First-class cricket

A first-class cricket match is one of three or more days duration between two sides of eleven players officially adjudged first-class. Matches must allow for the teams to play two innings each, although in practice a team might only need to play one innings.

First-class cricket is an aspect of major cricket but is not major cricket per se, as is sometimes thought. Major cricket is an unofficial or, at best, quasi-official term that includes limited overs cricket, single wicket and other forms in which players and/or teams of high standard are playing. These forms are not first-class cricket but they are equally as important.

Test cricket, although the highest standard of major cricket, is itself a form of first-class cricket, although the term "first-class" is commonly used to refer to domestic competition only. A player's first-class statistics include his performances in Test matches.

Generally, first-class matches are eleven players a side but there have been exceptions. Equally, although first-class matches must now be scheduled to have at least three days' duration, there have historically been exceptions.

Due to the time demands of first-class competition, the players are mostly paid professionals, though historically many players were designated amateur. First-class teams are usually representative of a geopolitical region such as an English county, an Australian state or a West Indian nation.

MCC 1895
Prior to 1947, the only definition of first-class cricket had been one in Great Britain that dates from a meeting at Lord's in May 1894 between the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) committee and the secretaries of the clubs involved in the official County Championship, which had begun in 1890. As a result, those clubs became first-class from 1895 along with MCC, Cambridge University, Oxford University, major cricket touring teams and other teams designated as such by MCC.

ICC 1947
The term "first-class cricket" was formally defined by the then Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC) in May 1947 as a match of three or more days duration between two sides of eleven players officially adjudged first-class; the governing body in each country to decide the status of teams. Significantly, it was stated that the definition does not have retrospective effect. MCC was authorised to determine the status of matches played in Great Britain.

For all intents and purposes, the 1947 ICC definition confirmed the 1895 MCC definition and gave it international recognition and usage.

Hence, official judgment of status is the responsibility of the governing body in each country that is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The governing body grants first-class status to international teams and to domestic teams that are representative of the country's highest playing standard. It is possible for international teams from associate members of the ICC to achieve first-class status but it is dependent on the status of their opponents in a given match.

According to the ICC definition, a match is first class if:
 * it is of three or more days scheduled duration
 * each side playing the match has eleven players
 * each side may have two innings
 * the match is played on natural, and not artificial, turf
 * the match is played on an international standard ground
 * the match conforms to the Laws of Cricket, except for only minor amendments
 * the sport’s governing body in the appropriate nation, or the ICC itself, recognises the match as first-class.

A Test match is a first-class match played between two ICC full member countries subject to their current status at the ICC and the application of ICC conditions when the match is played.

A peculiarity of the two-innings match is the follow-on rule. If the team that batted second is substantially behind on first innings total, it may be required to bat again (i.e., to immediately follow on from its first innings) in the third innings of the match. In first-class cricket, the follow-on minimum lead requirement depends on match duration. In a Test or other match with five or more days duration, the team batting second can be asked to follow on if 200 or more runs behind. If the match duration is three or four days, the minimum lead is 150 runs.

Main first-class competitions
Test cricket is the highest level of first-class competition. A Test match is an international game, normally scheduled for five days, played between two international teams representing full members of the ICC. There are currently (2010) nine Test teams: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies. In addition, Zimbabwe is a full ICC member that is not playing Test cricket at present.

Another type of first-class match is one in which a national team plays against a first-class team that is non-international. Typical examples are touring teams playing against English first-class county teams or against Australian first-class state teams.

Although there are other types of first-class team (e.g., MCC, Cambridge, Oxford and one-off or occasional teams that consist of first-class players), the majority of non-international first-class teams take part in their country's national championship. The major national championships and current competing teams are listed below

Sheffield Shield – Australia
The earliest record of cricket in Australia occurs in January 1804 when it was mentioned in the Sydney Gazzette. There are records of matches being played in the 1830s and the earliest first-class match (classified retrospectively) took place in February 1851 between Tasmania and Victoria. Inter-colonial games were played almost annually thereafter and Australia played its first Test match in 1877.

The Sheffield Shield was inaugurated in 1892 by Henry North Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield (18 January 1832 – 21 April 1909), an English Conservative politician who had promoted the 1891–92 English tour of Australia that was captained by W G Grace. Sheffield donated £150 to the New South Wales Cricket Association and asked them to donate a trophy to the champion team each season. The new tournament was launched in the 1892–93 season and won by Victoria.

Current contenders:
 * New South Wales
 * Queensland
 * South Australia
 * Tasmania
 * Victoria
 * Western Australia

National Cricket League – Bangladesh
The origin of Bangladesh as a country is the Partition of India in 1947, when it was established as the eastern wing of Pakistan. It was formerly known as East Bengal (1947–55) and then as East Pakistan (1955–70). Bangladesh became independent in 1971 following the Bangladesh Liberation War. Cricket was already well-established there after two centuries of British influence. Bangladesh staged first-class and even Test cricket when it was part of Pakistan. The Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka was first used for Test cricket when Pakistan played India there in January 1955.

The Bangladesh Cricket Control Board was established in 1972 and local leagues began in Dhaka and Chittagong. In the 1976–77 season, an MCC team toured the country and played four matches. MCC made a favourable report to the ICC and, on 26 July 1977, Bangladesh became an Associate Member of the ICC.

First-class cricket in Bangladesh (i.e., since independence) began when the national team played England A at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong on 25–27 October 1999. Having already had success in limited overs international cricket, Bangladesh became a Full Member of the ICC on 26 June 2000. Bangladesh played its inaugural Test Match v India at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on 10–13 November 2000.

The 2000–01 season saw the beginning of first-class domestic competition when the Green Delta National Cricket League was constituted as the first-class championship.

Current contenders:
 * Barisal Division
 * Chittagong Division
 * Dhaka Division
 * Khulna Division
 * Rajshahi Division
 * Sylhet Division

County Championship – England and Wales
Cricket is generally held to have originated as a children's game in south-east England during the medieval period. The first definite reference to the sport occurs at Guildford, Surrey in the 16th century. During the 17th century, cricket became an adult game and soon reached the stage where wealthy patrons were organising "great matches" and employing professional players. Organisation continued through the 18th century with the first known issue of the Laws of Cricket in 1744 and then the foundation of MCC in 1787. Although inter-county matches have been definitely recorded since 1709, it was not until 1839 that the first county club (i.e., Sussex) was established. English teams began to undertake overseas tours in 1859 and England played its first Test match in 1877.

There is evidence dating back to 1728 that the concept of a Champion County had existed long before the constitution of the official County Championship in December 1889. The new competition began in the 1890 season.

Current contenders:
 * Derbyshire
 * Durham
 * Essex
 * Glamorgan
 * Gloucestershire
 * Hampshire
 * Kent
 * Lancashire
 * Leicestershire
 * Middlesex
 * Northamptonshire
 * Nottinghamshire
 * Somerset
 * Surrey
 * Sussex
 * Warwickshire
 * Worcestershire
 * Yorkshire

Ranji Trophy – India

 * Andhra
 * Assam
 * Baroda
 * Bengal
 * Delhi
 * Goa
 * Gujarat
 * Haryana
 * Jammu and Kashmir
 * Jharkhand
 * Karnataka
 * Kerala
 * Madhya Pradesh
 * Maharashtra
 * Mumbai
 * Orissa
 * Punjab
 * Railways
 * Rajasthan
 * Services
 * Tamil Nadu
 * Tripura
 * Uttar Pradesh
 * Vidarbha

Plunket Shield – New Zealand

 * Auckland
 * Canterbury
 * Central Districts
 * Northern Districts
 * Otago
 * Wellington

Quaid-i-Azam Trophy – Pakistan

 * Abbottabad
 * Faisalabad
 * Habib Bank
 * Hyderabad
 * Islamabad
 * Karachi Blues
 * Karachi Whites
 * Khan Research
 * Lahore Ravi
 * Lahore Shalimar
 * Multan
 * National Bank
 * Customs
 * PIA
 * Peshawar
 * Quetta
 * Rawalpindi
 * Sialkot
 * Sui Northern
 * Sui Southern
 * WPDA
 * Zarai Taraqiati Bank

SuperSport Series – South Africa

 * Cape Cobras (Western Cape)
 * Dolphins (KwaZulu-Natal)
 * Eagles (Free State)
 * Lions (Johannesburg, Gauteng)
 * Titans (Centurion, Gauteng)
 * Warriors (Eastern Cape)

Premier Trophy – Sri Lanka

 * Badureliya
 * Bloomfield
 * Chilaw Marians
 * Colombo
 * Colts
 * Moors
 * Nondescripts
 * Ragama
 * Saracens
 * Sinhalese Sports Club
 * Sri Lanka Army
 * Tamil Union

Regional Four Day Competition – West Indies

 * Barbados
 * Guyana
 * Jamaica
 * Leeward Islands
 * Trinidad and Tobago
 * Windward Islands

Matches played before the MCC and ICC definitions
The absence of any ruling about matches played before 1947 (or before 1895 in Great Britain) has caused problems for cricket historians and especially statisticians who have been forced to compile their own matchlists. Inevitable differences have arisen and there are variations in published first-class statistics.

For a description of the statistical differences, see : Variations in first-class cricket statistics