The 10 full members of the ICC compete in so-called test matches that can last up to five days

They are virtues that were part of the "moral code" that, according to the cricket historian Brian Stoddart, was tried to transmit to the British colonies through cricket. The game is intimately related to the colonial past of Great Britain, to such an extent that The International Cricket Council (ICC), governing body of the sport, was created in 1909 under the initial name of The Imperial Cricket Conference. (Despite the existence of the ICC, the authority responsible for defining the rules of the game is the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), based in the mythical London stadium, Lord's.)

The 10 full members of the ICC (Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe), each directly linked to the British Empire, compete in so-called test matches, whose Long duration - up to five days - highlights the need to possess the values ​​of patience and mind control cited by Gale, although it should be noted that there are also shorter cricket formats, such as one-day or Twenty20 cricket (in this last version of the game, matches last about 3 or 4 hours). Each format is usually played in sets of three, four or five games.

At the level of international cricket, the home team is forced to undergo tours that can last several months. The first was made by the English team when he undertook the trip to North America by boat in 1859. He returned two months later, after a successful tour of the United States and Canada, but the member of the expedition Fred Lillywhite pointed out the effects of distance on the template: "Although all players have plenty of reasons to be satisfied with the trip ... in the case of some there are doubts about their willingness to suffer again the inconveniences that such a trip entails".