Test Cricket Previews & Tips
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Test Cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the game and considered the highest standard of cricket with matches running over five consecutive days.
Test cricket is played over four innings where each team bats and bowls twice. The two team captains toss a coin to decide whether his team will bat or bowl first.
Test matches are often gruelling encounters contested in extreme heat in hostile environments, a true test of cricketers’ mental, physical and technical abilities.
Test matches are organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) with the first official Test match taking place in 1877 between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The ICC determines which cricketing nations are awarded ‘Test status’ of which there are currently twelve. In 2017 there were two new nations added to the list with Afghanistan and Ireland admitted.
Zimbabwe were voluntarily suspended because of poor performances between 2006 and 2011 but returned to Test cricket in 2011.
The current list of nations with Test status and their debut is as follows:
- England (15 March 1877)
- Australia (15 March 1877)
- South Africa (12 March 1889)
- West Indies (23 June 1928)
- New Zealand (10 January 1930)
- India (25 June 1932)
- Pakistan (16 October 1952)
- Sri Lanka (17 February 1982)
- Zimbabwe (18 October 1992)
- Bangladesh (10 November 2000)
- Ireland (11 May 2018)
- Afghanistan (14 June 2018)
Nations that compete against each other in Test matches usually play more than once which is called a Test series. A Test series can be up to five matches such as The Ashes between England and Australia which is the most famous Test series in cricket.
Some of the oldest and most prestigious Test series include the Frank Worrell Trophy between the West Indies and Australia, the Wisden Trophy between the West Indies and England and the Trans-Tasman Trophy between New Zealand and Australia.
The ICC Test Championship is a ranking system for Test cricket with teams receiving points based on a mathematical formula over the last 3-4 years.
ICC Test Championship Rankings (As of May 1 2018)
Rank | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 28 | 3,499 | 125 |
| 2 | South Africa | 32 | 3,589 | 112 |
| 3 | Australia | 33 | 3,499 | 106 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 23 | 2,354 | 102 |
| 5 | England | 36 | 3,511 | 98 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 31 | 2,914 | 94 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 17 | 1,463 | 86 |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 16 | 1,202 | 75 |
| 9 | West Indies | 22 | 1,484 | 67 |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 8 | 12 | 2 |
Here at FreeTips we provide regular Test cricket tips which include our Head to Head tips, Top Runscorer tips, Most Runs tips, Most wickets tips, Innings/Match Runs tips, Highest Opening Partnership tips, Total Match 6’s tips and Team to Hit Most 6’s tips.
Our mission at FreeTips is to provide you with expertly researched Test cricket tips that you can use to build your bankroll.
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