1.
Edinburgh
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Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 local government council areas. Located in Lothian on the Firth of Forths southern shore, it is Scotlands second most populous city and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The 2014 official population estimates are 464,990 for the city of Edinburgh,492,680 for the authority area. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Parliament and it is the largest financial centre in the UK after London. Historically part of Midlothian, the city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, literature, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582 and now one of four in the city, was placed 17th in the QS World University Rankings in 2013 and 2014. The city is famous for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe. The citys historical and cultural attractions have made it the United Kingdoms second most popular tourist destination after London, attracting over one million overseas visitors each year. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, Edinburghs Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. It appears to derive from the place name Eidyn mentioned in the Old Welsh epic poem Y Gododdin, the poem names Din Eidyn as a hill fort in the territory of the Gododdin. The Celtic element din was dropped and replaced by the Old English burh, the first documentary evidence of the medieval burgh is a royal charter, c. 1124–1127, by King David I granting a toft in burgo meo de Edenesburg to the Priory of Dunfermline. In modern Gaelic, the city is called Dùn Èideann, the earliest known human habitation in the Edinburgh area was at Cramond, where evidence was found of a Mesolithic camp site dated to c.8500 BC. Traces of later Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements have found on Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat, Craiglockhart Hill. When the Romans arrived in Lothian at the end of the 1st century AD, at some point before the 7th century AD, the Gododdin, who were presumably descendants of the Votadini, built the hill fort of Din Eidyn or Etin. Although its location has not been identified, it likely they would have chosen a commanding position like the Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat. In 638, the Gododdin stronghold was besieged by forces loyal to King Oswald of Northumbria and it thenceforth remained under their jurisdiction. The royal burgh was founded by King David I in the early 12th century on land belonging to the Crown, in 1638, King Charles Is attempt to introduce Anglican church forms in Scotland encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In the 17th century, Edinburghs boundaries were defined by the citys defensive town walls
2.
Fast bowling
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Fast bowling is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners are usually known as fast or pace bowlers, quicks and they also often referred to as swing or seam bowlers to reflect their preferred fast bowling technique. A typical fast delivery has a speed in the range of 137–153 km/h, most fast bowlers will specialise in one of these two areas and will sometimes be categorised as swing or seam bowler. For simplicity, it is common to subdivide fast bowlers according to the speed of their deliveries. There is a degree of subjectivity in the usage of terms, for example, Cricinfo uses the terms fast-medium and medium-fast interchangeably. For comparison, most spin bowlers in professional cricket bowl at speeds of 70 to 90 km/h. The image to the shows the correct grip. The first two fingers and the thumb should hold the ball forward of the rest of the hand, the ball is held quite loosely so that it leaves the hand easily. Other grips are possible, and result in different balls – see swing, the bowler usually holds their other hand over the hand gripping the ball until the latest possible moment so that the batsman cannot see what type of ball is being bowled. A fast bowler needs to take a longer run-up toward the wicket than a spinner, due to the need to generate the momentum, fast bowlers will measure their preferred run up in strides and mark the distance from the wicket. It is important for the bowler to know exactly how long his or her run-up is because it must terminate behind the popping crease, at the end of the run-up the bowler will bring his lead foot down on the pitch with the knee as straight as possible. This aids in generating speed but can be due to the pressure placed on the joint by this action. Knee injuries are not uncommon amongst fast bowlers, for example, the pressure on the leading foot is such that some fast bowlers cut the front off their shoes to stop their toes from being injured as they are repeatedly pressed against the inside of the shoe. The bowler will bring their bowling arm up over their head. Again, the arm must be straight although this is a stipulation of the laws of cricket rather than an aid to speed, bending the elbow and chucking the ball would make it too easy for the bowler to aim accurately at the batsmans wicket and get them out. Fast bowlers tend to have an action that leaves them either side-on or chest-on at the end of the run up, west Indian bowler Malcolm Marshall was a classic example of a chest-on bowler, while Australian pace bowler Dennis Lillee used a side-on technique to great effect. While a bowlers action does not affect their bowling speed, it can limit the style of balls that they can bowl, although this is not a hard and fast rule, side-on bowlers generally bowl outswingers, and chest-on bowlers generally bowl inswingers. A variant on the fast bowlers action is the sling, where the bowler begins his delivery with his or her arm extended behind their back
3.
Bowling (cricket)
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In the sport of cricket bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler, a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder, Bowling the ball is distinguished from throwing the ball by a strictly specified biomechanical definition which restricts the angle of extension of the elbow. A single act of bowling the ball towards the batsman is called a ball or a delivery, bowlers bowl deliveries in sets of six, called an over. Once a bowler has bowled their over, one of their mates will bowl an over from the other end of the pitch. The Laws of Cricket govern how a ball must be bowled, if a ball is bowled illegally, an umpire will rule it a no ball. If a ball is bowled too wide of the striker for the batsman to be able to play at it with a cricket shot. A spin bowler delivers the ball quite slowly and puts spin on the ball. In the early days of cricket, underarm bowling was the method employed. Many theories exist about the origins of cricket, one suggests that the game began among shepherds hitting a stone or a ball of wool with their crooks and, at the same time, defending the wicket gate into the sheep-fold. A second theory suggests the name came from a low stool known as a cricket in England, there is also a reference to criquet in North-East France in 1478 and evidence that the game evolved in South-East England in the Middle Ages. In 1706 William Goldwyn published the first description of the game and he wrote that two teams were first seen carrying their curving bats to the venue, choosing a pitch and arguing over the rules to be played. They pitched two sets of wickets, each with a milk-white bail perched on two stumps, toss a coin for first knock, the called play and the leathern orb was bowled. They had four-ball overs, the umpires leant on their staves, the first written Laws of Cricket were drawn up in 1744. They stated, the principals shall choose from amongst the present two umpires who shall absolutely decide all disputes. The stumps must be 22 inches high and the bail across them six inches, the ball must be between 5 &6 ounces, and the two sets of stumps 22 yards apart. There were no limits on the shape or size of the bat and it appears that 40 notches was viewed as a very big score, probably due to the bowlers bowling quickly at shins unprotected by pads. The worlds first cricket club was formed in Hambledon in the 1760s, during the 1760s and 1770s it became common to pitch the ball through the air, rather than roll it along the ground. This innovation gave bowlers the weapons of length, deception through the air and it also opened new possibilities for spin and swerve
4.
Scotland national cricket team
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The Scotland national cricket team represents Scotland in the game of cricket. They play their matches at The Grange, Edinburgh. Scotland became associate members of the International Cricket Council in 1994 after severing links with the England cricket team two years earlier, since then, they have played in three Cricket World Cups and three ICC World Twenty20 tournaments. However, their first win in either of these events did not come until they beat Hong Kong in the 2016 World Twenty20. Scottish cricket team is governed by Cricket Scotland, Scotland have also played in every ICC Intercontinental Cup tournament, winning the inaugural edition in 2004. Between 2010 and 2013, the competed in the ECB40 as the Scottish Saltires. Kyle Coetzer became captain of the side in November 2016 after Preston Mommsen who had captained the side since September 2014 stepped down, the coach is New Zealander Grant Bradburn, who took on the role in April 2014. The first recorded match in Scotland took place in Alloa in 1785. It would be another eighty years, however, before Scotland played their first full match, against Surrey in 1865, the first Scottish Cricket Union was formed in 1879, and the national team beat Australia by 7 wickets three years later. The cricket union became defunct in 1883, and Grange Cricket Club took over the administration of the game until 1909, the first match against Ireland took place in Dublin in 1888, with the Irish emerging victorious. They also played South Africa, the West Indies, an all-Indian team,1948 saw Australia visit Scotland for two games at the end of their tour of England. These games, both of which were won by the Australians, were to be the last international games for Don Bradman, the Don signed off in typical style, making a fine unbeaten 123 in the innings victory. Scotland first competed in English domestic cricket in 1980, when they competed in the Benson & Hedges Cup for the first time, three years later they took part in the NatWest Trophy. Their first Benson & Hedges win came against Lancashire in 1986, the most famous cricketers to have come from Scotland are probably the former England captain, Mike Denness, Warwickshire all-rounder Dougie Brown, and former England Test player Gavin Hamilton. Another great Scottish cricketer was B. R, hardie, who was a major contributor to the successful Essex side of the 1970s and 1980s. Possibly one of the best spinners and certainly a respected journalist was the aptly named Ian Peebles, who was one of the cricketers of the year in 1931 alongside Don Bradman. The most infamous cricketer, a man who was vilified in Australia, was a Scot, Douglas Jardine, father to and inventor of Body Theory, Jardine was born in British India, and died in Switzerland, spending most of his life in England. He asked for his ashes to be scattered in Scotland and gave his own children Scottish names, in 1992 Scotland severed their ties with the Test and County Cricket Board and England, and gained associate membership of the ICC in their own right in 1994. They competed in the ICC Trophy for the first time in 1997, finishing third and qualifying for the 1999 World Cup, where they lost all their games
5.
One Day International
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A One Day International is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, usually 50. The Cricket World Cup is played in this format, One Day International matches are also called Limited Overs Internationals, although this generic term may also refer to Twenty20 International matches. They are major matches and considered the highest standard of limited overs competition, the international one-day game is a late twentieth-century development. The first ODI was played on 5 January 1971 between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. When the first three days of the third Test were washed out officials decided to abandon the match and, instead, Australia won the game by 5 wickets. ODIs were played in kits with a red ball. The first of the matches with coloured uniforms was the WSC Australians in wattle gold versus WSC West Indians in coral pink, played at VFL Park in Melbourne on 17 January 1979. Matches played with coloured kits and a white ball became more commonplace over time, and the use of white flannels, in the main the Laws of cricket apply. However, in ODIs, each team bats for a number of overs. In the early days of ODI cricket, the number of overs was generally 60 overs per side, and matches were played with 40,45 or 55 overs per side. Simply stated, the works as follows, An ODI is contested by 2 teams of 11 players each. The Captain of the winning the toss chooses to either bat or bowl first. The team batting first sets the score in a single innings. The innings lasts until the side is all out or all of the first sides allotted overs are completed. Each bowler is restricted to bowling a maximum of 10 overs, therefore, each team must comprise at least five competent bowlers. The team batting second tries to score more than the score in order to win the match. Similarly, the side bowling second tries to out the second team or make them exhaust their overs before they reach the target score in order to win. If the number of runs scored by both teams is equal when the team loses all of its wickets or exhausts all its overs
6.
Australia national cricket team
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The Australia national cricket team, represents the country of Australia in international cricket. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, having played in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team draws its players from teams playing in the Australian domestic competitions – the Sheffield Shield, the Australian domestic limited-overs cricket tournament and the Big Bash League. The national team has played 801 Test matches, winning 377, losing 215, drawing 207, Australia is ranked the number-one team overall in Test cricket in terms of overall wins, win-loss ratio and wins percentage. As of 29 March 2017, Australia is ranked third in the ICC Test Championship on 108 rating points, the Australian cricket team has played 898 ODI matches, winning 554, losing 303, tying 9 and with 32 ending in no-result. They currently lead the ICC ODI Championship, having done so for 130 of 161 months since its introduction in 2002. Australia have made a record seven World Cup final appearances and have won the World Cup a record five times in total,1987,1999,2003,2007 and 2015 and it is also the second team to win a World Cup on home soil, after India. The team was undefeated in 34 consecutive World Cup matches until 19 March at the 2011 Cricket World Cup where Pakistan beat them by 4 wickets. Australia have also won the ICC Champions Trophy twice – in 2006 and in 2009 – making them the first and the only team to become back to back winners in the Champions Trophy tournaments. Test cricket, which occurred between Australia and England at the time, was limited by the long distance between the two countries, which would take several months by sea. Most cricketers at the time were either from New South Wales or Victoria, with the exception of George Giffen. A highlight of Australias early history was the 1882 Test match against England at The Oval, in this match Fred Spofforth took 7/44 in the games fourth innings to save the match by preventing England from making their 85-run target. This was the start of the famous Ashes series in which Australia, to this day, the contest is one of the fiercest rivalries in sport. It participated in between the 1897–98 English tour of Australia and the 1910–11 South African tour of Australia, Victor Trumper became one of Australias first sporting heroes, and was widely considered Australias greatest batsman before Bradman and one of the most popular players. He played a number of Tests at 49 and scored 3163 runs at a high for the time average of 39.04. His early death in 1915 at the age of 37 from kidney disease caused national mourning, the Wisden Cricketers Almanack, in its obituary for him, called him Australias greatest batsman, Of all the great Australian batsmen Victor Trumper was by general consent the best and most brilliant. Led by Peter McAlister, who was attempting to gain control of tours from the players. This led to six leading players walking out on the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England and this was the last series before the war, and no more cricket was played by Australia for eight years, with Tibby Cotter being killed in Palestine during the war. Test cricket resumed in the 1920/21 season in Australia with a touring English team, captained by Johnny Douglas losing all five Tests to Australia, the team continued its success on the 1921 Tour of England, winning three out of the five Tests in Warwick Armstrongs last series
7.
Afghanistan national cricket team
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The Afghanistan national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Afghanistan in international cricket matches. Cricket has been played in Afghanistan since the mid 19th century, the Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995 and became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2001 and a member of the Asian Cricket Council in 2003. They are ranked 9th in International Twenty20 cricket as of 7 January 2017 ahead of full members Bangladesh, in the same year they won their first Intercontinental Cup, beating Scotland in the final. Afghanistan also won the Asia Vs Caribbean T20 Championship and beat T&T, Bangladesh, Afghanistan also qualified for 2012 ICC World Twenty20 held in Sri Lanka as the runner up of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and joined India and England in the group stage. In the first match against India on 19 September, Afghanistan won the toss, India posted 159/5 in 20 overs but Afghanistan fell short of that target by scoring 136 in 19.3 overs. In the second match against England on 21 September, Afghanistan won the toss, England set a target of 196/5 but Afghanistan were all out for 80 in 17.2 overs. England and India qualified for the Super Eights and Afghanistan were eliminated as a result of this match. On October 3,2013, Afghanistan beat Kenya to finish second in the WCL Championship and qualify for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, becoming the 20th team to gain entry into the tournament overall. Afghanistan secured their passage to Australia and New Zealand in 2015 by beating Kenya comprehensively for the time in succession in Sharjah. Afghanistan will join Pool A at the World Cup along with Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, on November 24,2013, Afghanistan beat Kenya to qualify for the 2014 T20 world cup. In March 2014, Afghanistan beat Hong Kong in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, on February 25,2015 Afghanistan won their first Cricket World Cup match beating Scotland by 14 runs. Afghanistan participated in the World Twenty202016 in India and they were unable to qualify for the Semi-Finals of the International Tournament. They defeated the champions, West Indies, during their final group match of the tournament. Their third match was against the full member test team Zimbabwe and they played exceptionally well beating Zimbabwe by 59 runs. Afghanistan qualified for the Super 10 stage of the tournament as a result of this match, Afghanistan progressed to the second phase of a World Twenty20 tournament for the first time. He was chosen ahead of Mohammad Yousuf, Herschelle Gibbs and Corey Collymore Rajput is in line for a two-year contract, but that decision would be finalised after the upcoming tour of Europe. In July 2016, ACB unveiled a plan and set targets for Afghanistan cricket team to be a top-six ODI team by 2019. In order to achieve this, ACB created a proposal to be presented to BCCI, in the works to secure annual bilateral matches against India, on 25 July 2016, Afghanistan confirmed its first full series against West Indies a top-8 ranked Full member
8.
Pakistan national cricket team
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The Pakistan cricket team, also known as The Green Shirts or The Shaheens) is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board, the team is a member of the International Cricket Council. Pakistan have played 871 ODIs, winning 458, losing 387, Pakistan were the 1992 World Cup champions, and were runners-up in the 1999 tournament. Pakistan, in conjunction with other countries in South Asia, have hosted the 1987 and 1996 World Cups, the team has also played 110 Twenty20 Internationals, the most of any team, winning 64 losing 43 and tying 3. Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and were runners-up in the tournament in 2007. Pakistan have played 406 Test matches, with winning 130, losing 118, the team has the third-best win/loss ratio in Test cricket of 1.10, and the fifth-best overall win percentage of 32. 01%. In the 1950s, several Pakistani Test players had played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team before the creation of Pakistan in 1947, as of 31 January 2017, the Pakistani cricket team is ranked sixth in Tests, eighth in ODIs and seventh in T20Is by the ICC. Cricket in Pakistan has a history of even before the creation of the country in 1947, the first ever international cricket match in Karachi was held on 22 November 1935 between Sindh and Australian cricket teams. The match was seen by 5,000 Karachiites, the first captain of the Pakistan national cricket team was Abdul Hafeez Kardar. Pakistans first Test match was played in Delhi in October 1952 as part of a five Test series which India won 2–1. Pakistan made their first tour of England in 1954 and drew the series 1–1 after a victory at The Oval in which fast bowler Fazal Mahmood took 12 wickets. Pakistans first home Test match was in Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dacca, in January 1955 against India, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi. The team is considered a strong but unpredictable team, Pakistani contests with India in the Cricket World Cup have seen packed stadiums and elevated atmospheres no matter where the World Cup has been held. However the fans love their team, the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup, played in Sharjah in UAE, is remembered for a famous last-ball victory for Pakistan against arch-rivals India, with Javed Miandad emerging as a national hero. India batted first and set a target of 245 runs, leaving Pakistan with a run rate of 4.92 runs per over. Javed Miandad came in to bat at number 3 and Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals, later recalling the match, Miandad stated that his main focus was to lose with dignity. With 31 runs needed in the last three overs, Miandad hit a string of boundaries while batting with his teams lower order, Miandad received a leg side full toss from Chetan Sharma, which he hit for six over the midwicket boundary. At the 1992 World Cup Semi-final, having won the toss, New Zealand chose to bat first, Pakistan batted conservatively yet lost wickets at regular intervals
9.
Kenya national cricket team
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The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. Kenya has been a member of the International Cricket Council since 1981, it played its first One Day International in 1996. At one time it was considered one of the strongest of the members of the ICC. It lost ODI and T20I status in 2014, after failing to qualify for the 2015 World Cup, full article, East Africa cricket team Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda combined to form the East Africa cricket team, which became an associate member of the ICC in 1966. They continued playing amongst themselves, and were joined by Zambia in a tournament played annually between 1966 and 1980. India toured East Africa in 1967 and played a match against Kenya on 5 August. The 1975 Cricket World Cup took place in England, and East Africa were one of two non-test teams invited to the tournament, the other being Sri Lanka, Kenya provided half of the fourteen man squad for the tournament. After warm-up matches against Somerset, Wales, Glamorgan and various sides, they played in the same first round group as England, India and New Zealand. The World Cup was followed by a match against Sri Lanka at the County Ground. East Africa then took part in the 1979 ICC Trophy, the first ICC Trophy tournament, but did not progress beyond the first round, thus missing out on qualification for the 1979 World Cup. Long considered the strongest part of the East Africa team, Kenya broke away in 1981 and joined the ICC in their own right as an associate member and they played two three-day matches against Zimbabwe on that tour, losing both. Kenya played in the ICC Trophy in their own right in 1982,1986, the 1994 ICC Trophy was hosted in Nairobi and Kenya finished as runners-up to the UAE, thus qualifying for the 1996 World Cup. Kenya were in the group as Australia, India, Sri Lanka. In what at the time was described as the most startling upsets in the history of the World Cup, Kenya bowled out the West Indies for just 93 and won by 73 runs. Following their World Cup performance, Kenya were given full ODI status by the ICC, the Netherlands toured in December, playing four one-day matches, with the Kenyans winning them all. They played in the finals of South Africas Standard Bank Cup in March 1997. Following this was the 1997 ICC Trophy, hosted in Malaysia, Kenya reached the final, where they lost to Bangladesh by two wickets. This was followed by a tri-series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in October the same year in Nairobi, England A were the first opposition in 1998, touring Kenya in January
10.
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
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Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales and the current Natwest Blast champions. It represents the county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks – a reference to the Northamptonshire Regiment which was formed in 1881, the name was supposedly a tribute to the soldiers apparent indifference to the harsh discipline imposed by their officers. Founded in 1878, Northamptonshire held minor status at first but was a prominent member of the early Minor Counties Championship during the 1890s, in 1905, the club joined the County Championship and the team was elevated to senior status as an official first-class team. Northants has been classified as a List A team since the beginning of limited overs cricket in 1963, the club plays the majority of its games at the County Cricket Ground, Northampton, but has used outlier grounds at Kettering, Wellingborough and Peterborough in the past. It has also used grounds outside the county for one-day games, for example, at Luton, Tring and Milton Keynes. During the 2015 season, Northamptonshire played in Division 2 of the LV= County Championship, Group A of the Royal London One Day Cup, on Monday 10 August, there was a match at Woburn Park between a Bedfordshire XI and a combined Northants and Huntingdonshire XI. Woburn Cricket Club under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford was on the point of becoming a well known club. On 31 July 1878, the formation of Northants CCC took place at a meeting in the George Hotel. The 1820 date, if it could be verified, would make Northants the oldest club in the present-day County Championship, the county applied for first-class status in 1904 and was promoted the following year when it joined the County Championship. They played its inaugural first-class match versus Hampshire CCC at Southampton on 18,19 &20 May 1905 when making its County Championship debut, after three years in the middle of the table, Northants surprisingly improved to finish second in 1912 and fourth in 1913. Thompson, Smith and William Bumper Wells formed one of the strongest attacks in county cricket at the time, whilst Smith, thompson and Smith finished playing after World War I and, during the inter-war period, Northamptonshire were regularly one of the weaker championship sides. Things got worse for Northamptonshire during this time when Bakewells career ended due to an arm in a car crash that also resulted in the fatality of teammate. Brown joined as captain in 1949, and led the team to six place in his first season after years of disappointment. Under the new leadership of Dennis Brookes, finished second in 1957 and this was mainly due to the bowling attack of Frank Tyson, Vincent Broderick, Michael Allen, George Tribe and Manning. Subsequently, the club has seen mixed fortunes, the club has had intermittent success in one-day competitions, but it has still not won the County Championship, although second place was achieved in each of 1957,1965 and 1976. More recently, Lance Klusener and Monty Panesar have been notable players, as with all county cricket clubs, Northamptonshire CCC represents the historic county and not any modern or current administrative unit. After the football club moved, the ground at the Abington Avenue was demolished and replaced by a new school which includes seating looking on to the ground
