This article is an introduction to the history of first-class cricket in Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia and (before 1965) Southern Rhodesia. The timespan of the article is from the formation of a first-class Rhodesian team in August 1890 until the inaugural Test appearance of Zimbabwe in October 1992. Until 1965 the name 'Rhodesia' encompassed Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, but the very small cricket-playing population in that territory means that in this article 'Rhodesian' to 1965 effectively means 'Southern Rhodesian'.