Test Cricket Playing Teams
There are currently ten Test-playing teams, the majority of which are individual nations (except for England and the West Indies).
Test status is conferred upon a country or group of countries by the International Cricket Council. Teams that do not have Test status can only officially play a shortened version of cricket, except in events such as the ICC Intercontinental Cup, which was specifically designed to allow non-Test teams to play under conditions similar to Tests. The teams are listed below with the date of each team's Test debut:
| Order | Team | Date of first Test Match | Number of matches before first win | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 15 March 1877 | 1 | At the time represented all of Britain, but now officially represents England and Wales. |
| 2 | Australia | 15 March 1877 | 0 | |
| 3 | South Africa | 12 March 1889 | 11 | Did not participate in international cricket between 10 March 1970 and 10 November 1991 after the International Cricket Conference suspended South Africa in response to the then South African Government's policy of apartheid. |
| 4 | West Indies | 23 June 1928 | 5 | Consists of players from a number of Caribbean nations and dependencies. (10 independent nations and five dependencies) |
| 5 | New Zealand | 10 January 1930 | 42 | |
| 6 | India | 25 June 1932 | 24 | Before partition of India in 1947, included territory that now forms Pakistan and Bangladesh. |
| 7 | Pakistan | 16 October 1952 | 1 | Before Bangladeshi independence in 1971, included territory that is now Bangladesh. |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 17 February 1982 | 13 | |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | 18 October 1992 | 10 | Voluntarily suspended from Test cricket between 10 June 2004 and 6 January 2005, and from 18 January 2006 until 3 August 2011 |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 10 November 2000 | 34 |
Ireland has stated its intention to apply for Full Membership of the ICC with the aim of achieving Test status.
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