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Thirty-three years before the first ever Test match was staged, which would commence the game’s most celebrated rivalry, international cricket was born in a part of the world that is not known for it’s love of our great game. In September 1844 at the St George’s Cricket Club, at Bloomingdale Park, New York City, the United States hosted Canada in the first ever international cricket fixture. The history books show that the Canadians triumphed by 23 runs. An estimated crowd of between 5,000-20,000 spectators are reported to have been in attendance, with vast amounts of money gambled on the result.

The first ever international cricket match - played between the United States and Canada in 1844 did not enjoy the technology associated with the game today!

At the time, cricket was reported to be the most popular sport in America, a sport which seem to slowly slide into the shadows of baseball, which had emerged as the premier sport by 1900. In Canada, a similar story unfolded with ice hockey becoming a national obsession, which remains the case to this day. The most celebrated cricketer from this period was John Barton King, from Philadelphia. King would be part of the American team who famously turned over a touring Australian side, returning home after the ashes tour of 1893. Sir Pelham Warner would describe King as “one of the finest bowlers of all time.” Sir Donald Bradman called him “America’s greatest cricketing son.”   

Fast forward to 1965 and the birth of the International Cricket Council, which had existed from 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. The United States came on board in the same year, with the Canadians joining the ranks in 1968. Both are currently Associate members, with Canada having earned ODI & T20I status. Both teams took part in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup in 2004, and played a match against each other. The Canadians won, thanks largely to the efforts of John Davison, who recorded match bowling figures of 17 for 137, the best bowling figures in first-class cricket since Jim Laker’s effort against the Aussies in 1956! Canada finished runner’s-up to Scotland in that tournament, and have played in every Intercontinental Cup since, where-as the Americans made only the one appearance.   

In the 35 year history of the cricket World Cup, Canada has made three appearances, in 1975, 2003 and 2007; earning a famous victory against Bangladesh in 2003. In that same World Cup, John Davison registered a then World Cup record of fastest century, against the West Indies. The men in red will be competing in the next World Cup in 2011.

John Davison went on a rampage against the West Indies in the 2003 World Cup, and registered an unlikely record!

Top flight international competition for the Americans came in 2004, with an appearance in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, thanks to winning the ICC 6 Nations Challenge, a tournament that the Americans only came into when Kenya were unavailable, and one that hasn’t been staged since. The USA, led by Jamaican born Richard Staple, went on to be absolutely hammered by both New Zealand and Australia. The experience to such exposure counted for little, when the ICC invoked a short-lived suspension when the USCA seemed to implode from within. Under the watchful eye of the WICB, the United States appears to have ironed out its problems and have been moving forward ever since.  

With T20 taking the cricket world by storm, both Canada and the United States look to be further establishing their place at the table. Cricket Canada staged the Scotiabank National T20 Championship in 2008, with Ontario B claiming the only title to date. An ICL backed venture was reported to be happening in the US, only to go by the wayside when the wheels began to fall of the rebel Indian competition. The IPL and ICC have both since announced aspirations to get a T20 league off the ground in the coverted American market. It remains to be seen if this will happen any time soon.

So what does the future hold in the first, and last frontier of the game we love? In Canada, cricket is the fastest growing sport in the country, fuelled mostly by the large population of immigrants from Test match playing nations. The United States has the largest number of registered cricketers outside the Test world. Both countries have taken part in domestic competitions in the West Indies at different times. Both are currently competing in the World Youth Cup in New Zealand. Both countries will be taking part in the T20 World Championship qualifying tournament in the UAE. With T20 cricket apparently now the rage, will this new form of the game bring in teams who have traditionally been left out in the cold? Will the oldest frontier of international cricket become our newest? Only time will tell. 

With a first class history that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, Zimbabwean cricket has had more than it’s share of ups and downs. From humble beginnings to the appointment of Test status, the relatively small African country was able to make a positive impression on the cricket world, only to completely come apart along with the economy of the nation thanks largely to Mr Robert Mugabe. The life and death of cricket in Zimbabwe is a tragedy, but with the first tentative steps on the long road back from disaster having recently been taken, the rest of the cricket world watches, waits, and hopes.

Whilst the first foray in serious cricket ended in an innings defeat at the hands of Transvaal in South Africa’s Currie Cup competition, cricket in this part of the world would be slow to develop. As a British colony, Rhodesia did not become a regular feature of South African domestic cricket until the end of the Second World War. This association continued right up until the 1979-80 season, when Zimbabwe became independant. Up until this point in time, Rhodesia managed to produce a number of players who went on to play Test cricket for South Africa, the last being John Traicos in 1970, who was selected to play against Bill Lawry’s Australians just before South Africa fell into exile over Apartied policies at home. In spite of having good players through the years, Rhodesia never managed to win the Currie Cup.

Joining the ICC as an associate member in 1981, Zimbabwe won the 1982 ICC Trophy, beating Bermuda in the final, and subsequantly qualified for the 1983 World Cup, where they turned over a star-studed Aussie line-up in their first match. Nine years later, Zimbabwe played in their first Test match, against India at the Harare Sports Club, earning a draw and becoming only the second team in Test history not to lose their first ever Test match. David Houghton, long considered the best cricketer beyond the Test world lead the home team by example, scoring 121 on debut. John Traicos at the age of 45 became the 14th player to represent 2 countries in Test cricket, and picked up 5 wickets in the first innings, including that of Sachin Tendulkar for a duck.  

Fast forward to the 1999 World Cup, played in England and featuring 12 teams - the 9 Test match playing nations (which included Zimbabwe), along with Bangladesh, Kenya and Scotland. In the group stage, The Alistair Campbell-lead Zimbabweans won 3 of their 5 matches, and included victories over South Africa and India, allowing Zimbabwe to qualify to the next stage with maximum points carried forward. Losses to Australia and Pakistan in the next stage of competition saw an end to Zimbabwe’s most successful World Cup campaign to date. Both Australia and Pakistan went on to contest the final, which was won by the Aussies.

At the onset of the new millenia, Zimbabwe cricket seemed to be on the verge of a major break-through, with the likes of the Flower brothers, Murray Goodwin, Heath Streak, Paul Strang and others, forming the core of what was fast becoming a very respectable international outfit.

When the 2003 World Cup came around, Zimbabwe were co-hosts with South Africa and Kenya. This resulted in 5 out of 6 group matches for Zimbabwe being played at home, where things were not as rosey as they once were. Subsequantly, England forfeited their match, citing security concerns as their reason for pulling out of the fixture and effectively costing them a place in the next round. An even bigger controversy occured in Zimbabwe’s opening match against Namibia. Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower and Henry Olonga both wore black armbands mourning the death of democracy in Zimbabwe. Both players would retire form international cricket following this tournament, and were forced to emigrate abroad for their own safety.

The following year witnessed Zimbabwean cricket come apart at the seams. Captain Heath Streak was reported to have resigned, although later it became clear he’d been pushed. This lead to a 14 player walk-out of the national squad, following the the dismissal of a list of demands present to Zimbabwe Cricket, which included the reinstatement of Streak as captain and the permanent removal of a number of administrators. A considerably weakened team was fielded against the touring Sri Lankans, and was predicably flogged in all matches. This in turn lead to calls for Zimbabwe’s Test staus to be suspended until a resolution could be found to solve the internal problems that were occuring within the ranks of Zimbabwe cricket. With player ranks now severely depleted, ZC had little choice but to pull out of pre-arranged Test fixtures for the remainder of the 2004.

2005 brought with it new hope in Zimbabwe when Heath Streak was reinstated as captain. This was short lived, however, with the increasingly alarming actions that were being carried out by the Mugabe regime, including the much despised “Operation Drive Out Trash.” This obviously impacted on the national cricket team, who seem to be bouncing from one walloping to another, including a Test loss inside 2 days to New Zealand. This resulted in coach Phil Simmons being shown the door, much to the anger of the Zimbabwe players.

When Heath Streak then retired, it seemed that Zimbabwe cricket was in a downward spiral from which there seemed no escape. Within the space of a few months, the new captain Tatenda Taibu then resigned over sustained political interferance in the way the game was administered, amongst other concerns. Ultimately, this lead Zimbabwe Cricket to announce that it wold not be taking part in any Test fixtures in 2006. To make matters worse, the Logan Cup was called off, there-by completely killing off first class cricket in a country where the game seem to be taking off only a few years earlier.

With contract issues and financial problems continuing to hamper the situation, 2007 witnessed some remarkable results, including the stunning upset win that Ireland were able to achieve over Pakistan. Ireland had played Zimbabwe in the group opener which finished in a thrilling tie, giving Zimbabwe the only point they would earn from the tournament. In another tournament played later that year, the inugural World T20, Zimbabwe pulled off upset of the tournament by knocking over Australia. By the end of the year, however, several front-line Zimbabwe players were so disenchanted by their own board, several decided to seek greater riches elsewhere, most notably in English County cricket.

The general elections that took place in 2008 eventually resulted in a sharing of power with Morgan Tsvangirai. This in turn lead to some changes in the administrative structure of the game in Zimbabwe, which has included the appointment of a new cricket committee, headed by former captain Alistair Campbell. Other recent developments have including inclusion in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, where Zimbabwe will compete against the likes of Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, Scotland, Afghanistan and others. The Logan Cup has been resurrected and will be contested by five franchise teams. One such franchise, the Southern Rocks, have been linked with Kenya’s Steve Tikolo, who it is hoped will join the franchise as player/coach.  

In terms of Zimbabwe’s future as a Test nation, this remains to be seen. I would suggest that a number of things still need to happen before a return to Test ranks can be possible. Firstly, the Logan Cup needs to be a success. With a number of players being linked with the re-jigged century-old competition, this looks like a possibility. Secondly, the Campbell-lead cricket committee needs to rid itself entirely of the likes of Peter Chingoka and Ozais Bvute, which will probably only happen once Robert Mugabe has been removed from power and relocates to Hong Kong to live out his days in exile. Thirdly, the situation in Zimbabwe simply has to change, but again, this is unlikely to happen until Mugabe is disposed of. Finally, cricket boards from other countries have to agree to tour Zimbabwe again. And guess what has to occur before that happens!?

The future of Zimbabwe is unknown. Riddled with more problems that you can shake a stick at, it seems that forces have long been working against the development of cricket in the beleagured southern African state. It seems to me that the game bottomed out a few years ago. Although the climb back into the Test fold has really only just begun. I’m not sure when Zimbabwe will succeed in making it back into the Test arena, if indeed they do. What I am sure about is the fact that the game there has been all but destroyed by a regime hell bent on clinging on to power no matter what the cost, and in the case of Zimbabwe, the cost has been considerable to say the least.

With cricket being in the state that it presently finds itself in, Test cricket is in trouble. The proliferation of T20 coupled with problems of varrying degrees existing in several member states strongly suggest that the time honoured traditions of Test cricket could soon be a thing of the past, unless something radical happens to ensure the format many consider to be the game’s ultimate.

For some time, long before T20 was first introduced to first class cricket by the ECB (bless their cotton socks!), crowds for Test cricket have have come a poor second to ODI’s, with the Ashes being the only exception. It seems to me that it’s really only a matter of time before cricket boards around the world reconsider how they feel about the purest form of the game, particularly given that the world finds itself economically hamstrung for various reasons.

It would be a tragedy if Test cricket was to die the long, slow, horrible death it seems to be destined to have. With the FTP running out in 2012, the powers that be at the ICC need to collectively grow a pair and start making tough decisions.

One of the many problems faced by Test cricket today is that teams play a different amount of Tests to each other, and the number of Tests played from year to year can differ greatly. The solution to this problem would be to uniform fixtures. The only way to do this (this may hurt many) is to scrap the concept of Tests series and play one off fixtures - every Test team plays each other once during the course of 12 months, alternating each year with the home and away fixtures. This would mean that with 9 Test nations presently active, each team would play 8 Tests over the course of a calender year. This would provide for an annual Test Premiership, which would put an end to endless arguments that take place daily on cricket forums throughout cyber-space, amongst other places. A ODI and T20I Premiership could also exist along similar lines.

The traditional tours that once took place which featured a number warm up games, it seems, is no longer a priority. That said, England spent 4 months in the West Indies for a tour that meant very little in the overall scheme of things. Whilst I’d personally love to have 4 months touring the West indies, I’d be more interested in seeing meaningful cricket played by all teams at all times.

From 2013 onward, cricket tours should take no more than 2 and a half weeks, enough time to play 1 Test match, 2 ODI’s and 2 T20I’s. With 4 home tours and 4 away tours each year, the total amount of international cricket would amount to 8 Tests, and 16 ODI’s and T20I’s respectively - 72 days per year of international cricket, taking up a total of about 20 calendar weeks over the course of a calendar year. This would allow international players to be available for domestic fixtures in their home countries, and more importantly, have players available to take part in the IPL, which I predict will eventually expand to 16 teams. The rest of the time the players would have to themselves for rest, recovery, or whatever it is that international cricketers do when they’re not playing international cricket, or any other form of cricket, for that matter.

Regarding the future of IPL, I can forsee a 3 month window being created, along with expansion taking place so that the number of franchises will eventually be 16. Love it loathe it, the IPL is here to stay.

The FTP could be finalised in 2 year cycles, allowing for the possibility in the reduction or addition of teams.

This is the future as I see it, at least with the crystal ball I recently aquired from a Gypsy garage sale.

Feel free to agree, disagree, comment, or just read.