ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2011

Matches in 2010 There were 197 first-class matches designated as belonging to the 2010 cricket season. Of these, 171 were played in England and Wales and full scores will be found in the 2011 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack . The remaining 26 matches are included in this section. The games were played in many different parts of the world and are given in alphabetical order of the host country. The 26 matches fall essentially into three categories. Tours involving Tests accounted for 7 matches (6 of which were actual Tests). A further 7 matches took place in the Intercontinental Cup (6) or Shield (1). The remaining 12 matches were played on tours that did not involve Tests. In June, South Africa played a three-Test rubber in West Indies, winning 2-0 and demonstrating clear superiority over the hosts, whose batsmen, although capable of large scores on occasion, were also prone to collapse; while the home bowlers never really threatened the powerful South African batting line-up. The new-ball pair of D.W.Steyn (15 wickets at 18.13) and M.Morkel (14 at 18.92) was outstanding for South Africa. The other Test tour, in July and August, also consisted of three Tests (and one other first-class match) as Sri Lanka (the hosts) drew 1-1 with India. The first Test will be long remembered for giving M.Muralitheran his 800th Test wicket (795 for Sri Lanka and 5 for the World XI in the so-called Super Test in 2005/06). In general, however, this was a rubber in which two illustrious batting sides faced lesser-known bowlers (Muralitharan aside) who struggled for wickets. This was particularly true of the second Test, which featured an extraordinary deluge of runs but never the faintest prospect of a result: a travesty of what Test cricket should be about. The fifth edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup was played during the calendar years 2009 and 2010. Six matches were played during the 2010 season. The Zimbabwe team, admitted to a competition normally reserved for non-Test nations, took the opportunity to show that it can outclass the likes of the Netherlands and Canada. But the standout performance was by Afghanistan, who overcame what must have been the desperately unfamiliar conditions of a cold, damp Ayrshire August to inflict a heavy defeat on their Scottish hosts. The 2009-10 ICC Intercontinental Shield also continued with a single match between Bermuda and the United Arab Emirates, easily won by the latter. Both the Intercontinental competitions, the Cup and the Shield, concluded during the 2010/11 season and details of the final stages, and complete league tables, will be found in the Rest of the World section which begins on page 657. In April, Zimbabwe, still seeking Test rehabilitation, visited Grenada for a single match in which they were defeated, but not disgraced, by the West Indies A team. Also, MCC’s customary season-opener against the defending County Champions (Durham) was controversially played at Abu Dhabi rather than at Lord’s: traditionalists objected, but possibly MCC’s motivation was to spare them the further distress of witnessing a match played with an experimental pink ball. There was an active programme of A tours. Australia hosted Sri Lanka A; Bangladesh received South Africa A and West Indies A; and South Africa A and Pakistan A visited Sri Lanka. Each of these five tours consisted of a two-match ‘mini-rubber’ with the host country’s A side, providing valuable international experience for players on the fringe of Test cricket. Results generally shadowed what might have been expected had the senior sides played, although South Africa might be concerned by their reserve bowlers’ lack of penetration, especially in Sri Lanka. Bangladesh A, although putting together the occasional good score, struggled against everyone. 11