Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians

The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Statisticians, the words "and Historians" were added in 1993 but it has continued to use the acronym ACS.

Its headquarters were formerly in Nottingham, opposite Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, but since 2006 it has been based in Cardiff at Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground [ [http://acscricket.com/index.html Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians website] ] .

The membership in 2008 numbers about 1,000. Although constituted in England, the ACS has a worldwide membership and is open to anyone with a relevant interest.

Origin

Particularly after World War Two, there developed a keen interest in, and much argument about, developing an agreed list of matches from which to compile accurate cricket records. The second edition of Roy Webber's "Book of Cricket Records" (1961) was a case in point. The controversial cricket historian Rowland Bowen, wrote a lengthy critique of Webber's sources ["The Cricketer", 1961, p.232-4] and two years later started "Cricket Quarterly"(1963-70) which included among its contributors some of the original ACS members.

The ACS was founded by Robert Brooke and Dennis Lambert, two of Bowen's contributors, by means of advertisements in the October 1972 issues of "The Cricketer" and "Playfair Cricket Monthly". These attracted a nucleus of some 50 members who formed the association in 1973 [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20030216173134/www.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/SOCIETIES/ENG/ACS/ACS_21_YEARS/21YEARS_002.html Twenty-one Years of the ACS] ] .

Purpose

The ACS has sought to compile details of all known first-class cricket matches and List A limited overs matches. Members have also documented details of other matches such as minor counties and Second XI cricket in England. The findings of this research have been published in various guides (see list below) and in the Association's quarterly journal "The Cricket Statistician".

Match status

It should be noted that the ACS has no official position in terms of deciding the status of cricket matches. Any classification it publishes is merely its own opinion, as is the case with all other cricket writers. However, in 2006, it was asked by the International Cricket Conference (ICC) to provide a comprehensive List A limited overs matchlist and this has since been used as a basis for the official records [ [http://acscricket.com/ListA/Description.html ICC ListA] ] .

Given that there is no official version of match status in England before 1895 and elsewhere before 1947, there are differences of opinion about the status of matches played before these dates. As a result, contrasting versions of first-class statistics have been published by many writers and this has led to some confusion about the career record of W G Grace in particular.

For a detailed discussion of this problem, see: Variations in first-class cricket statistics.

ACS publications

The ACS publishes its findings in booklet form. The most significant publications are listed below. Note that many are in series format.

* "A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1707-1863" (1985)
* "A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles" (2nd ed 1982)
* "A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in Australia" (2nd ed 1983)
* "A Guide ro First-Class Cricket Matches Played in India" (1986)
* "A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in New Zealand" (1981)
* "A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in North and South America" (1987)
* "A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in Pakistan" (1989)
* "A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in South Africa" (1981)
* "A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in Sri Lanka" (1987)
* "A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in the West Indies" (1984)
* "The ACS International Cricket Yearbook" (2007 edition is the 22nd year)
* "The ACS Second Eleven Annual" (2007 edition is the 23rd year)
* "The Cricket Statistician" (a quarterly journal for members)
* "The ACS Famous Cricketers Series" (complete playing records, match by match, of 100 notable cricketers)

References

External sources

* [http://acscricket.com/index.html Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians website]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030324132335/www.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/SOCIETIES/ENG/ACS/ACS_21_YEARS/index.html Twenty-one years of ACS] by Richard Streeton