Australia Cricket

The Australia national cricket team are full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in which they play against other nations in all three formats of the sport.

Along with England, they are the joint oldest team in Test cricket as the pair met in 1877 for the first ever international match over five days. Australia were victorious by 45 runs.

The first two cricket nations in history still compete regularly in a series, which is known as the Ashes. In order to make it fair, they rotate the series between the two countries when it comes to hosting it. 

Australia are the highest ranked team in the history of the Test game as they have the best winning percentage of all the full members of the ICC.

The national team is governed by Cricket Australia, which used to be known as the Australian Cricket Board.

In 1970 Australia also played their first ever one-day international against England. The 50-overs game took place at Melbourne Cricket Ground. After bowling out the visitors for 190, they went on to win by five wickets.

During the 2004/2005 season, the national team played New Zealand in a Twenty20 international. The game took place in Auckland at Eden Park. Ricky Ponting's side were able to make 214 runs from their 20 overs, while the Kiwis were bowled out for 170 in their reply.

The World Cup is the biggest prize on offer in one-day cricket and Australia have been lucky enough to win it on four occasions, which is a record. They did so in 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007. They also reached the final in 1975 and 1996. In the more recently formed ICC Champions Trophy, they have lifted the trophy twice, the first win coming in 2006 and then again in 2009.

There are three major domestic competitions that take place each year in Australia. The national team is mainly made up of players who compete in those tournaments. The Sheffield Shield is a first-class cricket league that features teams from the six states in the country. 

In terms of one-day cricket there is also the Australian domestic limited-over cricket tournament. The six teams compete in 50 overs matches.

More recently the Big Bash League was formed to have a domestic Twenty20 competition. This attracts some of the best players from around the world in the format of the game, which takes place from December through to January.

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