Real International Cricket: A History in One Hundred Scorecards

Real International Cricket charts cricket’s global evolution across the last 175 years. Author Roy Morgan selects 100 different scorecards from matches involving non-Test-playing nations, played between 1840 and the modern day. From early adopters Canada and USA, to top associates Ireland and Afghanistan; from countries where cricket’s the national sport, such as Papua New Guinea, to outposts like Saint Helena and New Caledonia, or Hungary and Romania, where cricket is in its infancy. Each scorecard is accompanied by a match report, setting each match in an historical context. Tracing changes in the atmosphere, the size of the crowds, the style of hospitality, methods of transport, the roles of expats and local players, how the standards have risen or fallen over time, and the increasing importance of women’s internationals. From the early years, through the Golden Age, the decline prior to, and revival after the Second World War, to the present-day struggle to maintain multi-innings cricket against the excitement of one-day internationals and Twenty20. This is a tribute to the game’s pioneers, enthusiasts and eccentrics and shows how cricket has developed as a global sport.