--- title: Google Doodle Marks 140 Years of Test Cricket description: The world's first test-cricket match took place on March 15, 1877, between England and Australia. A new Google Doodle marks the anniversary canonical: https://time.com/4701771/google-doodle-test-cricket-anniversary/ author: Kevin Lui article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-15T02:35:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:41:54.473Z og:title: Google Doodle Marks 140 Years of Test Cricket og:description: Google's new doodle captures the tradition and fun of the sport og:url: https://time.com/4701771/google-doodle-test-cricket-anniversary/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt171b9942bb305fac/6988be64f887dcfb32e996de/140th-anniversary-of-the-first-cricket-test-match-5659058039160832-hp2x.png?branch=production&width=711&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 711 og:image:height: 400 og:image:alt: 140th-anniversary-of-the-first-cricket-test-match-5659058039160832-hp2x og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Google Doodle Marks 140 Years of Test Cricket twitter:description: Google's new doodle captures the tradition and fun of the sport twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt171b9942bb305fac/6988be64f887dcfb32e996de/140th-anniversary-of-the-first-cricket-test-match-5659058039160832-hp2x.png?branch=production&width=711&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Google's New Doodle Marks 140 Years of Test Cricket > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Kevin Lui](https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Mar 15, 2017 2:35 AM UTC  Google by [Kevin Lui](https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Mar 15, 2017 2:35 AM UTC Test cricket, the longest form of the sport and considered the ultimate test for cricketers, hits its 140th anniversary on Wednesday, and Google has rolled out a special Doodle to mark the occasion. Google’s logo blends into an illustration that imagines the first test cricketers in action in their traditional all-white attire. The letter _l_ is represented by a green bat, while the other letters are printed on the players’ shirts. The first officially recognized test-cricket match, played between England and Australia, began on March 15, 1877, in Melbourne. Australia [won](http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/62396.html) the match by 45 runs after four days of play. England then won the second match, drawing the series 1-1\. Rivalry between the two sides endures to this day. **Read More:** [_How Cricket’s Biggest Star Is Bringing the Sport to America_](http://time.com/4061828/sachin-tendulkar-cricket-america-new-york/) The Doodle, available to those in India and Australia, is “a lighthearted rendering that captures the spirit of sportsmanship and the inaugural test match,” [wrote](https://www.google.com/doodles/140th-anniversary-of-the-first-cricket-test-match) Google. “Mustachioed and musclebound, the batsmen, bowlers and opposition fielders spring into action, never losing sight of the red ball.” To this day, cricketers still play test matches in white kit with a red ball, whereas other contemporary formats like the One Day International and T20, see players in colorful strips using a white ball. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4701771/google-doodle-test-cricket-anniversary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4701771/google-doodle-test-cricket-anniversary/"},"headline":"Google's New Doodle Marks 140 Years of Test Cricket","datePublished":"2017-03-15T02:35:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:41:54.473Z","description":"The world's first test-cricket match took place on March 15, 1877, between England and Australia","url":"https://time.com/4701771/google-doodle-test-cricket-anniversary/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Australia","Internet","India","Google Doodle","Cricket","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt171b9942bb305fac/6988be64f887dcfb32e996de/140th-anniversary-of-the-first-cricket-test-match-5659058039160832-hp2x.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt171b9942bb305fac/6988be64f887dcfb32e996de/140th-anniversary-of-the-first-cricket-test-match-5659058039160832-hp2x.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"140th-anniversary-of-the-first-cricket-test-match-5659058039160832-hp2x","caption":"","creditText":"Google","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4701771/google-doodle-test-cricket-anniversary/","name":"Google's New Doodle Marks 140 Years of Test Cricket"}}]}] ```