Most
Test cricketing nations have some form of domestic List A competition. The scheduled number of
overs in List A cricket ranges from forty to sixty overs per side, most commonly fifty overs. The categorisation of cricket matches as "List A" was not officially endorsed by the
International Cricket Council until 2006, when the ICC announced it, along with its member associations, would be determining this classification in a manner similar to that done for first-class matches. The
Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians created this category for the purpose of providing an equivalent to first-class cricket, to allow the generation of career records and statistics for comparable one-day matches. Only the more important one-day competitions in each country, plus matches against a touring Test team, are included. The categorisation was the work of Philip Bailey. Matches were divided into three categories: • List A comprised the matches to be included in the final list. • List B was for matches where the players were of First-Class standard but the match was not considered to be of sufficient status (e.g. exhibition matches). • List C was to collect any other matches played by a team that had at some time previously appeared in List A, thus showing that the status of such matches had not been overlooked.
Matches that qualify as List A • One Day Internationals (ODIs) • Certain other international matches • Premier one-day tournaments in the
12 ICC Full Members • Official matches of a touring Test team against main first-class teams • Matches played in
ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League and above, and previously the higher levels of the
ICC World Cricket League •
Australian Tri-Series matches that involved
Australia A were given List A status, and are not included in One Day International statistics.
Matches that do not qualify as List A •
Twenty20 cricket, including internationals, which is classified separately • World Cup warm-up matches • Other Tourist matches (for example, against first-class teams that are not part of the main domestic first-class competition, such as universities) • Festival and friendly matches • Matches not played under standard conditions (for example, more than 11 players per side) ==First List A match==