First-class cricket

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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.

Definitions of first-class cricket

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.

National Cricket League – Bangladesh

County Championship – England and Wales

Ranji Trophy – India

Plunket Shield – New Zealand

Quaid-i-Azam Trophy – Pakistan

SuperSport Series – South Africa

Premier Trophy – Sri Lanka

Regional Four Day Competition – West Indies

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

References
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