This table gathers the main dated events from the History pages. Each row names its source. "Wikipedia" means the fact rests on Wikipedia alone in our research, and "summary" means we saw the source only as a search summary. Where a date is disputed, the row gives each version, and the full story is on the History page for that subject. Corruption cases appear only as official decisions, and deaths only briefly, as published history. Results after 2019 come from the governing bodies' own releases.
Before 1800
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| About 1550 | John Derrick and his friends play "creckett" as schoolboys in Guildford, by his own later testimony | Wikipedia; World Wide Words |
| January 1598 (1597 Old Style) | Derrick's statement in a Guildford court case, the earliest generally accepted reference to cricket (the day is given as 17 January 1597 Old Style or 27 January 1598 in secondary summaries, unconfirmed) | Wikipedia |
| 1611 | First reference to adults playing | ICC |
| 1709 | First known match played under county names | ICC |
| 1744 | Earliest known Code of Laws, drawn up by "Noblemen and Gentlemen" who used the Artillery Ground | MCC, 2022 Laws |
| 1745 | First known women's match, Bramley against Hambledon, Surrey | ICC; MCC |
| 1755 | Laws revised by clubs including the Star and Garter | MCC, 2022 Laws |
| 1774 | Laws revised at the Star and Garter; the ICC says lbw, a middle stump and a maximum bat width were added | MCC, 2022 Laws; ICC |
| 1786 | Laws revised again by the counties' noblemen and gentlemen | MCC, 2022 Laws |
| 1787 | Thomas Lord's first ground at Dorset Fields; MCC founded; first match 31 May per the MCC (21 May per Wikipedia and Westminster Guides) | MCC; Wikipedia; Westminster Guides summary |
| 30 May 1788 | The MCC's first Code of Laws adopted | MCC, 2022 Laws |
1800 to 1899
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1811 | First women's county match, Hampshire against Surrey at Ball's Pond | ICC; MCC |
| 1816 | Laws changed to ban roundarm bowling | Williamson, ESPNcricinfo |
| 15 July 1822 | John Willes no-balled for roundarm at Lord's | Williamson, ESPNcricinfo |
| 1828 and 1835 | Hand allowed to elbow height (1828), then roundarm permitted with the hand to the shoulder (1835); sources differ on which counts as legalisation | Williamson, ESPNcricinfo; Wikipedia |
| 19 May 1835 | New MCC Code approved | MCC, 2022 Laws |
| 1839 | Sussex, the first English county club | ICC |
| 1844 | United States against Canada in New York, the first international match | ICC |
| 1845 | Laws changed to make umpires' decisions final | Williamson, ESPNcricinfo |
| 1859 and 1862 | First overseas tour (English professionals to North America); first English team in Australia | ICC |
| 26 August 1862 | Edgar Willsher no-balled six times for overarm at The Oval | Williamson, ESPNcricinfo |
| 1864 | Overarm bowling legalised (10 June per Wikipedia, unconfirmed); first Wisden; W.G. Grace's career begins | ICC; Williamson; Wikipedia |
| 1868 | Aboriginal Australian team tours England | ICC |
| 15 to 19 March 1877 | First Test, MCG; Australia win by 45 runs | MCG; Cricket Australia |
| 29 August 1882 | Australia win at The Oval; the Sporting Times obituary follows (a day or three days later, per two MCC pages) | MCC |
| 24 December 1882 (or after the third Test, 1883) | The urn given to Ivo Bligh, at Rupertswood per the MCC; the older version, from Bligh's 1894 statement, has it presented by Victorian ladies in 1883 | MCC; Williamson, ESPN |
| 21 April 1884 | New MCC Code approved | MCC, 2022 Laws |
| 1887 | White Heather Club, the first women's club on record | MCC |
| 1889 | South Africa becomes the third Test nation | ICC |
| 1889-90 and 1890 | Currie Cup begins; official County Championship begins | ICC |
1900 to 1969
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 15 June and July 1909 | First meeting at Lord's (15 June); the Imperial Cricket Conference set up at a second meeting (July) | ICC; MCC |
| 1912 | Triangular Tournament in England | ICC |
| 1926 | Women's Cricket Association founded; ICC membership widened to West Indies, New Zealand and India; the Ashes urn first shown in public | MCC; ICC |
| 1928 | The urn passes to the MCC after Bligh's death in 1927; West Indies' first Test | MCC; ICC |
| 1929-30 and 1932 | First Tests of New Zealand and India | ICC |
| 1932-33 | Bodyline series; England win 4-1 | Williamson, ESPNcricinfo |
| 18 January 1933 | Australian Board of Control cables the MCC (original text not read; Williamson's summary) | Williamson, ESPNcricinfo |
| 1933 | Patsy Hendren wears protective headgear; the MCC resolution against bowling aimed at the batter | MCC; Williamson |
| 28 to 30 December 1934 | First women's Test, Brisbane; England win by nine wickets | Cricket Australia |
| 7 May 1947 | New MCC Code approved | MCC, 2022 Laws |
| 28 July 1952 | Pakistan admitted; first Test that October | ICC |
| 1957 or 1960 | Limit of two fielders behind square on the leg side (both dates from secondary summaries, unconfirmed) | Wikipedia summary; ESPNcricinfo summary |
| 1958 | International Women's Cricket Council founded | ICC; MCC |
| May 1961 | South Africa leaves the Commonwealth and the Conference | ICC |
| 7 September 1963 | First Gillette Cup final, Lord's; Sussex win | MCC; ESPNcricinfo |
| July 1965 | Renamed the International Cricket Conference; first Associates | ICC |
| September 1968 | D'Oliveira named (16th), team refused by South Africa (17th), tour cancelled (24th per secondary sources) | Murray; Wikipedia |
1970 to 1999
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | South Africa's tour of England cancelled (22 May per secondary sources); the ICC suspends South Africa | Liverman, Cricinfo; ICC |
| 5 January 1971 | First men's one-day international, MCG | MCG |
| 20 June to 28 July 1973 | First Women's World Cup, England; England win the final at Edgbaston (one ICC release gives an end date of 18 July) | ICC |
| 21 June 1975 | First men's World Cup final; West Indies win at Lord's (agreed in 1972 per the MCC, 1973 per the ICC) | MCC; ICC |
| 1976 | First women's match at Lord's | MCC |
| March 1977 | Centenary Test, MCG; Australia again win by 45 runs | MCG; Cricket Australia |
| 9 May 1977 | World Series Cricket signings made public | Williamson, ESPNcricinfo |
| 1977 | Dennis Amiss wears a helmet in World Series Cricket (1978 per a Wikipedia summary) | Sports Gazette; Wikipedia |
| 25 or 26 November 1977 | High Court rules the bans on World Series players an unreasonable restraint of trade (Greig v Insole) | Williamson; other reports |
| March 1978 | Graham Yallop wears the first helmet in a Test, Bridgetown | Sports Gazette; Wikipedia |
| 30 May 1979 | World Series Cricket truce with the Australian Cricket Board | Williamson, ESPNcricinfo |
| 21 November 1979 | New Code approved, in force 1980 | MCC, 2022 Laws |
| July 1981 | Sri Lanka a full member; first Test February 1982 | ICC |
| 1987 | First men's World Cup outside England and at 50 overs | ICC |
| July 1989 | Renamed the International Cricket Council (1987 in one Wikipedia article) | ICC; Wikipedia |
| 29 June 1991 | United Cricket Board of South Africa formed | UCB history |
| July 1991 | South Africa readmitted as a full ICC member | ICC |
| 10 November 1991 (12 November in one report) | South Africa's return match, Calcutta | South African History Online; Hindustan Times summary |
| 1992 | World Cup with floodlights, coloured clothing and a white ball; Zimbabwe's first Test (October) | ICC |
| 1993 | First ICC Chief Executive; the MCC's administrative role ends | ICC |
| September 1998 | MCC votes to admit women members (27 or 28 September in press accounts); the Women's Cricket Association is dissolved the same year (month not given) | MCC; The Cricket Monthly and The Lawyer summaries |
| April 1999 | ICC Code of Conduct Commission under Lord Griffiths | ICC |
2000 to 2027
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 3 May 2000 | New Code with the Spirit of Cricket Preamble | MCC, 2026 Laws |
| 2000 | ICC Anti-Corruption Unit; Bangladesh gains Test status; Qayyum commission's recommendation leads to the PCB's life ban on Salim Malik | ICC; Dawn |
| October 2000 | United Cricket Board bans Hansie Cronje for life (announced 12 October; resolution date reported differently) | AAP |
| 5 December 2000 | BCCI life bans on Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma (press reports) | Daily FT |
| 13 June 2003 | First professional Twenty20 matches, English counties (unconfirmed by the ECB) | Wikipedia |
| August 2004 | First women's Twenty20 international, Hove | Sussex Cricket |
| 17 February 2005 | First men's Twenty20 international, Auckland | NZC; ESPNcricinfo summary |
| 2005 | ICC moves to Dubai (August); the IWCC merges with the ICC | ICC |
| 2007 | First men's T20 World Cup, South Africa; India win | ICC |
| 18 April 2008 | First IPL match, Bengaluru | ESPNcricinfo |
| 23 October 2008 | Lahore civil court lifts Salim Malik's life ban | Dawn |
| 2009 | First women's T20 World Cup, England; England win | ICC |
| 5 February 2011 | ICC tribunal decision in the Lord's 2010 spot-fixing case; appeals of Butt and Asif dismissed by CAS in April 2013 | ICC |
| November 2012 | Andhra Pradesh High Court declares Azharuddin's ban illegal (8 or 6 November) | Daily FT; ESPNcricinfo summary |
| 27 November 2014 | Death of Phillip Hughes, found by the NSW State Coroner on 4 November 2016 to be a tragic accident | NSW Coroners Court |
| 1 January 2017 | ICC requires helmets worn while batting in internationals to meet BS 7928:2013 | ICC |
| 22 June 2017 | Ireland and Afghanistan become Full Members | ICC |
| 1 October 2017 | 2017 Code of Laws in force | MCC, 2026 Laws |
| 1 July 2018 and 1 January 2019 | T20 international status for all members' women's, then men's, teams | ICC |
| 2019 | England win the men's World Cup at Lord's on boundary countback; Sreesanth's ban reduced to seven years (7 August, press reports); Shakib Al Hasan banned (29 October) | ICC; The Week; The Peninsula |
| 13 November 2022 | England win the men's T20 World Cup, beating Pakistan at the MCG | ICC |
| 1 June 2023 | ICC makes helmets mandatory in three high-risk positions | ICC |
| 11 June 2023 | Australia win the World Test Championship final at The Oval | ICC |
| 19 November 2023 | Australia win the men's World Cup, Ahmedabad | ICC |
| 9 March 2025 | India win the Champions Trophy in Dubai | ICC |
| 2 May 2025 | ICC bans Shohaly Akhter for five years | ICC |
| 14 June 2025 | South Africa win the World Test Championship final at Lord's | ICC |
| 2 November 2025 | India win the Women's World Cup for the first time, Navi Mumbai | ICC |
| November 2025 to January 2026 | Australia win the men's Ashes 4-1 at home | ICC |
| 8 March 2026 | India win the men's T20 World Cup, beating New Zealand in Ahmedabad | BCCI (result); ICC schedule (date) |
| 5 July 2026 | Australia win the Women's T20 World Cup, beating England at Lord's | ICC |
| 15 July 2026 | Mauritius approved as the ICC's 111th member | ICC |
| 2026 | First women's Test at Lord's, England against India | MCC |
| 1 October 2026 | 2017 Code 4th Edition (2026) of the Laws in force | MCC |
| 11 to 15 March 2027 (upcoming) | 150th Anniversary Test, Australia against England, MCG, day-night | ICC |
| 9 to 13 June 2027 (upcoming) | World Test Championship final at The Oval, per the ICC's announcement of 23 July 2026 (an older ICC article, seen as a summary, refers to Lord's) | ICC |
The stories behind these rows are told on the History pages, listed on the History section page.
Sources
- ICC, history of cricket: early cricket
- ICC, history of cricket: the 19th century
- ICC, history of cricket: the 20th century
- ICC, history of the ICC: 1909-1963
- ICC, history of the ICC: 1964-1988
- ICC, history of the ICC: 1989-present
- Wikipedia, History of cricket to 1725 (secondary)
- Michael Quinion, World Wide Words (14 March 2009)
- MCC, Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code 3rd Edition (2022), preface
- MCC, Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code 4th Edition (2026)
- MCC, Father Time Wall: 1787
- MCC, The evolution of women's cricket
- Martin Williamson, The evolution of bowling, ESPNcricinfo (27 May 2006)
- MCG, history timeline
- MCC, The Ashes
- MCC, Father Time Wall: 1928, the Ashes urn is presented to MCC
- Martin Williamson, ESPN (18 September 2006)
- Martin Williamson, Bodyline, ESPNcricinfo (11 August 2007)
- MCC, Father Time Wall: 1937, Patsy Hendren
- Andrew Ramsey, Cricket Australia (1 November 2024)
- MCC, Father Time Wall: 1963, the first Gillette Cup final
- Bruce Murray, The D'Oliveira Affair 1968/9 (1999)
- Dave Liverman, Cricinfo tour history, England v South Africa 1968-69 to 1989-90
- ICC, ICC celebrates 50 years of the first-ever Cricket World Cup (20 June 2023)
- MCC, Father Time Wall: 1975
- Martin Williamson, World Series Cricket, ESPNcricinfo (10 October 2006)
- Emma Seligman, Sports Gazette (29 November 2024)
- Cricinfo archive, history of the United Cricket Board of South Africa
- South African History Online (updated 30 September 2019)
- MCC, Father Time Wall: 1998, MCC votes to admit women as members
- AAP via Cricinfo (12 October 2000)
- Daily FT (10 November 2012)
- Dawn (24 October 2008)
- Wikipedia, 2003 Twenty20 Cup (secondary)
- Sussex Cricket (31 October 2019)
- New Zealand Cricket (4 November 2015)
- ICC, a brief history of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup (29 January 2026)
- ICC, the story of every Women's T20 World Cup so far (16 April 2026)
- ESPNcricinfo, first IPL match report (18 April 2008)
- ICC, CAS reject Butt and Asif's appeal against ICC ban (17 April 2013)
- NSW Coroners Court, Phillip Hughes findings (4 November 2016)
- ICC, helmets and head protectors (30 January 2018)
- ICC, Ireland and Afghanistan ICC's newest Full Members (22 June 2017)
- ICC, all T20 matches between ICC members to get international status (26 April 2018)
- The Week (20 August 2019)
- ICC, Shakib Al Hasan banned (29 October 2019)
- ICC, how England won the T20 World Cup (13 November 2022)
- ICC, prominent change to playing conditions revealed (15 May 2023)
- ICC, Australia crowned world Test champions (11 June 2023)
- ICC, Australia crowned ICC World Test champions with win over India (seen as search summary only)
- ICC, Awesome Australia beat India to win the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup (19 November 2023)
- ICC, Rohit leads India to ICC Men's Champions Trophy glory (9 March 2025)
- ICC, first female cricketer banned for corruption charges (2 May 2025)
- ICC, South Africa seal historic ICC World Test Championship triumph (14 June 2025)
- ICC, India clinch historic first ICC Women's Cricket World Cup title (2 November 2025)
- ICC, Australia seal 4-1 Ashes win in Sydney
- BCCI, BCCI congratulates Team India on ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 triumph (9 March 2026)
- ICC, England v Australia, Women's T20 World Cup 2026 final
- ICC, ICC approve Mauritius as latest member nation at Annual Conference (15 July 2026)
- MCC, MCC announces new edition of Laws from 1 October 2026 (3 February 2026)
- ICC, Australia and England to play historic 150th anniversary Test at MCG (11 March 2025)
- ICC, venue and dates for World Test Championship 2027 final revealed (23 July 2026)
- ICC, World Test Championship 2025-27: where do teams stand (seen as search summary only)
- Wikipedia, Marylebone Cricket Club (secondary)
- Westminster Guides, Lord's old ground (seen as search summary only)
- Wikipedia, Roundarm bowling (secondary)
- Wikipedia, Overarm bowling (secondary)
- Cricket Australia, 150 Years of Test Cricket History
- Wikipedia, Fielding (cricket) (secondary, seen as search summary only)
- ESPNcricinfo, leg-side fielding Law article (seen as search summary only)
- ESPNcricinfo, Gillette Cup final 1963 scorecard (seen as search listing only)
- Wikipedia, D'Oliveira affair (secondary)
- ICC, the World Cup that pioneered women's cricket (28 July 2023)
- Wikipedia, Dennis Amiss (secondary)
- Stabroek News, Greig v Insole judgment date (seen as search summary only)
- Wikipedia, Graham Yallop (secondary)
- ICC, Men's Cricket World Cup: the story so far (18 September 2023)
- Wikipedia, International Cricket Council (secondary)
- Hindustan Times via PressReader (December 2021, seen as search summary only)
- The Cricket Monthly, when women stormed the citadel (seen as search summary only)
- The Lawyer (5 October 1998, seen as search summary only)
- ESPNcricinfo, New Zealand v Australia first T20 international report (seen as search summary only)
- ESPNcricinfo, Azharuddin ruling (8 November 2012, seen as search summary only)
- The Peninsula (20 August 2019, seen as search summary only)
- ICC, your guide to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 (6 February 2026)
- Al Jazeera, report of the ICC tribunal decision (6 February 2011, seen as search summary only)