Cricket's Lineal Champions

Method

• Seed: international lineages begin with the winner of the first official match in that format. The IPL lineage begins with the winner of the inaugural tournament.
• Transfer: beat the reigning holder in an official match and the championship changes hands. A draw, tie or no result leaves the holder unchanged unless an official tiebreak produces a winner.
• Test dates: a Test reign begins on the date the match is completed, not the first day of the fixture.
• Same-day matches: where more than one eligible match is played on the same date, official match numbering determines chronological order.
• Eligibility: tournament and bilateral matches count equally. Associate nations are eligible whenever the match itself has official international status.
• Dormancy: inactivity does not strip the title. A championship remains with its holder until that holder is defeated in an official match. This can create very long dormant reigns, most notably when South Africa was banned from international cricket from 1970–1991.