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[edit] The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series, played between England and Australia. It is international cricket's most celebrated rivalry and dates back to 1882. The series is named after a satirical obituary published in an English newspaper, The Sporting Times, in 1882 after the match at The Oval in which Australia beat England on an English ground for the first time. The obituary mourned the death of English cricket and stated that the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The English media then dubbed the next English tour to Australia (1882-83) as the quest to regain The Ashes.
[edit] Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman. A Bodyline bowler deliberately aimed the cricket ball at the body of the opposing batsman, in the hope of creating legside deflections that could be caught by one of several fielders in the quadrant of the field behind square leg.
The tactic led to ill feeling between the two national teams, with the controversy eventually spilling into the diplomatic arena. Over the next two decades, several of the Laws of Cricket were changed to prevent this tactic being repeated.
[edit] Brian Close
Dennis Brian Close is the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was admitted to the Test team to play against New Zealand at just 18 years and 149 days old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England, captaining them seven times, winning six times and drawing once. Close also captained Yorkshire to four county championship titles and later went on to captain Somerset. Throughout his cricket career, Close was one of the most charismatic and well-known cricketers but despite his successes, Close was dogged by controversy throughout his career.
[edit] Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE (born 26 May 1976, Shotley Bridge, Durham), is an English cricketer. He is vice-captain of Durham County Cricket Club and plays Test and One-day International cricket for England.
Collingwood is an all-rounder, combining natural strokeplay with reliable medium-pace bowling. Described as a "natural athlete", he is also a highly skilled fielder and is regarded as one of the finest of his contemporaries. In 2005, Collingwood made the best all-round performance in a One-day International, with 112* and 6/31 against Bangladesh.
[edit] AEJ Collins
Arthur Edward Jeune (James) Collins, typically known by his initials AEJ Collins, was an English cricketer and soldier. He is most famous for achieving the highest-ever recorded score in cricket: as a 13-year-old schoolboy, he scored 628 not out over four afternoons in June 1899. Collins' record-making innings drew a large crowd and increasing media interest; spectators at the Old Cliftonian match being played nearby were drawn away to watch the junior school house cricket match in which Collins was playing.
Collins joined the British Army in 1902. He studied at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, before becoming an officer in the Royal Engineers. He served in France during World War I, where he was killed in action in 1914.
[edit] Cricket World Cup
The Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International (ODI) cricket. The tournament is world's third largest and most viewed sporting event and according to the ICC, it is the most important tournament and the pinnacle of achievement in the sport. The finals of the Cricket World Cup are contested by all ten Test-playing and ODI-playing nations, together with other nations that qualify through the World Cup Qualifier. The first Cricket World Cup contest was organised in England in 1975. A separate Women's Cricket World Cup has been held every four years since 1973.
[edit] Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist (born 14 November 1971 in Bellingen, New South Wales), nicknamed Gilly or Church, is an Australian cricketer. He made his first-class debut in 1992, his first One Day International appearance in 1996 and his Test debut in 1999. He has been Australia's vice-captain in both forms of the game since 2000.
Gilchrist is an aggressive left-handed batsman and effective wicket-keeper, and is considered to be one of the best wicket-keeper-batsmen in the history of the game. His strike rate is amongst the highest in the history of both One-day and Test cricket and he currently holds the record for the second fastest century in Test match cricket. Gilchrist has previously been reprimanded for outbursts on the pitch and is also renowned for walking when he considers himself to be out.
[edit] History of Test cricket from 1877 to 1883
Test cricket from 1877 to 1883 was organised somewhat differently from international cricket today. The teams involved were rarely fully representative, and the 48-day boat trip between Australia and England was one that many cricketers were not able or willing to undertake. As such the home teams usually enjoyed a great selection advantage.
Thirteen test matches were played in this period and all were between Australian and English sides. Eleven of these were in Australia, which made the most of its home advantage by winning seven, while England won four and two were drawn. By 1883, the tradition of England-Australia tours was well established, with that year bringing the first Ashes series.
[edit] History of Test cricket from 1884 to 1889
The history of Test cricket between 1884 and 1889 was one of English dominance over the Australians. Of the 19 England-Australia Tests played in the period from 1884 to 1889, England won 14, Australia 3, with 2 draws. The period also saw the first use of the word "Test" to describe a form of cricket when the Press used it in 1885. It has remained in common usage ever since.
In 1883 England had won the first Ashes series by beating Australia 2-1 away, though they had lost a fourth extra Test played at the end of their Australian tour. 1889 saw the first English tour to South Africa. England won both representative matches easily. But, although it was only recognised as a Test nation later, after 13 years, cricket had a third Test-playing team.
[edit] Bart King
John Barton "Bart" King was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. King was one of the Philadelphian cricketers that played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I.
King was a skilled batsman, but proved his worth as a bowler, successfully competing against the best cricketers from England and Australia. During his career, he set numerous records in North America and was the dominant bowler on his team when it toured England in 1897, 1903, and 1908. He led the first-class bowling averages in England in 1908. Sir Pelham Warner described Bart King as one of the finest bowlers of all time, and Donald Bradman called him "America's greatest cricketing son.
[edit] Bill O'Reilly
William Joseph "Bill" O'Reilly, often known as Tiger O'Reilly, was an Australian cricketer, rated as one of the best spin bowlers ever to play cricket. He delivered the ball from a two-fingered grip at close to medium pace with great accuracy, and could produce leg breaks, googlies, and top spinners, with no discernible change in his action. As well as his skill, O'Reilly was also known for his competitiveness, and bowled with the aggression of a paceman.
Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster. According to Matthew Engel writing in Thirty Obituaries from Wisden, "When O'Reilly died, Sir Donald Bradman said he was the greatest bowler he had ever faced or watched."
[edit] Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen is a South Africa-born English cricketer. He is an attacking right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for Hampshire County Cricket Club and is an important member of both the England Test match and One-day International teams.
After moving from South Africa and qualifying to play for England he was called up to the national side almost immediately. He made his international debut in 2004, and his Test match debut the following year. Pietersen quickly became the fastest batsman to reach both 1000 and 2000 runs in One-day International cricket, and also has the second-highest run total from his first 25 Tests.
[edit] Harbajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh is an Indian cricketer and India's most successful off spin bowler. He made his Test and One Day International debuts in early 1998, though his career only really took off in 2001, with leading leg spinner Anil Kumble missing through injury. In that year's series victory over Australia, Harbhajan took 32 wickets and became the first Indian bowler to take a hat trick in Test cricket.
A finger injury in mid 2003 sidelined him for much of the following year but Harbhajan reclaimed a regular position in the team upon his return in late 2004. He often found himself watching from the sidelines in Test matches outside the Indian subcontinent where only one spinner was used, but Harbhajan remains India's first-choice ODI spinner.
[edit] West Indian cricket team in England in 1988
The West Indian cricket team in England in 1988 played 16 first-class cricket matches under the captaincy of Viv Richards. The West Indian cricket team enjoyed tremendous success during the tour while the England cricket team endured a "disastrous summer" of continuous change.
England easily won the initial three-match One-day International (ODI) series, retaining the Texaco Trophy. However, West Indies comfortably retained the Wisden Trophy, winning the Test series 4-0. The England cricket team used four different captains in the five-match series and hence this tour has become known in cricketing circles as the "summer of four captains".
