Cricket in England
Cricket in England is one of the most popular sports in the country and is known to have been played in England since the 16th century. The Marylebone Cricket Club, based at Lords, developed the modern rules of play and conduct.There are eighteen professional county clubs, seventeen of them in England and one in Wales. All eighteen counties are named after, and were originally representative of, historic counties. These clubs are heavily dependent on subsidies from the England and Wales Cricket Board, which makes its money from television and endorsement contracts and attendances at international matches. The English cricket season traditionally starts at the beginning of April and runs though to the second half of September although in recent years counties have played pre season friendly matches at the very end of March.
1990 English cricket season
The 1990 English cricket season was the 91st in which the County Championship had been an official competition. The size of the seam on the cricket ball had been reduced markedly from 1989, and along with dry conditions and the extension of four-day cricket this enabled batsmen to make large scores and Graham Gooch became one of a handful of players to average over 100 in a first-class season. The County Championship was won by Middlesex. England defeated both New Zealand and India 1-0 in respective Test series. The Zimbabwe national cricket team made a short tour of England in May, playing two limited overs and three first-class matches against county opposition.