Cricket in New Ingerland

Cricket in New Ingerland
A local cricket match
Governing body	NICB
Registered players	299,000
Clubs	363
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	11 players per side (Substitutes permitted in some circumstances)
Mixed gender	Yes, separate competitions
Categorisation	Team sport, Bat-and-ball
Equipment	Cricket ball, cricket bat, wicket (stumps, bails), various protective equipment
Venue	Cricket field

The game of cricket is the pre-eminent summer sport in New Ingerland. Cricket is presently the most played sport over the summer months, and is the second most popular overall. Locally, the sport is controlled by the New Ingerland Cricket Board.

History

Exactly when the first games of cricket were played in New Ingerland is difficult to discern.

Domestic competitions

On a domestic level, each county has a cricket team which competes in two separate competitions over summer:

• A three-day first-class competition known as the National County Championship; and
• A one-day competition, known as the Millennium Electric Cup.

First class

The domestic first class competition is the National County Championship, with seven of the counties, the two halves of Albanyshire, and the three ridings of Centralia represented by a team, for a total of twelve teams. All first class matches in New Ingerland are played over four days. The Championship, which was established in time for the 1883/84 season, is played every summer from November to March. Attendances to Championship matches have never been as high as international games, with most games averaging around 5,000-6,000 spectators over the four days of play. In the media, the Championship enjoys widespread coverage, with all formats dedicating significant time/space to the game. On television, there is at least one game a week broadcast on the Galaxy pay television network, with Radio Television New Ingerland also showing a highlights package each week on free-to-air television.

The twelve first class teams and their primary home grounds are:

• Beaufortshire CCA (Fisher Park, Williamsdene)
• Deverauxshire CCA (Varley Oval, Swanbrook)
• East Albanyshire CCA (Glebe Park, Port Frederick)
• East Riding CCA (County Ground, Kingsbury)
• Fitzroyshire CCA (Fitzroy Oval, Corfe Harbour)
• Lunen Island CCA (Oakes Oval, Lunenborough)
• Middle Riding CCA (Shepton Domain, Shepton)
• Vernonshire CCA (Riverside Oval, Langford)
• Waylandshire CCA (Recreation Ground, Port Averell)
• West Albanyshire CCA (County Ground, Pasquale)
• West Riding CCA (Lynch Oval, Philipstown)
• Westerland CCA (Arthur V Oval, Earnestvale)

Limited overs

New Ingerland's premier limited over cricket tournament is the Millennium Electric Cup. As with the first class Championship, each of the eight counties is represented by a team in the tournament, which is played at the start of the cricket season in early November. The format of the competition is somewhat unique as it involves teams batting two 25 over innings instead of the usual single innings format used by most national cricketing bodies. Unlike the first class form of the game, limited overs games tend to attract more spectators (averaging over 7,000-10,000 to most games) and enjoy prime-time coverage on free-to-air television.

Grade cricket

At the grade level, there are teams in every town and village, playing in competitions all through the summer. Most local competitions consist of four or five divisions or "grades", with the top flight first grade coming above the seconds, thirds, and so on.

Cricket grounds

There are numerous club grounds throughout New Ingerland. The following have been Test, First Class, and ODI cricket matches:

     Grounds used for test matches.

Ground	Capacity	Location		First used	Opponent
County Ground	4,000	Kingsbury, CENT	map	1960/61	Ingerland (vs. NICB Chairman's XI)
Fisher Park	28,600	Williamsdene, BEAU	map	1938/39	Vodeo
Kingsbury Stadium	48,500	Kingsbury, CENT	map	1927/28	Ingerland
Lynch Oval	19,500	Philpstown, CENT	map	1936/37	Deodeca (vs. West Riding CCC)
Glebe Park Stadium	16,000	Port Frederick, ABNY	map	1871/72	tbd