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.
International cricket in 2006
International cricket played in the 2006 cricket season is defined as matches scheduled between May and August 2006 in all cricketing countries, as well as all international matches scheduled for the 2006 English cricket season. Matches between January and April are defined as belonging to the 2005–06 season, while matches between September and December are defined as the 2006–07 season. The main matches in this period were played in England, as this was in the middle of the English cricket season, but the third edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup is defined as a part of the 2006 season, even though the tournament will stretch into February 2007, and three A teams are also scheduled to tour the northwestern part of Australia in June and July 2006.