A brief history of cricket

Cricket in Argentina

The British community in Argentina was, at one time, the largest outside the Commonwealth, so it is not surprising to find that the first reference to cricket was in 1806 by Major Alexander Gillespie, a Royal Marine's officer who was taken prisoner during a British capture of Buenos Aires. He writes in the paper Gleanings:

'The arrears due being settled at Esquina, and a repose of some days being allowed us, full pockets and vacant time revived the national diversions of horse racing and cricket, for which we always carried the material.'

There is reference the English language weekly newspaper, the British Packet, in its edition of 22nd October 1831 of a cricket club being formed in Buenos Aires.

The Argentine Cricket Association was formed in 1913.

1806 - 1900: Cricket is established in Argentina, the first international matches are played, the major Clubs are founded, and the great North v South contest begins.

1900 - 1939: The golden years - cricket reaches a high standard, with many players of English County standard.

1945 - 1960: An Indian Summer - the final playing days of the pre-World War II brigade, and cricket begins to decline.

1961 - 1980: Illusions of recovery, as many fine individual cricketers begin to make their mark, and Argentina participate at the ICC Trophy.

1981 - 1990: Cricket continues to survive, and desperate efforts are made to reverse the declining trend.

1990 - 1996: Signs of a gradual recovery, and there are glimpses of hope for the future of cricket.

1996 to present day: The Renaissance begins, the ACA formulate a development program, and as cricket begins to grow and expand, optimism abounds for the new millennium. highlight of the season is the annual North v South match which is played over three days.

Argentina first played international cricket against Uruguay in 1868 and up to the Second World War, 29 encounters took place, Argentina winning 21 and losing 6. Argentina's closest rivals are Brazil - the series of matches between them dates back to 1888.

Matches have also been played against Chile, the first in 1893, the team taking three and a half days to reach Santiago, crossing the Andes by mule!

Tours in which first-class matches (as defined by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians) were played by the following teams:

1911-1912	M.C.C. (3 first-class matches) - M.C.C. was captained by Lord Hawke
1926-1927	M.C.C. (4 first-class matches)
1929-1930	Sir Julien Cahn's XI (3 first-class matches)
1937-1938>	Sir Theodore Brinkman's XI (3 first-class matches)