The First XI (or, less commonly, First 11) are the eleven primary players in an organisation's leading team, particularly a football or

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

team. A player who is considered a core part of the starting line-up in a First XI team is often the most proficient in his/her particular position; for example, a football club's leading goal-scorer will almost always be selected due to their ability and the contribution he/she makes to the team. 'First eleven' is a reference to the fact that they are the first eleven players selected to play for the team—many sports state that clubs must have squads of no fewer than

x

number of players, and this number is often higher than 11. For example, in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

, each club has to designate a squad of 25.

See also