What is Cricket?

Cricket is a bat and ball game, invented in England. The earliest reference to cricket is in South East England in the mid-16th century. It spread globally with the expansion of the British Empire, with the first international matches in the second half of the 19th century. The game's governing body is the International Cricket Council (ICC), which has over 100 members, twelve of which are full members who play Test matches. The game's rules, the Laws of Cricket, are maintained by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London. The sport is followed primarily in South Asia, Australasia, the United Kingdom, Southern Africa and the West Indies. There are 3 main forms/editions of Cricket: Test matches (usually lasting 5 days), ODI (one day international) usually lasting 6-8 hours, and more recent and popular T20 usually lasting 3-4 hours.