England, Australia, and South Africa, the founding members of the Imperial Cricket Conference, dominated international cricket in the early 20th century. The International Cricket Council, later known as the International Cricket Conference, steadily assumed more control over the management of the sport and relocated its power center from the west to the east ( cricket bet 1xbet ). The transition away from the previous system of rule-making was complete when the ICC relocated its offices from Lord’s in London—where the MCC, the game’s original rulers and still its lawmakers—to Dubai in 2005. The game’s priorities also shifted.

By the turn of the twenty-first century, only Australia and England continued to host sold-out Test cricket matches. Crowds flocked to see limited-overs internationals everywhere else, but especially in India and Pakistan. Test cricket began to feel almost incidental. Although the MCC still has the authority to alter the rules of the game, the ICC created its own Code of Conduct for players, officials, and administrators that outlines punishment policies and upholds the spirit of the game. The Champions Trophy as well as the one-day and Twenty20 World Cups were among the significant international competitions it staged. To address the rising issue of illicit gambling and match-fixing, the ICC established the Anti-Corruption Unit in 2000. In 2003, it was renamed the Anti-Corruption Unit and Security Unit. At the beginning of the 2010s, the ICC had 10 full members and dozens of associate and affiliate members.

Australia

Australia was one of the ICC’s founding members and continues to be one of its most dominant nations both on and off the field. Cricket’s beginnings in Australia may be traced back to 1803 when a British ship’s crew brought the sport there. Victoria and Tasmania played in the first intercolonial game in 1851, and by the end of the century, teams from England were often visiting Australia. The oldest international cricket rivalry, known as The Ashes, began with the first official Test match between Australia and England in Melbourne in 1877. (see Test Matches below).

Australia is a country where cricket is played, and games are fiercely contested at all levels. The Australian style of cricket is characterized by aggression with the bat, ball, and, frequently, voice in an effort to intimidate opponents. All of the great Australian players, from Sir Don Bradman to Shane Warne, developed their skills in club cricket before progressing to the state and national teams. Australia developed a number of excellent teams during the 20th century, and the nation continued to rule international cricket into the 21st century by winning three consecutive one-day World Cups (1999–2007) and twice setting records for streaks of 16 straight Test victories (1999–2001 and 2005–08). An open-top bus trip across the city of London was used to commemorate England’s Test victory over Australia in 2005, the first since 1987.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh became the tenth nation to receive full Test status in June 2000. In Dhaka, it faced India in its inaugural Test match that November. The Bangladeshi squad, often known as the Tigers, failed to compete at the highest level, winning only three of its first 68 Test matches. However, Bangladesh has won all nine of the nations that came before it in one-day matches, a feat that was completed in 2010 with a triumph against England in Bristol. Bangladesh made their debut in a competition for associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Trophy in England in 1979.

After defeating Pakistan in the group stage, Bangladesh won the trophy and earned a spot in the 1999 World Cup. In 2000–01, a domestic first-class competition including six regional teams was launched. Cricket has undoubtedly been the most popular sport in Bangladesh since the country was granted Test status.

India

In every region of India, cricket is played on maidans, wide open fields that can accommodate several overlapping games. Examples of maidans are the Azad, Cross, and Oval Maidans in South Mumbai. Indian cricketers have a strong wrist and keen eye, and Indian batters, most notably Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, have been among of the game’s most productive and fashionable players throughout history. High-caliber spin bowlers have also historically been developed in the subcontinent’s dry, flat surfaces.

The game first appeared in India in the 18th century. In January 1893, an outside squad commanded by English cricketer nobleman Lord Hawke faced off against the “All India” team. India’s first Test match was in 1932, and it took them 20 years before they defeated England in Madras (now Chennai). But India’s rapid development of the sport made it one of the world’s top cricketing nations by the turn of the 20th century. Although the popularity of Test cricket in India has drastically decreased, with the advent of the Indian Premier League in the early twenty-first century, it became the uncontested home of Twenty20 cricket and the financial center of the international game.