Trivia Test Match is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 radio programme that aired originally from 1986 to 1993 on BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 Radio and has been repeated more recently on BBC Radio 7. As its slogan stated, it combined trivia and the laws of cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

. It was hosted by longtime BBC cricket commentator Brian Johnston

Brian Johnston

Brian Alexander Johnston CBE, MC was a cricket commentator and presenter for the BBC from 1946 until his death.-Early life and education:...

, who served as the "umpire."

In each episode, the team captains Tim Rice

Tim Rice

Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...

 and Willie Rushton

Willie Rushton

William George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine.- School and army :William George Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in the family home at Scarsdale Villas,...

 were joined by another celebrity from showbiz or cricket. The teams are offered a choice of question for 1 or 4 runs - the single being an easier question than the boundary. The batting team receives up to six questions (or an over) before questioning turns to the other team. The questions usually revolve around trivia and unusual facts.

However, there are ways in which a team can win back the questioning more quickly. If a team doesn't give the correct answer, the opposing team can shout 'Howzat!' and offer the correct answer to score a wicket and win the questioning. ("Howzat" in cricket is usually said by the bowler to the umpire to ask if the batsman's wicket was taken by the bowl If they challenge the answer unsuccessfully, the batting team receives 2 runs in overthrows as compensation and keeps the batting.)

Each team also has three bouncers, prepared earlier. They can say 'Bouncer' before the next question is asked. All the bouncers are very difficult (often estimation questions) and score six runs if successfully answered. (Six being the number of runs awarded for a boundary which doesn't hit the ground) However, a wicket is lost and the batting goes to the other team if the answer is wrong.

The winning team is the one which scores the most runs by the end of the programme (the fewer number of wickets splitting any ties).

Panellists on the programme have included Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry

Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...

, William Franklyn

William Franklyn

William Leo Franklyn was a British actor, perhaps best known for voicing the "Schhh... You Know Who" adverts for Schweppes from 1965 to 1973...

, Rachael Heyhoe-Flint

Rachael Heyhoe-Flint

Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe-Flint, OBE, DL is probably the best known female cricketer in England. She was a member of the English women's cricket team from 1960 to 1982. She was captain of England from 1966 to 1978, and was unbeaten in six Test series...

, Jeremy Beadle

Jeremy Beadle

Jeremy James Anthony Gibson-Beadle MBE was an English television presenter, writer and producer. During the 1980s, he was a regular face on British television and in two years appeared 50 weeks of the year. His shows regularly topped the charts beating Coronation Street and EastEnders on one...

, Paul Merton

Paul Merton

Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...

 and Leslie Thomas

Leslie Thomas

Leslie Thomas, OBE is a British author.- Virgin Soldiers :His novels about 1950s British National Service such as "The Virgin Soldiers" spawned two film versions, in 1969 and 1977, whilst his Tropic of Ruislip and Dangerous Davies, The Last Detective have been adapted for television Leslie...

.

The programme was written and devised by Peter Hickey and Malcolm Williamson.