Cricket is a game which is said to have originated in England. It gradually gained popularity throughout the Commonwealth of Nations. In the initial years of the International cricket history the matches were played between England and Australia. South Africa joined some time later. In 1932, India too became a test playing nation.
India gained independence from the British rule, and partition of the country resulted in the creation of two nations of India and Pakistan. Pakistan too carried forward the colonial legacy of the British by playing test cricket. The West Indian Cricket team is a common cricket team comprising of the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean who were ruled by the British. The other major cricket playing nations include Zimbabwe, Kenya, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
The inaugural test match was played in 1877 between England and Australia. Since then the official International matches were called Test matches and were played over a period of maximum 5 days. The games between the regional teams were called first class matches. First class matches were popular in all the test playing nations worldwide. Traditionally, England and Australia had been the powerhouses of the cricketing world. The West Indies and South Africa too provided stiff challenge to the Englishmen and the Aussies by producing quality cricketers. The West Indies emerged as a premier cricketing powerhouse during the 60’s and 70’s. West Indies cricket retained their dominance over other teams throughout the 70’s and 80’s. During this period, they were the unofficial world champion.
The inaugural limited over international cricket was played at Melbourne in 1971. Since then, it has gained more popularity than test cricket. It is also called one day cricket or instant cricket. The first edition of the cricket world cup was won by the all-conquering West Indians in 1975. They were a truly dominant force in that period. The West Indian team comprised of reasonably good batsmen and a battery of four fiery pace men. The West Indian fast bowlers were feared for their fast paced deliveries and ruthlessness on the field. The beginning of the 90’s saw the decline of the West Indian cricket, although they kept producing some players with individual brilliance like Brian Lara. India tasted their first real success in the year 1983 when they won the cricket world cup for the first time. Since then, they too have regarded as a strong team competing well with the traditional superpowers like England, Australia and South Africa.
The Australian cricket infrastructure is the best in the world. The Australians have been producing world class cricketers since the beginning. Don Bradman is regarded as the best batsman in the world. He retired from active test cricket with a stupendous average of slightly over 99, which till date, remains a world record. Australians have proved their superiority by winning three consecutive world cups between 1999 and 2007. Their team comprises of players with exceptional overall skills.
