Test cricket is the oldest form of the game and arguably the most prestigious.
Out of all the Tests played, the biggest series is the Ashes — the regular showdown between Australia and England that's happened since 1882.
But if you're not familiar with the sport and want to learn, here's what you need to know.
How is Test cricket played?
Test cricket is when two teams of 11 players face off across five days. These five days are called a Test, and there are five Tests in the Ashes.
The winner of the coin toss on day one of a Test decides if they want to bat or bowl first.
The batters will try to get as many runs (points) as possible and the bowlers will try to get a wicket (get the batter out).
Let's use an example where Australia chooses to bat first.
Australia will attempt to score as many runs as possible while the pesky English bowlers try to get them out.
Once Australia loses 10 wickets (meaning 10 of their batters are out), the teams switch, and England will try to get more runs than Australia.
A team scores one run every time the batters swap ends on the pitch without getting out (we'll get to that).
Batters can also score runs if they hit the ball over the boundary of the field without the ball bouncing — that's an automatic six runs total.
If the ball hits the ground but then goes on to hit the boundary, that's an automatic four runs.
In the course of a Test match, each team plays two innings each. An innings is made up of overs (more on that later).
How do you read the score?
In Australia, if you see 4-256, that means the team has lost four wickets and scored 256 runs.
But do you want to hear something confusing? In England, they invert that score. So on the TV over there you'll see it as 256-4. A little communication could have avoided that (although actually, we invert the score, not England).
How do you get a wicket?
A wicket means a batter is out.
Once a team loses 10 wickets, they are all out and the team switches from batting to bowling.
There are always two batters on the field, which means there's one left at the end who's not out — but they can't keep playing by themselves.
There are several ways to get a batter out.
The most aesthetically pleasing is bowled, when the batter misses the ball and the stumps get knocked over.
Then there's caught, when the ball comes off the bat and is caught without bouncing.
There's leg before wicket (LBW), which is when the ball strikes the batter and not the bat, and the umpire deems the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps had the batter not got in the way.
There's run out, when a batter is caught out of their crease (the little white marks on the pitch).
And stumped, which is the same as a run-out but involves the wicketkeeper (old mate with the gloves) taking off the bails (top two parts of the wicket) while the batter is out of the crease.
What is an over?
In a Test match, each team plays two innings across a maximum of five days.
Innings are made up of overs — this is when a set of six balls is delivered by an individual bowler.
There is no limit to the number of overs in each innings.
An innings is ended when 10 wickets are taken or if the batting team chooses to declare (switch to bowling).
A team might choose to declare to voluntarily end their innings to get the other team to bat, usually because they have enough runs or want to try and win the match by bowling their opposition out.
For example, Australian captain Pat Cummins runs in, delivers the ball six times, and then the over is … well, over.
Australia must then bring in a new bowler like Mitchell Starc to play the next over.
Starc must bowl from the other end of the pitch, which means the rest of the Australian team, who are out in the field trying to catch the ball, have to switch their position.
So every time you see an ad break on TV, the fielding team is running around into new positions to cater for the new bowler bowling from the other end of the pitch.
Then after another six balls, they do it all again.
How do you win a Test match?
There are several scenarios that can end a Test match.
Let's use the example where Australia bats first.
Australia wins with more runs: At the end of the four innings, Australia has 500 runs but England, batting second, only scores 400 runs (and are all out). Australia wins by 100 runs.
England wins with more runs: In the fourth innings, England surpasses Australia's 500 runs but they've only lost two of their 10 batters. The result is recorded in how many wickets they had remaining, so England wins by eight wickets.
Australia falls short in the third innings: Australia gets 200 runs in the first innings, then England scores 400 runs in the second innings. When it's their turn to bat again, Australia only gets another 150 runs. England doesn't bat again — the result is recorded as England winning by an innings and 50 runs.
Time runs out: Remember, we've only got five days to finish this thing. Things like rain delays and stubborn batters that won't get out can drag it to the end of that fifth day, and once that happens without a result, the game is drawn.
Something incredibly rare happens: It's a tie. Both Australia and England lose all their wickets and score the exact same amount of runs. In the history of Test cricket, this has only happened twice — first, in 1960 between Australia and the West Indies, and then again in 1986 between Australia and India.
Another rare thing happens: Both Australia and England score the exact same amount of runs but time expires on the fifth day — it's a draw. That's only happened twice as well in Test cricket history.
What happens if the Ashes ends in a draw?
If we get to the end of all five Tests and the two teams are deadlocked on the same amount of wins, the team that won the last series retains the Ashes.
Australia currently "holds" the Ashes, so if it's a draw, they get to keep it.
Since 1882, in the Ashes there's been 71 series between the two countries, with Australia winning 33, England winning 32, and six drawn series.
Why is it called the Ashes?
After Australia beat England for the first time in a Test match on English soil in 1882, a newspaper wrote a satirical article stating that English cricket had died and "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".
Upon a follow-up Test tour of Australia, England won, and the English captain was rewarded with a small urn purported to contain the ashes of a burnt wooden bail (the cheeky little bugger that sits with its twin brother atop the three stumps).
Since then, the two teams have played for the "The Ashes" but the original urn almost always remains on display at the MCC Museum at Lord's cricket ground in London.
When are the Ashes and how can I watch or listen?
There are four remaining Tests of the series to be played.
- Test 2: December 16 - 20 (Adelaide)
- Test 3: December 26 - 30 (Melbourne)
- Test 4: January 5 - 9 (Sydney)
- Test 5: January 14 - 18 (Hobart)
Australia claimed the first Test of the series at the Gabba in Brisbane by nine wickets.
The ABC Sport team will be blogging every day of the action right here or you can listen on ABC Grandstand.
The series will be broadcast on TV through free-to-air Channel 7 and paid-TV Foxtel, and can be streamed through paid-streaming service Kayo Sports.
