Editing First-class cricket (section)

==Formal definition under ICC ruling, May 1947==
The term "first-class cricket" was formally defined by the then [[International Cricket Council|Imperial Cricket Conference]] (ICC) on 19 May 1947. It was made clear that the definition "will not have retrospective effect".{{sfn|Wisden|1948|p=813}} The definition is as follows:{{sfn|Wisden|1948|p=813}}

<blockquote>A match of three or more days' duration between two sides of eleven players officially adjudged first-class, shall be regarded as a first-class fixture. Matches in which either team have more than eleven players or which are scheduled for less than three days shall not be regarded as first-class. The Governing body in each country shall decide the status of teams.</blockquote>

For example, MCC was authorised to determine the status of matches played in Great Britain. To all intents and purposes, the 1947 ICC definition confirmed the 1894 MCC definition, and gave it international recognition and usage.

Hence, official judgment of status is the responsibility of the governing body in each country that is a ''full member'' of the [[International Cricket Council]] (ICC). The governing body grants first-class status to international teams and to domestic teams that are representative of the country's highest playing standard. Later ICC rulings make it possible for international teams from ''associate members'' of the ICC to achieve first-class status but it is dependent on the status of their opponents in a given match.<ref name="ICCCOC">{{cite journal |url=https://pulse-static-files.s3.amazonaws.com/ICC/document/2017/09/24/4510678a-e031-4a9b-a402-397d4868adb6/ICC-Classification-of-Official-Cricket-Effective-1st-October-2017.pdf |title=ICC Classification of Official Cricket |journal=ICC Classifications |page=[https://pulse-static-files.s3.amazonaws.com/ICC/document/2017/09/24/4510678a-e031-4a9b-a402-397d4868adb6/ICC-Classification-of-Official-Cricket-Effective-1st-October-2017.pdf#page=3 3] |publisher=International Cricket Council |date=1 October 2017 |access-date=15 October 2017 |archive-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410224534/https://pulse-static-files.s3.amazonaws.com/ICC/document/2017/09/24/4510678a-e031-4a9b-a402-397d4868adb6/ICC-Classification-of-Official-Cricket-Effective-1st-October-2017.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Definition===
According to the ICC definition, a match may be adjudged first-class if:<ref name="ICCCOC"/>
* it is of three or more days scheduled duration
* each side playing the match has eleven players
* each side may have two innings
* the match is played on natural, and not artificial, turf
* the match is played at a venue which meets certain standard criteria regarding venues
* the match conforms to the [[Laws of Cricket]], except for only minor amendments 
* the sport's governing body in the appropriate nation, or the ICC itself, recognises the match as first-class.

A Test match is a first-class match played between two ICC full member countries, subject to their current status at the ICC and the application of ICC conditions when the match is played.<ref name="ICCCOC"/>

===Recognised matches===
In 2010, the ICC published its ''Classification of Official Cricket'' which includes the criteria with which a match must comply to achieve a desired categorisation. In the section on first-class cricket, there is a list of the types of match that ''should'' qualify. It is important to note, given the differences in opinion about what constitutes a first-class match, that the ICC clearly stipulates that its match type list "is not exhaustive and is merely '''indicative of the matches which would''' fall into the first-class definition". For example, the list includes matches of recognised first-class teams ''versus'' international touring teams; and the leading domestic championships (using their then-current names) such as the [[County Championship]], [[Sheffield Shield]], [[Ranji Trophy]], etc.<ref name="ICCCOC"/>