Ireland and Afghanistan
22 June 2017
The ICC granted Full Membership and Test status to Ireland and Afghanistan in 2017, but the lack of guaranteed fixtures and the challenges of sustaining Test cricket raised questions about whether the expansion was genuine or merely symbolic.
New Zealand and Imperial Cricket Conference
1929-05-31
On 31 May 1929 the Imperial Cricket Conference at Lord's voted to grant New Zealand full Test status, making it the fifth Test-playing nation. The first New Zealand Test was scheduled for January 1930 against MCC at Christchurch — the formal admission of a country whose 1927 tour of England had impressed observers across the counties.
Imperial Cricket Conference / Member countries
1929-05-31
Across three Imperial Cricket Conference meetings between May 1926 and May 1929, Test status was granted in turn to the West Indies (1926), India (1929) and New Zealand (1929) — tripling the number of Test nations in three years and transforming international cricket from a three-country game into a six-country one.
England v West Indies
1928-06-23
On 23 June 1928 the West Indies played their first ever Test match, against England at Lord's. Bowled out for 177 and 166, they lost by an innings and 58 — but the team led by Karl Nunes and including the young Learie Constantine had crossed the threshold from regional cricket into Test cricket.
BCCI / Indian cricket administration
1928-12-04
On 4 December 1928 representatives of regional cricket associations met in Delhi and constituted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Within 18 months the BCCI had been admitted to the Imperial Cricket Conference, secured Test status for India, and laid the foundation for what would become the wealthiest cricket administration in the world.
Women's Cricket Association
1926-10-04
On 4 October 1926, at a women's cricket week at Colwall in the Malvern Hills, 70 players agreed to form the Women's Cricket Association — the first national governing body for women's cricket in any country. Within nine years the WCA had organised the first women's Test, between England and Australia at Brisbane in December 1934.
MCC and Indian XI
1926-11-15
Arthur Gilligan's MCC side toured India in the winter of 1926-27 — the formal trial of Indian cricket for Test status. Across 31 first-class and other matches the tourists played the major Indian XIs, watched the leading players, and on Gilligan's return the recommendation that India be granted Test status went to Lord's.