Variations in First-class Cricket Statistics - Concept and Definition of First-class Cricket

Concept and Definition of First-class Cricket

The concept of first-class cricket originated in May 1894 at a meeting of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) committee and the secretaries of the clubs involved in the official County Championship, which had begun in 1890. As a result, those clubs became first-class from 1895 along with MCC, Cambridge University, Oxford University, major cricket touring teams and other teams designated as such by MCC.

First-class cricket was formally defined by the then Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC) in May 1947 as a match of three or more days' duration between two sides of eleven players officially adjudged first-class; the governing body in each country to decide the status of teams. Significantly, it was stated that the definition does not have retrospective effect.

The absence of any ruling about matches played before 1947 (or before 1895 in Great Britain) has caused problems for cricket historians and especially statisticians. Matches that meet the official definitions, assuming they featured teams of the necessary high standard, have been recorded since 1697. It was inevitable that historians and statisticians would seek to apply first-class status retrospectively, in contravention of the ICC and MCC directives. The position is that each writer must compile his own list based on his personal opinions. As a result, significant differences may be observed in published statistical records with particular impact on the career records of W.G. Grace, Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe. There are differences in the perceived status of certain matches played by Gloucestershire teams before the county club was formed in 1870 and by Somerset in 1879 and 1881.

One of the problems is that statisticians have tended not to publish their match lists with their findings. However, it should be noted that the number of differences is extremely small in terms of the sport's overall statistics. The status of pre-definition matches is primarily a statistical concern rather than a historical one. Historians record the importance of a match in contemporary terms regardless of statistical hindsight.