ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2017

General notes to the scores In the 2016/17 season 599 first-class matches were played, compared with 531 in 2015/16. The principal factor in the increased number of games was the restructuring of the season in Sri Lanka, in particular the application of first-class status to Tier B of the Premier League Tournament. Largely because of this, there were 110 first-class matches in Sri Lanka in 2016/17 compared with 67 the previous season. Elsewhere, the admission of Chhattisgarh as a twenty-eighth Ranji Trophy side helped raise the number of games in India to 142, a record for any nation other than England. This Annual contains the full scores of all first-class matches played in the 2016/17 season, as well as the 16 matches played outside England and Wales in the 2017 season. It does not, of course, include the 152 matches played in England and Wales during the 2017 season because these will be found in the 2018 edition of Wisden . The matches are arranged in eleven sections, by season and country. Each section begins with a brief review of the first-class season of the country concerned. The introductions also include final league tables and, where applicable, details of the knock-out stages of tournaments. Any abandoned matches are also noted. A full score is provided for every match. Note, however, that in some cases, our sources do not supply all the information the Annual seeks to include: for instance, Pakistan scores do not normally indicate which batsman was out at the fall of each wicket. It is extremely disappointing that scorers in a country of such importance do not supply a piece of information that is fundamental to a modern scorecard. Where data are missing, the policy of the Annual is to lay out the scorecard in the usual way and simply to leave a blank space. This may occasionally result in a slightly odd appearance, but it has the merit of not only putting clearly before the user the information that is available but also showing with equal clarity what is not available. The scores are laid out in conventional parallel format, with bowling figures and fall of wickets both in tabular form. The cards should be mostly self-explanatory; the most novel feature is the use of a diesis (‡) or a silcrow (§) to indicate a player on, respectively, first-class or Test debut. Note also that full substitutions are noted on the actual card rather than merely as a footnote; this is done by placing the name of the substitute, indented and italicized, immediately after the player he replaced. Brief footnotes to the scores indicate player milestones and other notable features. Full world-wide averages for the 2016/17 and 2017 seasons will be found in the 2018 edition of the ACS International Cricket Year Book , which will be published in February 2018. The Year Book will also provide particulars including the full name and date and place of birth for all cricketers appearing in first-class matches in 2016/17 and 2017, as well as their career records. 10