Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations. It remains the most prestigious form of the game, although the comparatively new One Day International and Twenty20 formats are now more popular amongst some audiences.
The name "Test" may have arisen from the idea that the matches are a "test of strength and competency" between the sides involved. It seems to have been used first to describe an English team that toured Australia in 1861–62, although those matches are not considered Test matches today.
The first officially recognized Test match commenced on the 15 March 1877, contested by England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where Australia won by 45 runs. England won the second ever match (also at the MCG) by four wickets, thus drawing the series 1–1. This was not the first ever international cricket match however, which was played between Canada and the United States, on the 24th and 25th of September 1844.
Test matches are a subset of first-class cricket. However, the step up in required skill from normal first-class cricket to Test cricket is considerable, with many players who excel in the first-class game proving unable to compete in Test cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams which have "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC)
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