This is a very basic list of key events in cricket history, divided into six eras – six being a very important number in the game.
- 1550 to 1725 – FOLK CRICKET
- 1725 to 1800 – PROFESSIONAL CRICKET EMERGES
- 1800 to 1864 – CRICKET BECOMES A NATIONAL GAME
- 1864 to 1918 – CRICKET AS A MULTI-NATIONAL GAME
- 1918 to 1975 – TEST CRICKET ASCENDANT
- 1975 to date – THE RISE OF WHITE-BALL CRICKET
This website covers the first two eras and represents more than half of the game’s history to date.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1. 1550 to 1725 – FOLK CRICKET Cricket established itself, possibly via the newly established free schools, as a popular recreational activity in South-East England. Known dominant player – William Bedle | |
| 1550 | Cricket is played by boys at Guildford. First known instance of cricket being played. |
| 1593 | A school in St Omers (France) is opened for the Catholic education of the sons of English recusant aristocracy, taking with them an embryonic form of cricket. The school was much later resettled at Stoneyhurst. |
| 1593 | Sgrillare defined as ‘to play cricket-a-wicket and be merry’ in Florio’s Italian-English Dictionary. First known instance of the use of the word cricket being attributed to a game. |
| 1624 | The first cricket death-inquest on Jasper Vinall, accidentally hit with a ‘cricket batt’ while trying to catch the ball – a group were playing cricket on Horsted Green, Sussex. |
| 1697 | ‘The middle of last week a great match at Cricket was played in Sussex there were eleven of a side, and they played for fifty guineas apiece” Foreign Post,7 July. First known County match, first match played for money. |
| 2. 1725 to 1800 – PROFESSIONAL CRICKET EMERGES The recreational game grew in importance, attracting both the aristocracy and the London populace, both groups sharing a passion for sporting spectacle and gambling. In the 1770s, Hambledon provided the key counterpoint of excellence in a rural setting that defined the era. Dominant players include – Lumpy Stevens, David Harris, Billy Beldham, John Small. | |
| c1735 | First appearance of curved bat, replacing hockey-stick style. |
| 1744 | First known code of Laws produced at the Star and Garter. |
| 1744 | First available Scorecard – Sussex and Surrey v London. |
| c1770 | Modern bat shape comes into being. |
| 1772 | Hampshire XI v England – the first recognised first-class match. Hampshire, essentially the Hambledon team, win the game. |
| 1776 | Ball passing through wickets three times in an innings (at Artillery Ground, between five of the Hambledon Club and five of All England) giving rise to the introduction of the third stump. |
| 1787 | MCC formed. The club some became the major force in the game and still determines the laws. |
| 3. 1800 to 1864 – CRICKET BECOMES A NATIONAL GAME Cricket spread from the South-East to the rest of England and became part of the national culture. Dominant players include – Lord Frederick Beauclerk, William Clarke, Fuller Pilch, Alfred Mynn. | |
| 1814 | Lord’s ground at St John’s Wood is opened. To become known as the home of cricket. |
| 1833 | John Nyren writes ‘The Cricketers of My Time‘, probably the most influential cricket book ever written. |
| 1841 | Trent Bridge, Nottingham opens. |
| 1844 | First international cricket match, indeed first international of any sport – USA v Canada. |
| 1855 | Brammal Lane, Sheffield opens. |
| 1857 | Old Trafford opened as the home of Manchester Cricket Club. |
| 4. 1864 to 1918 – CRICKET AS A MULTI-NATIONAL GAME The game took root across the Empire. This period also includes the so-called Golden Age of Cricket, 1890-1914 where the game flourished before appreciative audiences. Dominant players include WG Grace, Victor Trumper, CB Fry, Andrew Stoddard, Hugh Trumble, Fredrick Spofforth, KS Ranjitsinhji, Wilfred Rhodes, SF Barnes, Frank Woolley. | |
| 1864 | County Championship concept established. First champions are recognised as being Surrey. |
| 1864 | Debut of WG Grace. The Great Cricketer. |
| 1864 | Overarm bowing legalised – in many people’s view, the start of the modern game. |
| 1864 | First edition of Wisden Cricket Almanack produced |
| 1877 | First Test Match played – on 15–19 of March 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between Australia and England. Australia won by 45 runs. |
| 1882 | Australia defeat England at the Oval, giving rise to the Ashes legend. |
| 1886 | A team from India, a group of Parsees, tours England. |
| 1889 | South Africa becomes the third test-playing nation when it played against England at Port Elizabeth. |
| 1891 | First inter-Colonial tournament in the West Indies. Cricket established at a high level on five continents. |
| 1912 | Triangular test match tournament in England, involving England, South Africa and Australia. It was not a success. |
| 5. 1918 to 1975 – TEST CRICKET ASCENDANT Test cricket came to define the game, with Don Bradman emerging as the greatest of all batsmen. The International Cricket Council, became the governing body with representatives from England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, India and Pakistan. Dominant players include – Jack Hobbs, Don Bradman, George Headley, Keith Miller, Garfield Sobers, Clive Lloyd, Sunil Gavaskar, Michael Holding, Graeme Pollock, Rachael Heyhoe Flint. | |
| 1930 | Don Bradman scores 334 v England. |
| 1932 | First Test match for India – lost to England by 158 runs. |
| 1934 | First Women’s Test Match. England beat Australia by nine wickets. |
| 1938 | Len Hutton scores 364 for England v Australia, a new Test record. |
| 1956 | Jim Laker takes 19 wickets in a test v Australia. |
| 1958 | Garry Sobers scores 365 v Pakistan, a new Test record. |
| 1963 | The first professional one-day trophy begins – the then 65 over-a-side Gillette Cup. |
| 1968 | England tour of South Africa was cancelled by the South African government as they would not accept Basil D’Oliveira as a member of the touring party. Largely as a result, South Africa’s involvement in international cricket was severely restricted until 1991. |
| 1973 | The first World Cup, the Women’s, is concluded. In the final match, England beat Australia by 92 runs to take the trophy. |
| 6. 1975 to date – THE RISE OF WHITE-BALL CRICKET In this era, West Indies provided the greatest team of all time, and Shane Warne emerged as the finest bowler. Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan became full members of the ICC. Meanwhile, cricket moved from being a five-day game to a three/four-hour game, India became the dominant force, its vast population meaning cricket is often listed as being the second most popular sport. Dominant players include: Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Ellyse Perry, Vivian Richards, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Muttiah Muralitharan, Imran Khan, Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, AB de Villiers, Harmanpreet Kaur, Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins. | |
| 1975 | First Men’s World Cup final. West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs. |
| 1976 | West Indies beat England 3-0 in a test match series. They would only lose one series (to New Zealand, 1980) in the next 20 years. |
| 1977 | Kerry Packer employs most of the world’s best cricketers to take part in a series of unofficial matches over the next two years. First use of floodlights, coloured clothing and white ball. |
| 1983 | India beat the West Indies to win the World Cup for the first time, igniting the interest in limited-over cricket in the sub-continent. |
| 1992 | Pakistan won the World Cup in Australia under the inspired leadership of Imran Khan, who later became President of Pakistan. |
| 1993 | Shane Warne bowls Mike Gatting with what has become known as the ball of the century. |
| 2000 | Hansie Cronje of South Africa was found to be involved in match-fixing. |
| 2004 | Brain Lara scores 401 for West Indies v England, a new Test record. |
| 2005 | England win the Ashes for the first time since 1986–87 in one of the greatest Test Match Series. |
| 2007 | First International T20 final. India beat Pakistan by 5 runs. |
| 2008 | Start of the Indian Premier League, soon to become the second richest league in world sport. |
| 2010 | Pakistan team captain Salman Butt, and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir found to be involved in spot fixing. |
| 2011 | Muttiah Muralitharan retires from Test Match cricket, taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery. |
| 2012 | Sachin Tendulkar scores his 100th international century. |
| 2025 | South Africa won the first World Test Championship final to be played at Lords. |