Test Cricket Quick Review

What we verified before publishing

Fact-check status: passed

The following claims were verified through Perplexity Sonar before the questions were finalised. The host can reference any of them during play:

• Test cricket is considered the most prestigious and traditional form of the sport, often called the 'ultimate test' of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament.
• A Test match is played between two national teams of 11 players each, with each team representing their country in white clothing.
• A single Test match lasts up to five days, with a maximum of 90 overs scheduled to be bowled per day.
• Each team plays two innings in a Test match, meaning the match consists of four innings total.
• An 'over' in cricket consists of exactly six deliveries bowled by the same bowler from one end of the pitch.
• A team wins a Test match by scoring more total runs than the opposition, or by bowling out the opposition (taking 10 wickets) before they reach the target.
• If the allotted time ends (five days) and one team has not completed both innings or neither team has won, the match is declared a draw.
• To score a 'run', batters must hit the ball and run to swap ends at the opposite wicket before the bowling team removes the bails.
• Hitting the ball over the boundary without it bouncing first awards the batting team six runs automatically.
• Hitting the ball to the boundary after it has bounced first awards the batting team four runs automatically.
• The first officially recognized Test match began on March 15, 1877, between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
• Test cricket is currently contested by 12 full-member teams of the International Cricket Council (ICC).