ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2018

General notes to the scores In the 2017/18 season 616 first-class matches were played, compared with 599 in 2016/17. Considering that the season saw the advent of Afghanistan as a new Test-playing nation with 52 matches in its inaugural season, a rather larger increase might have been anticipated. But the additional games in Afghanistan were substantially offset by a reduction in the number of matches in India (142 in 2016/17 but 99 this season), largely attributable to the reorganization of the Ranji Trophy. This Annual contains the full scores of all first-class games played in the 2017/18 season, as well as the 19 matches played outside England and Wales in the 2018 season. It does not, of course, include the 146 matches played in England and Wales during the 2018 season because these will be found in the 2019 edition of Wisden . The matches are arranged in thirteen 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 scorers do not normally indicate which batsman was out at the fall of each wicket, while their colleagues from Sri Lanka generally omit the duration in time of batsmen’s innings. 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. 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 2017/18 and 2018 seasons will be found in the 2019 edition of the ACS International Cricket Year Book , which will be published in February 2019. 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 2017/18 and 2018, as well as their career records. 10