The ACS – The ACS

ListA Status

Question:	What is List A?
Answer	List A status was developed by the ACS as a means of providing a single career record for each player in limited overs matches in the same way that a player has a published First-Class career record which was an accumulation of all their appearances in First-Class cricket.


Question:	When was List A devised?
Answer	The compilation was undertaken in time for the ACS Yearbook of 2001 which was the first to include a single limited overs line for each player. The ACS Yearbook (first published in 1986) gives details of all the current cricketers throughout the world including biographical data, seasonal and career averages for any player who played in a First-Class or premier limited overs match during the period under review. Prior to the 2001 Yearbook the limited overs figures were given for each competition separately so that, for example, an English county player would have separate lines for the Sunday League, Benson & Hedges Cup and NatWest Trophy. There was also the point that the overs limitation had not always been the same in these competitions and so they were not a separate record of performances in 40, 50 and 60 over matches. The logical conclusion was to create one overall list of limited overs matches and so be able to compile records and averages from a single list. This also allowed for official limited overs matches played by touring teams to be included as well. Prior to the compilation of List A the only matches involving touring teams that were recorded in the ACS Yearbook were One-Day International matches.


Question:	How was the List formulated?
Answer	Philip Bailey, then editor, contributed a series of articles in the ACS journal The Cricket Statistician in 1999 and 2000 outlining the proposed guidelines and inviting comments from interested members, which included an article published in the journal by Andrew Samson (the official statistician for Cricket South Africa) on the subject of World Cup warm-up matches. Mr Bailey collated all the comments and produced the final lists.


Question:	Why was it called List A?
Answer	When compiling the list of matches to be included matches were divided into categories: List A was comprised of the matches to be included in the final list; List B was for matches where the players were of First-Class standard but the match was not considered to be of sufficient status (e.g. exhibition matches) and List C was to collect any other matches played by a team that had at some time previously appeared in List A (thus showing that the status of such matches had not been overlooked).


Question:	Do matches have to be limited overs matches to be included?
Answer	Yes, only single innings matches scheduled to be completed in one day with a limitation of overs for each team and also a limitation in the number of overs bowled by each bowler are included. Matches can have reserve day(s) and be included but the intention should be to complete the match in one day.


Question:	Do Twenty20 matches count as List A?
Answer	Twenty20 matches are now regarded as a separate sub-category of List A in the ICC Classification of Cricket document. It was felt that Twenty20 matches were sufficiently distinctive to merit separate classification. References to List A alone will now generally mean performances in the longer limited overs matches (40 overs or more per side) and List A Twenty20 (sometimes shortened to just Twenty20) will cover the matches in the Twenty20 format.


Question:	If a 50 over match is reduced to 20 overs by bad weather does it then become a List A Twenty20 match?
Answer	No, it is the original scheduled length of a match that decides. It is acknowledged that this means that some matches as short as 10 overs per side get included in List A figures rather than List A Twenty20 as a result, but only when the original match was much longer. In any case if the match was shortened after the start it would be the regulations for the 50 overs that applied and not 20, for example the first team may have had up to 20 overs of powerplays before the interruption.


Question:	Are only eleven a side matches included in List A?
Answer	No, when the premier domestic competition rules permitted the use of extra players these matches are still included in List A. The ICC experimental decision to allow a replacement in ODIs was one example, but there are other examples including the Australian domestic state limited overs competition which was played on a 12 a side basis (11 to bat, 11 to bowl and field) for a few seasons. However, when the norm for a country was to play 11 a side then a tourist match that was played 12 a side is excluded as an example of a situation of a match used more for practice than as a competitive fixture.


Question:	Which types of match are included in List A?
Answer	One day internationals 'A' team internationals by full member countries Premier domestic one-day tournaments in full member countries (some countries have more than one tournament in the same season). Official tourist matches against the major First-Class teams of the country, including representative sides collected from players in such teams, provided they were played as competitive matches and not purely for practice. Some other international tournaments. Matches included in List A Twenty20 are the Twenty20 equivalents of the above.


Question:	What types of match are excluded from List A?
Answer	World Cup warm-up matches, and warm-up matches played in similar multi-team tournaments (eg ICC Champions Trophy). Tourist matches played against teams outside the major First-Class teams of the country, or matches not played competitively (for example where substitutes were allowed to bat or bowl). Festival matches, exhibition matches, pre-season friendly matches, some invitation tournaments (where qualification was not based on some competitive element). Matches involving age group teams up to and including Under-19s.


Question:	Why are some matches including the best players not included when teams of much lower standard are included?
Answer	The key point is that of being a competitive fixture. Any match in one of the domestic limited overs competitions is a match in which the result matters to both sides. It was also felt that it was generally better to include a complete knockout competition rather than (say) exclude the first two rounds if the leading teams were exempt at that point because in theory any team could get to the final and that the status of matches is better decided in advance.


Question:	The tsunami fund match in Australia was included so why not other similar exhibition matches?
Answer	The tsunami match was included as List A because of the ICC ruling that this match was an official ODI. All ODI matches are included on the list regardless. The ACS having made submissions on the status of this match agreed to abide by the ICC's final decision. There have been other exhibition matches of a similar nature that were not ruled to be ODIs so these matches are excluded (for example the match in ICC cricket week in Dhaka in April 2000).


Question:	Why are some matches excluded from List A when a three day match played between the two teams would have been First-Class?
Answer	Friendly matches involving a team that neither participate in their country's main domestic first-class competition, nor is a representative team selected by their national Board, would not normally be accorded List A status (e.g. a UK match between a touring side and Combined Universities). This applies even if, for historic reasons, first-class matches between the teams have retained their first-class status (e.g. Cambridge University v Oxford University) Pre-season friendly matches (even if they appear to have been played seriously) are also excluded as the primary purpose of these matches was for practice rather than the result.


Question:	Why are World Cup warm-up matches excluded when other tourist matches are included?
Answer	This was always one of the 'difficult' areas of List A. The World Cup warm-up matches varied from one tournament to another . the 1999 matches in England were all arranged as part of the official season fixture list whereas earlier tournament generally featured sides playing any opposition available, even if they were First-Class players. For simplicity it was decided to exclude all these matches. It was considered that World Cup warm-up matches were equivalent to pre-season friendly matches whereas limited overs matches that appeared in the official team fixture list were different. It could be argued that all matches outside internationals are for practice and that all tourist matches outside of representative fixtures should be excluded.


Question:	Can you give some examples of matches included in List A?
Answer	The Commonwealth Games tournament of September 1998 - the competing teams were 8 of the full member countries, three regional teams from the West Indies and some Associate member teams. The ICC Trophy of 2005 - twelve Associate/Affiliate countries qualified for the final stages of the ICC Trophy and with the ICC Inter-Continental Cup (also twelve teams) having been awarded First-Class status in 2004 it was felt that this was an 'equivalent' tournament. ICC World Cricket League Divisions One and Two . Division One is comprised of the top six Associates playing matches which are ODIs (these countries are determined by placings at the end of the ICC World Cup Qualifier) and Division Two is comprised of the next six countries, thus giving a top 12, the same number of teams that played in the ICC Trophy of 2005. A list of List A events from the season 2009 to date can be accessed at: http://acscricket.com/ListA/Recent_ListA_Events.html Lists for every List A match ever played (with links to scorecards on the CricketArchive website) can be accessed at: http://acscricket.com/ListA/index.html


Question:	Can you give some example of matches not included in List A?
Answer	ICC Trophy matches before 2005. The 2005 tournament was the first time that a top 12 had had to qualify and was also the first tournament after the inception of the First-Class ICC Inter-Continental Cup. The 2001 tournament, for example, featured 24 teams in two divisions followed by a Super League (points carried forward) which included the top team from Division Two. Even though the finalists in the 1979 ICC Trophy matches qualified for the World Cup played later in the season it was decided that it was much the preferred option that a complete tournament should have the same status (so all matches are List A or all matches are not List A) rather than having only certain stages of a competition as List A, or matches involving particular teams should they happen to play each other as List A. Tourist matches against teams such as Duchess of Norfolk's XI in England, Prime Minister's XI and Cricket Australia Chairman's XI in Australia, N.F.Oppenheimer's XI in South Africa or Sir Ron Brierly's XI in New Zealand. Some of these matches were not limited overs matches but just one day matches (so automatically do not count) but in almost all cases these were friendly matches often played at the start of a tour and not proper competitive matches. Rather than making individual judgments on each game and so sometimes including a fixture one season and exclusing it in another it was felt best to exclude all these matches. A list of events and matches from the season 2009 to date which are not regarded as List A matches can be accessed at: http://acscricket.com/ListA/Rejected_ListA_Matches.html


Question:	Can you give examples of future fixtures that will be regarded as List A?
Answer	A list of forthcoming List A events can be accessed at: http://acscricket.com/ListA/Forthcoming_ListA_Events.html


Question:	Why have the ICC taken over the classification of List A?
Answer	It was acknowledged by the ACS when approached by ICC that it was a logical step to establish similar criteria for deciding on the classification of List A to that which was already in place for First-Class cricket.


Question:	When did this take effect?
Answer	The Classification of Official Cricket document was adopted at the July 2006 meeting of the ICC's Chief Executives' Committee with immediate effect.


Question:	Will this mean changing ACS decisions on matches played in the past?
Answer	No, part of the agreement was that when ICC took over the classification of List A cricket they would ensure that previous ACS decisions were respected, and that future decisions would be consistent with the principles established by the ACS.


Question:	Do the ACS have any say in the future of List A?
Answer	The ICC has accepted the ACS's offer to continue to maintain a list of matches which the ACS thinks should be List A. Full members and ICC can challenge any suggested ruling and they will have the final say but the ACS can ask the ICC to look at any particular ruling if they feel that it is not consistent with previous decisions.


Question:	Who decides on behalf of the ACS?
Answer	The ACS committee have appointed a List A sub-committee chaired by Philip Bailey and comprising Peter Griffiths, Richard Isaacs and David Kendix. The sub-committee would expect to consult if necessary with any interested local statisticians from whichever country was concerned in any disputed ruling.