Important Dates in the history of cricket

Cricket's history stretches from an unrecorded rural pastime in England's south-east to a modern global sport with 12 Test-playing nations and an Olympic return scheduled for 2028. The timeline below marks the dates that actually changed the game, from the first written Laws to the most recent expansion of the international calendar.

Year	Event
1744	Earliest known code of the Laws of Cricket drafted in London
1774	Laws revised; leg before wicket (lbw) introduced as a mode of dismissal
1787	Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) founded at Lord's
1788	MCC takes over ownership and custodianship of the Laws of Cricket, a role it still holds
1844	First international match: Canada beats the United States in Manhattan, New York
1859	First England touring team travels overseas, to North America
1864	Overarm bowling authorised
1868	An Aboriginal Australian team becomes the first overseas side to tour England
1877	First Test match: Australia beats England by 45 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
1882	Australia beats England by 7 runs at the Oval; the shock loss inspires the mock obituary that gives the Ashes their name
1889	South Africa becomes the third Test-playing nation
1900	Cricket's only Olympic appearance to date: Great Britain beats France at the Paris Games
1909	Imperial Cricket Conference founded at Lord's by Australia, England and South Africa — forerunner of today's ICC
1928–1932	West Indies (1928), New Zealand (1930) and India (1932) play their first Tests
1932–33	The Bodyline series: England's leg-theory bowling tactics against Don Bradman spark a diplomatic row and lasting law changes
1952	Pakistan becomes the seventh Test nation
1964	The Conference is renamed the International Cricket Conference; the associate-member category is introduced
1971	First One Day International: Australia beats England at the MCG
1975	First Cricket World Cup, held in England; West Indies are champions
1977	Kerry Packer launches World Series Cricket, introducing coloured kits, floodlit day-night matches and the white ball
1982	Sri Lanka becomes the eighth Test nation
1989	The body is renamed the International Cricket Council, its present name
1992	Zimbabwe becomes the ninth Test nation; third-umpire video replays are introduced
2000	Bangladesh becomes the tenth Test nation, the same year the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal breaks and forces sweeping anti-corruption reform across the sport
2005	First Twenty20 International, Australia v New Zealand; ICC headquarters move to Dubai
2007	First ICC World Twenty20, won by India
2008	The Decision Review System (DRS) is used in a Test match for the first time
2015	First day-night Test, played with a pink ball, at the Adelaide Oval
2017	Afghanistan and Ireland are granted Test status, becoming the 11th and 12th Test nations
2019	The inaugural ICC World Test Championship cycle begins
2024	The United States co-hosts the T20 World Cup with the West Indies; India are champions
2028	Cricket returns to the Olympics, at the Los Angeles Games, in Twenty20 format

Two threads worth separating

Two easily confused facts run through this timeline. First, the Laws of the game and the administration of the game have always been separate things: the Marylebone Cricket Club has owned the Laws since 1788 and still does, while the International Cricket Council, founded 121 years later, organises the sport's competitions and has never controlled the Laws itself. Second, "Test status" and "first Test played" are not always the same date — Afghanistan and Ireland were admitted as full members in 2017 but did not play their debut Tests until the following year, just as West Indies, New Zealand and India were admitted together in 1926 but took their first Tests one country at a time, between 1928 and 1932.

For the fuller story behind these dates, see Beginning and Growth of Test Cricket, Beginning of international cricket, and ICC and the World Cricket.