Cricket¹ is a very popular sport in Britain， played mainly in the summer. Professional cricket is controlled by the MCC（the Marylebone Cricket Club）。 The main competition is the county² championship， in which the 18 county cricket clubs play against one another during the season. Each match takes 3-4 days to complete.

The other form of cricket is called Limited overs （or one-day） cricket. in which matches are completed in a day. There is a limited-overs championship， played on Sundays. There are also two knockout competitions， the finals of which are played at the Lord's Cricket ground in London.

International matches are called test matches（ or tests） and can takes 5 days to complete. They are played between the following teams： Australia， England， India， New Zealand， Pakistan， South African， Sri Lanka， and the West Indies. When England and Australia play test matches against one another， they are said to be playing for the ashes.

Many people consider cricket to be England's national game and to be typical of a style of behavior thought to be very English which includes above all a sense of honor³ and fairness. It is traditionally played by men and boys and although there are some women's teams， including a national one， the most important cricket club in England （the MCC） voted in 1991 not to accept women members.

There are two forms of rugby football played in Britain， rugby union and rugby league. rugby union is played by amateurs（they are not paid）. There are 15 players on each team. Rugby union is played internationally between many countries including Australia， Fiji， France， south Africa， Argentina， England， Ireland， Wales， Scotland， and New Zealand. In Britain it is played especially in public schools.

Rugby league is a professional game， played mainly in England and Australia）。 There are 13 players on each team， and the rules are slightly different from rugby union. It is thought to be a rough， hard game.