The game of cricket, as it is played today, has its origin in the south eastern part of England. Cricket became a generally adopted sport in the second half of the seventeenth century. The Hambeldon club which was founded in about 1750’s had played a significant part in the evolution of the game. It was superseded by the Marylebone Cricket Club (M.C.C) with its headquarters at Lords, London. Cricket became an international game with the formation of the Imperial Cricket Conference (I.C.C) in 1909. The name of Imperial Cricket Conference was changed to International Cricket Conference (later, Council) to enable countries outside the common wealth to become its members. The first Limited Over International cricket match was played in 1971 at Melbourne. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) saw its potential and staged the first limited over Cricket World Cup in 1975. The first edition of limited over Cricket world cup won by West Indies.
In the 21st century, a new limited over form, Twenty 20, has made an immediate impact. The first T-20 international match took place on August 5 2004, between the women’s teams of England and New Zealand. The first T-20 international match between men’s teams was played on February 17 2005, between Australia and New Zealand. The first T-20 World Cup was played in South Africa in 2007. India won the first edition of T-20 World Cup.
An all India team went on a tour of England in 1911 under Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. The Indian Cricket Control Board came into being towards the end of 1928. The national championship for the Ranji Trophy began in 1935. India entered the international arena and played its first official Test against England in 1932. Meanwhile Prince Ranjit Singhji of Nawanagar who had gone to England for further studies, made a remarkable name for himself in the game of cricket.
