What is the difference between The U.K. & England? And Great Britain?

The last three to four months have been a total hysteria for cricket fans across the world. And why not, it was show-time. First was the money oozing fest 'IPL' in May, accompanying all the glamour and who's who of the cricket world: players, coaches, support staff, owners. Following it was the grand quadrennial event: the ICC Cricket World Cup. And all of it further escalated to a new level with the nerve-wracking final. The Eng-NZ final face-off game will be remembered for generations and will often arguably be quoted as one of the best one-day matches in cricket history. As a supporter of New Zealand team (of course after India), I was disappointed to see them bag the runners up trophy 'again'; more so because of the debatable, odd rule that separated them from earning the coveted crown. Kudos to the England team as they played like champions and being the host, the victory served like a cherry on the cake.

 
Well, Wales was the other country from Great Britain and also from the United Kingdom which jointly hosted the grand fest along with England. But why didn’t Wales have its own team to compete in the event? Nor did the other teams from the U.K.? Or did they but couldn’t qualify? But what are these other countries from the U.K.? And is the U.K. different from Great Britain and England? Let's unravel the English mystery.

What is the United Kingdom?

The United Kingdom is a group of European countries lying to the North West of France and Belgium. It follows Constitutional Monarchy, i.e. The Monarch (Queen Elizabeth) is bound by the constitution of the state and can exercise powers only within a certain periphery.
 
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the U.K. as it is called, is a group of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All the U.K. nations have their own capital city. While London is the capital of England, Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. Cardiff is the largest and the capital city of Wales. Northern Ireland has the central office located in Belfast.

 

Credit: Matt Lewis, United Kingdom labelled map7, CC BY-SA 3.0

Do the 4 countries have individual autonomy?

While each country enjoys autonomy over 'devolved matters', the decisions on the 'reserved matters' do percolate in from the U.K. parliament. The 'devolved matters' are the ones wherein the rules are framed and followed as per the local governments of the four countries. On the other hand, areas under 'reserved matters' are governed as per the U.K. parliament rules and are followed in all these four nations.

One such decision is on 'Brexit'. While all the four nations individually voted for the referendum, the results were collated and the final judgment of the plebiscite was to leave the EU. Analyzing the results by individual nations, Scotland (38%) & Northern Ireland (44.2%) voted against Brexit. However, the combined duo of England and Wales brought the total figure to 51.9% and thus the decision to leave the EU ('reserved matter') was written in ink by the U.K. parliament.

How is Great Britain different from the U.K.? And from the British Isles?

The U.K. or The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state formed by a group of 4 countries England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Great Britain is not a country but just the largest island in the British Isles group. It comprises the countries of England, Wales and Scotland.

British Isles is a collection of over 6,000 islands, of which Great Britain is the largest.

The Republic of Ireland is another nation in the region south of Northern Ireland but not the part of the U.K. It, however, is the part of British Isles.

What about the cricket teams from the U.K.?

Coming back to our original question, does Wales and the other U.K. countries have their own cricket team? Yes, the countries have their cricket team. But the cricket logic and teams defy the political concept of the region. Only Scotland (from the U.K.) has its separate team and is a full ICC (International Cricket Council) member apart from England. Wales is part of the 'England and Wales Cricket Board'. Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland represents all of Ireland team

Nerd notes:

For the mathematicians, mentioning the above details in an equation form:

1. Political Congregation:

•     British Isles = England + Scotland + Wales + Northern Ireland + Republic of Ireland + other small islands
•     The U.K. = England + Scotland + Wales + Northern Ireland
•     Great Britain = England + Scotland + Wales
•     The U.K. = Great Britain + Northern Ireland

2. Cricket team:

•     England team: Full ICC member, with squad from England and Wales
•     Ireland team: Full ICC member, comprises Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland
•     Scotland team: Associate Member with ODI status, separate team

Thanks for reading, keep smiling and a very Happy Friendship day - 2019!

- Prakhar