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.
1975 English cricket season
The 1975 English cricket season was the 76th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. The inaugural Cricket World Cup was won by West Indies, who defeated Australia in an exciting final. Australia toured England to compete for the Ashes and won the series 1-0. Leicestershire won their first County Championship title. England played a four-Test Ashes series against Australia but lost the first at Edgbaston following Mike Denness's surprising decision to put Australia in. The other three were drawn, the one at Headingley being abandoned in controversial circumstances when the pitch was destroyed overnight by political protestors. Australia therefore retained the Ashes.