky Blue, until well into the 19th century. Another theory, which chimes with the origins, is that MCC borrowed its colours from the livery colours of a founding patron, Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond. Although MCC remains the framer and copyright holder of the Laws of Cricket, in recent times the ICC has begun instituting changes to match regulations without much consultation with MCC. Also, in moving its location from Lords to Dubai, the ICC gave a signal of breaking with the past and from MCC, changes to the laws of cricket are still made by the MCC. Any changes to these require a resolution of the MCC committee. MCC has long had an involvement in coaching the game of cricket. As of 2013 the clubs head coach Mark Alleyne heads an operation involving the running of an indoor-cricket school
Marylebone Cricket Club
–
A plaque in Dorset Square marks the site of the original Lord's Ground and commemorates the founding of the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
–
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
–
MCC coaching manuals over the years
Marylebone Cricket Club
–
MCC member in distinctive MCC colours
22.
Limited overs cricket
–
The name reflects the rule that in the match each team bowls a set maximum number of overs, usually between 20 and 50, although shorter and longer forms of limited overs cricket have been played. Each team bats only once, and each innings is limited to a set number of overs, usually fifty in a One Day International, List A is a classification of the limited-overs form of cricket, technically as the domestic level. As mentioned above, in almost all competitive games, a restriction is placed on the number of overs that may be bowled by any one bowler. This is to prevent a side playing two top-class bowlers with extremely good stamina who can bowl throughout their opponents innings, the usual limitation is set so that a side must include at least five players who bowl. For example, the limit for twenty-over cricket is four overs per bowler, for forty-over cricket eight per bowler. There are exceptions, Pro Cricket in the United States restricts bowlers to five overs each, thus leaving a side requiring only four bowlers. The idea for a one-day, limited 50-over cricket tournament, was first played in the match of the All India Pooja Cricket Tournament in 1951 in the small town of Thrippunithura in Kerala. It is thought to be the child of KV Kelappan Thampuran, a former cricketer. The one day limited over cricket game was adapted and played between English county teams for the first instance on 2 May 1962. Leicestershire beat Derbyshire and Northamptonshire beat Nottinghamshire over 65 overs in the Midlands Knock-Out Cup, the following year, the first full-scale one-day competition between first-class teams was played, the knock-out Gillette Cup, won by Sussex. The number of overs was reduced to 60 for the 1964 season, League one-day cricket also began in England, when the John Player Sunday League was started in 1969 with forty over matches. Both these competitions have continued every season since inauguration, though the sponsorship has changed, there is now one 50 over competition, which is called the Royal London One-Day Cup. The first Limited Overs International or One-Day International match was played in Melbourne in 1971, for more details, see History of cricket. Twenty20, a form of one-day cricket with 20 overs per side, was first played in England in 2003. It has proven popular, and several Twenty20 matches have been played between national teams. It makes several changes to the laws of cricket, including the addition of a bowl-out to decide the result of tied matches. Every four years, the Cricket World Cup involves all the Test-playing nations and it usually consists of round-robin stages, followed by semi-finals and a final. The International Cricket Council determines the venue far in advance, the ICC Champions Trophy also involves all the Test-playing nations, and is held between World Cups
Limited overs cricket
–
The
Melbourne Cricket Ground hosts an
ODI match between Australia and India. The two players in yellow are the
batsmen and those in blue are the fielding team.
Limited overs cricket
–
A day match at
Bellerive Oval
Limited overs cricket
–
Queensland Bulls versus
Victorian Bushrangers in a one-day match at the
Brisbane Cricket Ground (The Gabba), Queensland, Australia
23.
Twenty20
–
Twenty20 cricket, sometimes written Twenty-20, and often abbreviated to T20, is a short form of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2003 for the inter-county competition in England. In a Twenty20 game the two teams have a single innings each, which is restricted to a maximum of 20 overs, a typical Twenty20 game is completed in about three hours, with each innings lasting around 75–90 minutes and a 10–20-minute interval. This is much shorter than previously-existing forms of the game, and is closer to the timespan of other team sports. It was introduced to create a form of the game which would be attractive to spectators at the ground. Since its inception the game has very successful resulting in its spread around the cricket world. On most international tours there is at least one Twenty20 match, the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 was played in South Africa in 2007 with India winning by five runs against Pakistan in the final. Pakistan won the tournament in 2009, and England won the title in the West Indies 2010. West Indies won in 2012, with Sri Lanka winning the 2014 tournament, West Indies are the reigning champions, winning the 2016 competition, and in doing so, became the first nation to win the tournament twice. When the Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the ECB needed another one day competition to fill its place, cricketing authorities were looking to boost the games popularity with the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship. It was intended to deliver fast paced, exciting cricket accessible to thousands of fans who were put off by the versions of the game. Stuart Robertson, the manager of the ECB, proposed a 20 over per innings game to county chairmen in 2001. The first official Twenty20 matches were played on 13 June 2003 between the English counties in the Twenty20 Cup, the first season of Twenty20 in England was a relative success, with the Surrey Lions defeating the Warwickshire Bears by 9 wickets in the final to claim the title. Thirteen teams from different parts of the participated in Pakistans inaugural competition in 2004. On 12 January 2005 Australias first Twenty20 game was played at the WACA Ground between the Western Warriors and the Victorian Bushrangers and it drew a sell-out crowd of 20,000, which was the first time in nearly 25 years the ground had been completely sold out. Starting 11 July 200619 West Indies regional teams competed in what was named the Stanford 20/20 tournament, the event was financially backed by billionaire Allen Stanford, who gave at least US$28,000,000 funding money. It was intended that the tournament would be an annual event, guyana won the inaugural event, defeating Trinidad and Tobago by 5 wickets, securing US$1,000,000 in prize money. On 5 January 2007 Queensland Bulls played the New South Wales Blues at The Gabba, a crowd of 11,000 was expected based on pre-match ticket sales
Twenty20
–
A Twenty20 match between
England and
Sri Lanka at the
Rose Bowl on 15 June 2006
Twenty20
–
Former
England batsman
Andrew Strauss batting for
Middlesex against
Surrey
Twenty20
–
Twenty20 matches can have some exciting displays such as when Batsmen run out to the pitch
Twenty20
–
Middlesex playing against
Surrey at
Lord's, in front of a 28,000-strong crowd
24.
Bishopston, Bristol
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Bishopston is both a council ward of the city of Bristol, England, and a suburb of the city that falls within that ward. Bishopston is around Gloucester Road, the main arterial road in the city. The ward includes St Bonaventures and Ashley Down parishes, as well as part of Horfield and it is linked with KV Kuppam in Tamil Nadu, India. Bishopston is in the Bristol West parliamentary constituency and elects two City Councillors, the sale was even raised as an issue in the House of Commons. The parish of Bishopston was then created in July 1862 with a population of 1300, in the Census 2001 Bishopston registered a resident population of 11,996. The district is part of the Bristol built-up area, having been swallowed by the city, running directly into the surrounding districts of Redland, Ashley Down, Horfield. The area has a large student population, with 21% of the over 16 population in education compared to 8. 4% in Bristol and 5. 1% in England. The area is known for but now diminishing huge Italian, Irish, some of the location filming for the cult BBC sitcom The Young Ones was done in Codrington Road and elsewhere. The external shots for the famous bank-robbing scene in the last episode were filmed outside the now closed Bristol North Swimming Baths on Gloucester Road, Bishopston was the home of two Nobel Prize–winning physicists. In 1933 Paul Dirac, who attended the Bishop Road Primary School just a few hundred metres from where he lived on Monk Road, DJ Collective Stanton Warriors and International DJ Nick Warren. Juventus and Italian footballer Alessandro Del Piero also lived in the district for a period as a child when his farther worked as a restaurateur in the thriving Italian community that lives there. Although the famous film star Cary Grant, spent his childhood in neighbouring Horfield, Bishopston has two Primary schools St. The main artery, Gloucester Road is well known for its pubs and restaurants, in addition to the independently run shops such as Scoopaway, La Ruca, Gardeners Patch and Harvest, recent years has seen several supermarket chains opening stores in the area. This, and the range of fairly traded and local goods available, has made it popular with ecologically-minded shoppers, Bishopston is home to Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, located off Nevil Road. The grounds capacity has increased to hold international cricket matches. The David Thomas Memorial church, in neighbouring St Andrews, was erected 1879 –1881, the building still retains a thin octagonal spire and west front but the massive halls, apse and rib vaults have now gone in favour of flats by Stride Treglown. The area of Ashley Down is divided between the Bishopston and Ashley wards of the city of Bristol, the Brunel campus of City of Bristol College lies within the Bishopston ward as does the Brunel Field site of Ashley Down Junior School, which opened in 2011. A section of Horfield also lies within the boundaries of the Bishopston ward, part of Horfield Common, as well as the Memorial Stadium, home of Bristol Rovers and Bristol Rugby, lies within the ward
Bishopston, Bristol
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Bristol North swimming baths and The Bristol Flyer Pub
Bishopston, Bristol
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Boundaries of the Council Ward, shown within Bristol.
Bishopston, Bristol
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Gloucester Road, the main route through Bishopston, is known for its independent shops.
25.
Bristol
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Bristol is a city and county in South West England with a population of 449,300 in 2016. The district has the 10th largest population in England, while the Bristol metropolitan area is the 12th largest in the United Kingdom, the city borders North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, with the cities of Bath and Gloucester to the south-east and north-east, respectively. Iron Age hill forts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon, Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373, when it became a county of itself. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities after London in tax receipts, Bristol was surpassed by the rapid rise of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham in the Industrial Revolution. Bristol was a place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. On a ship out of Bristol in 1497 John Cabot, a Venetian, in 1499 William Weston, a Bristol merchant, was the first Englishman to lead an exploration to North America. At the height of the Bristol slave trade, from 1700 to 1807, the Port of Bristol has since moved from Bristol Harbour in the city centre to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock. Bristols modern economy is built on the media, electronics and aerospace industries. The city has the largest circulating community currency in the U. K. - the Bristol pound, which is pegged to the Pound sterling. It is connected to London and other major UK cities by road, rail, sea and air by the M5 and M4, Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway mainline rail stations, and Bristol Airport. The Sunday Times named it as the best city in Britain in which to live in 2014 and 2017, the most ancient recorded name for Bristol is the archaic Welsh Caer Odor, which is consistent with modern understanding that early Bristol developed between the River Frome and Avon Gorge. It is most commonly stated that the Saxon name Bricstow was a calque of the existing Celtic name, with Bric a literal translation of Odor. Alternative etymologies are supported with the numerous variations in Medieval documents with Samuel Seyer enumerating 47 alternative forms. The Old English form Brycgstow is commonly used to derive the meaning place at the bridge, utilizing another form, Brastuile, Rev. Dr. Shaw derived the name from the Celtic words bras, or braos and tuile. The poet Thomas Chatterton popularised a derivation from Brictricstow linking the town to Brictric and it appears that the form Bricstow prevailed until 1204, and the Bristolian L is what eventually changed the name to Bristol. Iron Age hill forts near the city are at Leigh Woods and Clifton Down, on the side of the Avon Gorge, a Roman settlement, Abona, existed at what is now Sea Mills, another was at the present-day Inns Court. Isolated Roman villas and small forts and settlements were scattered throughout the area. Bristol was founded by 1000, by about 1020, it was a centre with a mint producing silver pennies bearing its name
Bristol
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Bristol
Bristol
Bristol
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Black and white etching showing the towers of
St Stephen's Church,
St Augustine the Less Church and
Bristol Cathedral, published c.1850
Bristol
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West front of Bristol Cathedral
26.
Cheltenham
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The town hosts several festivals of culture, often featuring nationally and internationally famous contributors and attendees. As the home of the race of British steeplechase horse racing. Cheltenham stands on the small River Chelt, which rises nearby at Dowdeswell, as a royal manor, it features in the earliest pages of the Gloucestershire section of Domesday Book where it is named Chintenha. The town was awarded a charter in 1226. Though little remains of its history, Cheltenham has been a health. Captain Henry Skillicorne, is credited with being the first entrepreneur to recognise the opportunity to exploit the mineral springs, the retired master mariner became co-owner of the property containing Cheltenhams first mineral spring upon his 1732 marriage to Elizabeth Mason. Her father, William Mason, had little in his lifetime to promote the healing properties of the mineral water apart from limited advertising and building a small enclosure over the spring. Skillicornes wide travels as a merchant had prepared him to see the potential lying dormant on this inherited property, after moving to Cheltenham in 1738, he immediately began improvements intended to attract visitors to his spa. He built a pump to regulate the flow of water and erected an elaborate well-house complete with a ballroom, the beautiful walks and gardens were naturally adorned with sweeping vistas of the countryside. Soon the gentry and nobility from across the county were enticed to come, the visit of George III with the queen and royal princesses in 1788 set a stamp of fashion on the spa. Cheltenhams success as a spa town is reflected in the station, which is still called Cheltenham Spa. Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll were regular visitors to a house in Cudnall Street, horse racing began in Cheltenham in 1815, and became a major national attraction after the establishment of the Festival in 1902. Most of this materiel was reshipped to the continent for and after the D-Day invasion, lee and his primary staff had offices and took residence at Thirlestaine Hall in Cheltenham. On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, four parishes—Swindon Village, Up Hatherley, Leckhampton and Prestbury—were added to the borough of Cheltenham from the borough of Tewkesbury in 1991. The first British jet aircraft prototype, the Gloster E. 28/39, was manufactured in Cheltenham, manufacturing started in Hucclecote near Gloucester, but was later moved to Regent Motors in Cheltenham High Street, considered a location safer from bombing during the Second World War. Cheltenham Borough Council is the authority for Cheltenham, which is split into 20 wards. Since 2002 elections have been every two years with half of the councillors elected at each election. The Doughnut, the office of the British Government Communications Headquarters is located in Cheltenham
Cheltenham
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Cheltenham from
Leckhampton Hill
Cheltenham
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Cheltenham in 1933
Cheltenham
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'
The Doughnut ', the headquarters of
GCHQ
Cheltenham
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Cavendish House department store on the Promenade.
27.
Gloucester
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Gloucester is a city and district in southwest England, the county city of Gloucestershire. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, on the River Severn, Gloucester was founded in AD97 by the Romans under Emperor Nerva as Colonia Glevum Nervensis, and was granted its first charter in 1155 by King Henry II. Economically, the city is dominated by the industries, and has a strong financial and business sector. The origins of the name Gloucester can be traced to Caerloyw in the modern Welsh, there are various appellations in history such as Caer Glow, Gleawecastre, Gleucestre as an early British settlement is not confirmed by direct evidence. However, Gloucester was the Roman municipality of Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or Glevum, parts of the walls can be traced, and a number of remains and coins have been found, though inscriptions are scarce. In Historia Brittonum, an account of the early rulers of Britain, Vortigerns grandfather. Part of the foundations of Roman Gloucester can be today in Eastgate Street, while Roman tombstones. After the withdrawal on the Roman Empire in the late 4th Century the town returned to the control of Celtic Dubonni tribe. By the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Gloucester is shown as part of Wessex from the Battle of Deorham in 577 until 584, Gloucester was captured by the Saxons in 577. In the early 10th century the remains of Saint Oswald were brought to a church in Gloucester. The core street layout is thought to date back to the reign of Ethelfleda in late Saxon times. In 1051 Edward the Confessor held court at Gloucester and was threatened there by a led by Godwin, Earl of Wessex. A unique coin, dated to 1077–80, was discovered, just north of the city and it features the name of the moneyer Silacwine and its place of minting. The Portable Antiquities Scheme said that, until the coin was discovered, after the Norman Conquest, William Rufus made Robert Fitzhamon the first baron or overlord of Gloucester. Fitzhamon had a base at Cardiff Castle, and for the succeeding years the history of Gloucester was closely linked to that of Cardiff. During the Anarchy, Gloucester was a centre of support for the Empress Matilda who was supported in her claim to the throne by her half-brother, Fitzhamons grandson, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester. The story of the Anarchy is vividly told in a series of paintings by William Burges at the Castle. King Henry II granted Gloucester its first charter in 1155, which gave the burgesses the same liberties as the citizens of London, a a second charter of Henry II gave them freedom of passage on the River Severn
Gloucester
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Gloucester and its cathedral
Gloucester
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Kip 's West prospect of Gloucester, c. 1725, emphasises the causeway and bridges traversing the water meadows of the floodplain.
Gloucester
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Gloucester in 1805
Gloucester
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Gloucester Docks at night
28.
Archdeacon Meadow
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Archdeacon Meadow is a cricket ground in Gloucester, England. The land is owned by The Kings School, the ground was first used by the Gloucestershire 1st XI in 1993. In 2008, the ground will host a County Championship match against Warwickshire, the ground has hosted 14 first-class matches and 11 List A matches. Game Information, Game Statistics, first-class, Game Statistics, one-day matches, Cricinfo Website - Ground Page Cricket Archive page
Archdeacon Meadow
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Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire, 2007
29.
Wally Hammond
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Walter Reginald Wally Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning as a professional, he became an amateur and was appointed captain of England. Primarily a middle-order batsman, Wisden Cricketers Almanack described him in his obituary as one of the four best batsmen in the history of cricket. He was considered to be the best English batsman of the 1930s by commentators, Hammond was an effective fast-medium pace bowler and contemporaries believed that if he had been less reluctant to bowl, he could have achieved even more with the ball than he did. In a Test career spanning 85 matches, he scored 7,249 runs, Hammond captained England in 20 of those Tests, winning four, losing three, and drawing 13. In 1933, he set a record for the highest individual Test innings of 336 not out, in all first-class cricket, he scored 50,551 runs and 167 centuries, respectively the seventh and third highest totals by a first-class cricketer as of 2015. With the ball, he took 732 wickets, although Hammond began his career in 1920, he was required to wait until 1923 before he could play full-time, after his qualification to play for Gloucestershire was challenged. He began to score heavily after his recovery in 1927 and was selected for England, in the 1928–29 series against Australia he scored 905 runs, then a record aggregate for a Test series. He dominated county cricket in the 1930s and, despite a slump in Test form, was made captain of England in 1938. He continued as captain after the Second World War, but his health had deteriorated and he appeared in two more first-class matches in the early 1950s. Hammond was married twice, divorcing his first wife in acrimonious circumstances and his relationships with other players were difficult, team-mates and opponents alike found him hard to get along with. He was unsuccessful in business dealings and failed to establish a successful career once he retired from cricket and he moved to South Africa in the 1950s in an attempt to start a business, but this came to nothing. As a result, he and his family struggled financially, shortly after beginning a career as a sports administrator, he was involved in a serious car crash in 1960 which left him frail. He died of an attack in 1965. Hammond was born on 19 June 1903 in Dover and his parents, William—a corporal in the Royal Garrison Artillery—and Marion Hammond, lived in the married quarters at Dover Castle where Walter was born. They had wed the previous December, Hammond spent his early years in Dover, often playing cricket. When he was five years old, his father was posted to Hong Kong to serve on the China Station, the family remained there until 1911, followed by a posting to Malta until 1914. Hammond later recalled playing cricket in Malta using improvised equipment, including a soldiers old bat which he believed him to strike the ball powerfully
Wally Hammond
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Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
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Lord Harris, who was instrumental in Hammond's being unable to play for Gloucestershire in 1922, in his playing days
Wally Hammond
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Sydney Cricket Ground during a cricket match in the 1930s. Hammond scored many runs at Sydney, and it was a favourite venue of his.
Wally Hammond
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Donald Bradman, the best batsman in the world during most of Hammond's career, who in 1930 broke Hammond's record for most runs in a Test series. Hammond later became obsessed with being more successful than Bradman.
Gareth Roderick
Michael Klinger
Thisara Perera
denotes players with international caps.
New Zealand
