The Three Formats

Tests are played over up to five days; if no result is reached in that time the match is drawn.

Source: ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions · recall

Test and first-class cricket are played in "whites"; coloured clothing belongs to the limited-overs game.

Source: ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions · recall

A Test day runs in three sessions, divided by the intervals for lunch and, later, for tea.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 11 · applied

Test cricket dates from 1877 and is seen as the game's highest form; the shorter formats came much later.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

The World Test Championship, run since 2019, ranks the leading Test sides over a cycle and ends in a one-off final.

Source: ICC · recall

A Test series goes to the side that takes more of the individual matches; a level series usually means the holder keeps the trophy.

Source: ICC / cricket convention · applied

The target is 90 overs a day, and a side that falls short without good reason can face over-rate sanctions.

Source: ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions · applied

The five days is a maximum; plenty of Tests finish early when one side has a clear advantage.

Source: ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions · applied

First-class matches are the two-innings-a-side, multi-day domestic games from which Test players are drawn.

Source: General cricket terminology · recall

The Ashes, played for a small terracotta urn, is the oldest and most famous Test rivalry, dating from 1882.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

An ODI is designed to start and finish on the same day, which is why it is capped at 50 overs a side.

Source: ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions · recall

Limited-overs cricket uses coloured kit and a white ball, which shows up under lights and against a dark sightscreen.

Source: ICC Playing Conditions (white-ball cricket) · recall

An ODI runs for most of a day: about three and a half hours an innings, plus a break between them.

Source: ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions · recall

The first men's Cricket World Cup was played in England in 1975; the T20 World Cup did not begin until 2007.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

ODIs use two new balls per innings, one at each end, so neither gets very old across the 50 overs.

Source: ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions · recall

In the first ten overs only two fielders may stand outside the circle, leaving gaps for the batters to exploit.

Source: ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions · recall

The ten-over cap on a bowler forces a side to use at least five different bowlers in an innings.

Source: ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions · recall

The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method resets the target to reflect the overs and the wickets each side had.

Source: ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions · applied

Day-night play, with the second innings under lights, is standard in one-day cricket and common in T20.

Source: ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions · recall

Preserving wickets early lets a side attack hard in the closing overs, when the field is spread and risk pays off.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Twenty20, or T20, is 20 overs a side, the shortest of the main forms of the international game.

Source: ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions · recall

A T20 is built to fit an evening, at roughly 75 to 90 minutes an innings plus a short interval.

Source: ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions · recall

Each bowler is capped at a fifth of the 20 overs, so four, which means at least five bowlers must be used.

Source: ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions · recall

Australia and New Zealand contested the first men's T20 International in 2005; the T20 World Cup followed in 2007.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

The IPL, the BBL and similar are city-based T20 leagues that sign players from around the world.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

The T20I powerplay is overs one to six, during which only two fielders may be outside the circle.

Source: ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions · recall

In a short innings the value of a wicket falls and the value of quick runs rises, so batters take more risks.

Source: General playing principle · applied

The Hundred replaces overs with a count of 100 balls per innings, bowled in blocks of five or ten.

Source: ECB Playing Conditions (The Hundred) · recall

In a 20-over chase there is little time to rebuild, so early wickets push the required rate sharply up.

Source: General playing principle · applied

T20 was created to bring in new crowds with a fast, high-scoring game finished in about three hours.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

Tests have no per-bowler limit; an ODI caps a bowler at ten overs and a T20 at four, spreading the bowling.

Source: ICC Playing Conditions · applied

White-ball cricket uses powerplays and a fielding circle; a Test captain can set any field he likes.

Source: ICC Playing Conditions · recall

The long game breaks its day into sessions; a one-day match has just one interval, when the sides swap over.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 11 · recall

White-ball matches are capped at a set number of overs, so they play to a finish rather than running out of time.

Source: ICC Playing Conditions · recall

With time not overs the limiting factor, a Test batter can build a long innings; a T20 batter must score fast.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Playing conditions currently give a side more reviews per innings in a Test than in the shorter forms.

Source: ICC Playing Conditions (Decision Review System) · recall

Only the T20 fits into about three hours; the longer forms run for a full day or several days.

Source: General playing principle · applied

A T20 is 20 overs a side, so about 40 in all; an ODI has around 100 and a Test day alone about 90.

Source: ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions · recall

In a short innings every over of runs is costly, so containing the scoring is prized alongside taking wickets.

Source: General playing principle · applied

The Test rewards patience over days; the T20 packs a result into an evening; the ODI sits between the two.

Source: General playing principle · recall

A declaration can be made whenever the ball is dead; captains often declare at the close of a day's play.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 15 · recall

A declaration trades batting time for bowling time, in the hope of forcing a result before the Test is drawn.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 15 · applied

Rather than bat again itself, the leading side can make the trailing side bat two innings back to back.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 14 · recall

For a match of five days or more the follow-on margin is 200 runs; it is smaller for shorter matches.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 14 · recall

These tools exist because the long game is limited by time, not overs; a captain never declares in a one-day match.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 15 · recall

Batting again lets a dominant side protect its bowlers and set a huge fourth-innings target on a worn pitch.

Source: General captaincy principle · applied

A declaration closes the innings; the batters left in keep their scores and are marked not out.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 15 · applied

Losing while still behind after following on is an "innings" defeat, by however many runs short the side finished.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 16 · applied

A forfeited innings counts as a completed innings; captains use it, very occasionally, to manufacture a finish after rain.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 15 · recall

The declaration bought the bowling time to dismiss the other side inside the runs, turning a likely draw into a win.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 16 · applied

Australia's summer, and so its home season, falls between about November and March.

Source: General playing principle · recall

South Asian seasons avoid the extreme heat and the monsoon, so most home cricket is between October and March.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Heavy monsoon rain makes outdoor cricket in those months impractical.

Source: General playing principle · applied

England's season runs while Australia's is off, and the other way round, so the game goes on all year.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Six hours of play plus a 40-minute lunch and a 20-minute tea come to about seven hours.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Evening finishes suit crowds and television audiences.

Source: General playing principle · applied

International playing conditions require a minimum of 90 overs in a full day's play.

Source: ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions · recall

The Championship opens in April, white-ball cricket fills high summer, the Championship ends in September, and England tour in the winter.

Source: General playing principle · applied

A day-night ODI starts in the afternoon, and the side batting second bats under the floodlights.

Source: General playing principle · applied

England's home season runs from April to September, when the southern-hemisphere countries are in their winter.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Winning all the matches of a series is a clean sweep.

Source: General playing principle · recall

When a series is level going into its last match, that match decides it.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Warm-up matches help tourists get used to local pitches, light and weather.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Home and away describe where a series is played, from one side's point of view.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Conditions vary greatly between countries, and a side is most at ease in the ones it knows.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Bilateral series take turns home and away, so each side gets its own conditions in turn.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Crowded calendars have squeezed tours, cutting out most of the warm-up games.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Tourists arrive, acclimatise in a warm-up game, play the series and go home.

Source: General playing principle · applied

The winning margins are five, three, one and none.

Source: General playing principle · applied

India have already won the series 2-0, so the third Test cannot change the result: it is a dead rubber.

Source: General playing principle · applied

National boards appoint selectors, led by a chair, to pick squads and teams.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Once the toss has been made, a nominated player may be changed only with the opposing captain's consent.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 1 · applied

A side needs runs, wickets and a wicket-keeper; all-rounders help with both.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Spinners get the most help from a dry, turning surface.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Grass on the pitch helps seam movement, so an extra seamer makes sense.

Source: General playing principle · applied

A squad holds more players than can play, so the eleven can change with conditions or injuries.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Modern sides want their keeper to be worth a place as a batter too.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Selectors pick the squad; the eleven is settled close to the match and nominated before the toss.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Law 1 · applied

Usually five or six batters, three or four fast bowlers alongside a spinner, and one keeper.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Batters take the top order and the keeper usually bats around seven, leaving the bowlers at eight to eleven.

Source: General playing principle · applied

The ICC governs the international game and stages events such as the World Cups.

Source: ICC and national board websites · recall

The ICC moved its headquarters from Lord's to Dubai in 2005.

Source: ICC and national board websites · recall

Competitions write playing conditions on top of the Laws, and in their matches those conditions take precedence.

Source: ICC Men's Playing Conditions · applied

The ECB runs the game in England and Wales; the TCCB was its forerunner.

Source: ICC and national board websites · recall

The Board of Control for Cricket in India runs the game in India.

Source: ICC and national board websites · recall

The 2017 code has been revised twice; the third edition came into force in October 2022.

Source: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022), Preface · recall

A league is free to set its own match rules, such as shorter games, alongside the Laws.

Source: General playing principle · applied

The ICC covers the world game, a board its country, an association its region and a club its own teams.

Source: General playing principle · applied

MCC was founded in 1787, the ICC (as the Imperial Cricket Conference) in 1909, the BCCI in 1928 and the ECB in 1997.

Source: ICC and national board websites · applied

MCC writes and looks after the Laws of Cricket; the ICC runs the world events and national boards pick their teams.

Source: ICC and national board websites · applied

Taping a tennis ball makes it heavier and faster while staying safe without pads.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Indoor cricket sides have eight players, and the ball can be played off the nets.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Hong Kong Sixes sides have six players each.

Source: General playing principle · recall

T10 cricket cuts the innings to ten overs a side, so a match lasts about 90 minutes.

Source: General playing principle · recall

In Last Man Stands the final batter can carry on alone, running his own runs.

Source: General playing principle · recall

Backyard games invent their own rules; one hand, one bounce makes catching easier for small sides.

Source: General playing principle · recall

A soft ball removes the need for protective kit, so anyone can join in.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Ten, twenty and fifty overs a side.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Six, eight and eleven players.

Source: General playing principle · applied

Eight players a side, a court surrounded by netting and runs off the nets are indoor cricket.

Source: General playing principle · applied