ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2020

10 General notes to the scores In the 2019/20 season 529 first-class matches were played, compared with 633 in 2018/19. The fall in the number of matches reflects the impact of the pandemic, coupled with a planned reduction in the first-class programme in Pakistan. This Annual contains the full scores of all first-class games played in the 2019/20 season, as well as the 25 matches played in Sri Lanka in August 2020 (these were the only matches played outside England and Wales during the 2020 season). The Annual does not, of course, include the 54 matches played in England and Wales during the pandemic-affected 2020 season because these will be found in the 2021 edition of Wisden . The matches are arranged 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. 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, scores from Sri Lanka generally omit the duration in time of batsmen’s innings. For the first time, this year all the scorecards for Pakistan domestic matches include details of the batsman out at the fall of each wicket. This does not mean, unfortunately, that Pakistan scorers have begun to report this important detail; rather, it means that an algorithm has been developed using the minutes batted to deduce the order of dismissal. It is important to be clear, therefore, that the order of dismissal on the scorecards is not properly sourced in its own right but is derived from other information. 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 substitutes are included in the team list, indented and italicized, with a footnote explaining who was replaced and (where known) why the substitution occurred. Brief footnotes to the scores indicate player milestones and other notable features. Full world-wide averages for the 2019/20 and 2020 seasons will be found in the 2021 edition of the ACS International Cricket Year Book , which will be published in February 2021. 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 2019/20 and 2020, as well as their career records.