Last Updated on November 25, 2020 by
Countries that play cricket include West Indies, South Africa, India, Australia, Pakistan, England, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ireland, and Afghanistan. They are all the twelve full members of the ICC. It was in 1909 that South Africa, Australia, and England got their full memberships, followed by the West Indies, New Zealand, and India who got theirs in 1926, and then Pakistan (1952), Sri Lanka (1981), Zimbabwe (1992), Bangladesh (2000), Afghanistan (2017), and Ireland (2017). However, 104 countries in total play cricket around the world, but most of them have not gotten their full memberships.
In this guide, we have provided the list of counties that play T20I, ODI, and Test cricket in the world. If you truly want to know all the countries that play cricket, read on! We all know that cricket is the second most popular sport in the world after football (soccer), and it has been widely known by almost everybody in the world. In 1844, the USA and Canada played the very first international match in cricket in which Canada won by 23 runs.
Globally, ICC, the International Cricket Council is the governing body for cricket. Major international tournaments such as the T20 World Cup and Cricket World Cup are organized by the ICC.
The Table Below Contains The Countries That Play Cricket, Countries That Play Test Cricket, And ODI Cricket.
| How Many Countries Play Cricket? | We’ve a total of hundred four nations that play cricket across the planet and are people of the ICC. |
| How Many Countries Play Test Cricket? | There are only 12 countries who play Test Cricket in the world. |
| How Many Countries Play ODI Cricket? | There are twenty countries playing the ODI Cricket |
| How Many Countries Play T20 Cricket? | Currently there are 82 countries who participate in the T20 Cricket tournaments. |
How Many Countries Play Cricket?
Currently, we’ve a total of hundred four nations that play cricket across the planet and are people of the ICC. Like we said earlier, the membership of each countries are subdivided into two categories i.e. Full Member and Associate Member. There are a total of 92 Associate Members that play Test matches and 12 Full Members. An Associate Member can be promoted to a Full Member if it performs well in international competition.
Can A Full Member Of The ICC Be Suspended?
Yes! Of course. The ICC has the authority to suspend any member for misconduct or breach of rules and regulations. As we saw in the case of Zimbabwe cricket team who is a Full Member, was suspended mainly because of the interference of the government in the sport in July 2019. However, the suspension didn’t last up to a year. Later in October 2019, the suspension was lifted on Zimbabwe team. The game of cricket has three format, and they include Test, T20I, and ODI cricket. Although only 12 countries with the full memberships of the ICC are allowed to participate in the Test Cricket
Let’s quickly run through the list of countries that participant in Test, ODI, and T20I cricket.
Test Cricket
The longest format and the highest standard of the game of cricket is Test Cricket. It was in March 1877 that the first Test match was played between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The ICC grants the Test status to any international team who wants to play a Test match. Recently, ICC granted the Test status to two new countries in the game (Afghanistan and Ireland) on 22 June 2017. Meaning, a country must have a full membership become it can participate in a Test Cricket competition.
Currently, there are only 12 countries that play Test Cricket in the world.
The table below contains each team that participates in Test Cricket and the date they debuted.
| No | Countries | Debut Date |
| 1 | Australia | 15 March 1877 |
| 2 | England | 15 March 1877 |
| 3 | South Africa | 12 March 1889 |
| 4 | West Indies | 23 June 1928 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 10 January 1930 |
| 6 | India | 25 June 1932 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 16 October 1952 |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 17 February 1982 |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | 18 October 1992 |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 10 November 2000 |
| 11 | Ireland | 11 May 2018 |
| 12 | Afghanistan | 14 June 2018 |
ODI Cricket
If you’re talking about a form of limited overs cricket which can be played between teams with international status, then you’re talking about the ODI format. It was on 5th of January 1971 that England and Australia played their first ODI match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. ODI has two types of status, which includes Permanent and Temporary ODI status. All the teams with Full Memberships of the ICC have permanent ODI status. Six more teams were granted temporary ODI status in 2005 and four more were granted in 2017. In 2019, countries holding the temporary status were increased to eight.
Now, there are twenty countries playing the ODI Cricket
ODI Playing Countries
| No | Countries |
| 1 | Australia |
| 2 | England |
| 3 | New Zealand |
| 4 | Pakistan |
| 5 | West Indies |
| 6 | India |
| 7 | Sri Lanka |
| 8 | South Africa |
| 9 | Zimbabwe |
| 10 | Bangladesh |
| 11 | Afghanistan |
| 12 | Ireland |
| 13 | Scotland |
| 14 | United Arab Emirates |
| 15 | Nepal |
| 16 | Netherlands |
| 17 | Namibia |
| 18 | Oman |
| 19 | Papua New Guinea |
| 20 | United States |
T20I Cricket
T20 format is one of the most exciting and shortest cricket formats. It was on the 17th of February 2005 that the first T20 International match was played between New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park, Auckland. Currently, 82 countries participate in the T20 Cricket tournaments.
Closing Thoughts
There are a total of one hundred and four nations that play cricket across the planet and are members of the ICC. Like we stated previously, the membership of each nation is categorized into two groups i.e. Associate Member and Full Member. You will find a full of ninety-two Associate Members who play Test matches and twelve Full Members.
We’ve come to the closing session of this informative article. We hope you were able to find resources in your quest to know the countries that play cricket. Please do not hesitate to contact us for questions or comments. Thanks!
