Types of Cricket

First Class Cricket

First class cricket is the highest level of cricket played within each Test nation. Each nation holds its own domestic first class competition.

To qualify as a first class match, a game of cricket must:

Have three or more scheduled days of play.
Be played on an international standard ground with natural turf.
Conform to the Laws of Cricket.
Be recognised as first class by the national governing body or International Cricket Council

Test matches are a subset of first class matches.

Organisation of a First Class Match

A first class match is a game of two innings for each side, played over three to five days, of six hours play each. Each day's play is broken into three two-hour sessions with meal breaks, as per Test matches.

The same type of minimum over requirements as in Test matches apply to first class matches, but the exact number of overs required to be bowled in a day's play vary from nation to nation.

First class matches are generally played in daylight hours, under natural light. There have been some experiments with first class matches scheduled to begin play in the afternoon and end at night under floodlights, but these have been hampered by problems in developing a ball that lasts as long as a red cricket ball but which can be seen as easily under floodlights as a white ball.

First Class Competitions

Within each Test nation there are several first class sides. These can be:

Regionally based - e.g. English counties, Australian States, countries or groups of countries within the West Indies.
Academically based - e.g. Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
Government department based - e.g. Railways of India, Pakistan Public Works Department, Air Force Sports Club of Sri Lanka.
Corporate based - e.g. Pakistan International Airlines, Allied Bank of Pakistan.

For a full list of first class sides, refer to "First Class Cricket" at Wikipedia.

Most first class sides participate in organised multi-side competitions, usually round-robin format, within the nation.

Other First Class Matches

Some first class matches are distinct and do not belong to an ongoing competition. These include:

One-off special event games - e.g. Oxford v. Cambridge, Scotland v Ireland.
Second national XI matches - e.g. matches involving Australia "A"
Tour matches - games between a local first class side and a touring Test or other first class side.