History of Cricket

Cricket - the name with which almost every individual from all over the world is familiar, has now become the most popular sport of our country India. It is the national game of England and Australia. But do you ever wonder how this game started? How did it come to India and who made it so popular? This article intends to answer all the questions and know in detail about the history and sport: the story of cricket. 

Let us dive deep into the history of cricket.

What is the History of Cricket?

Experts agree that cricket was originated from youngsters living in the Weald, a region of dense woodlands and clearings in southeast England, during the Saxon or Norman periods. Cricket was first mentioned as an adult sport in 1611, and a dictionary described cricket as a boys' game in the same year. It's also possible that cricket evolved from bowls, with a batsman attempting to deflect the ball away from its intended target by hitting it away.

By the middle of the 17th century, village cricket had grown, and the first English "county teams" were founded in the second half of the century, with "local specialists" from village cricket serving as the first professionals. In 1709, the first known game in which teams used county names was played.

Cricket gets its name from the Anglo-Saxon word 'cricc,' which means shepherd's staff. English shepherds are considered to have been the original players, who used their 'criccs' as bats and the wicket gate of the sheep pens as a target for the bowlers or pitchers.

Early Years of Cricket

Cricket became a popular sport in London and the south-eastern regions of England in the first part of the 18th century. Travel restrictions hampered its expansion, but it was gradually gaining popularity in other regions of England, and Women's Cricket dates back to 1745 in Surrey when the first known match was played.

The first Laws of Cricket were created in 1744 and were later updated in 1774 to include innovations such as LBW, a third stump, a middle stump, and a maximum bat width. The "Star and Garter Club," whose members later created the legendary Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's in 1787, drafted the codes. MCC took over as guardian of the Laws right after and has been revising them ever since to the present day.

When bowlers began to pitch the ball after 1760, rolling the ball down the ground became obsolete, and the straight bat replaced the traditional "hockey-stick" kind of bat. For approximately thirty years, until the founding of the MCC and the inauguration of Lord's Cricket Ground in 1787, the Hambledon Club in Hampshire was the center of the game.

Cricket was first brought to North America through English colonies in the 17th century, and it spread to other areas of the world in the 18th century. Colonists introduced it to the West Indies, while British East India Company seafarers introduced it to India. It came to Australia nearly immediately after settlement began in 1788, and it spread to New Zealand and South Africa in the early nineteenth century.

How was Cricket Represented?

Cricket has always stood for fair play, gentlemanliness, and discipline since its inception. It has, nevertheless, been more popularised in recent years.

From the beginning, there were several important regulations that were followed in this game. These were:

• The game's rules were established prior to the Industrial Revolution. As a result, a match may go on indefinitely until it was called off. The game became strictly time-bound after the Industrial Revolution.

• Cricket was first played in the countryside on communal fields. The common lands varied in size from village to village and region to area. As a result, the size of the playing field was left up to mutual agreement prior to any game.

What were the Laws of Cricket?

The following are the various rules that have been enacted in relation to the game:

• In 1744, the first written 'Laws of Cricket' were drafted. According to these statutes, the principals shall appoint two umpires from among the gentlemen present to arbitrate all disputes.

• The stumps had to be 22 inches tall, with a six-inch bail across them. The ball should weigh between 5 and 6 ounces, and the stumps should be 22 yards apart.

In today’s date, 42 laws of cricket exist which are:

• Law 1 : The Players

• Law 2: Subs/runners, leaving the field, retiring, commencing innings

• Law 3: The Umpires

• Law 4: The Scorers

• Law 5: The Ball

• Law 6: The Bat

• Law 7: The Pitch

• Law 8: The Wickets

• Law 9: The Bowling, Popping and Return Creases

• Law 10: Rolling, Sweeping, Mowing, Watering the Pitch and Remarking of Creases

• Law 11: Covering the Pitch

• Law 12: Innings

• Law 13: The Follow-On

• Law 14: Declaration and Forfeiture

• Law 15: Intervals

• Law 16: Start of Play, Cessation of Play

• Law 17: Practice on the Field

• Law 18: Scoring Runs

• Law 19: Boundaries

• Law 20: Lost Ball

• Law 21: The Result

• Law 22: The Over

• Law 23: Dead Ball

• Law 24: No Ball

• Law 25: Wide Ball

• Law 26: Bye and Leg Bye

• Law 27: Appeals

• Law 28: The Wicket is Down

• Law 29: Batsman out of his Ground

• Law 30: Bowled

• Law 31: Timed Out

• Law 32: Caught

• Law 33: Handled the Ball

• Law 34: Hit the Ball Twice

• Law 35: Hit Wicket

• Law 36: Leg Before Wicket

• Law 37: Obstructing the Field

• Law 38: Run Out

• Law 39: Stumped

• Law 40: The Wicket-Keeper

• Law 41: The Fielder

• Law 42: Fair and Unfair Play

Formats of Cricket

Test matches, One-Day Internationals, and Twenty20 Internationals are the three formats of cricket played at the international level. The International Cricket Council, which also provides match officials, has approved the rules and regulations for these matches.

Test Matches - Test cricket is the classic form of the game, which has been played since 1877 and is now played in a five-day format with two innings per side. Because it challenges teams over a longer length of time, it is regarded as the apex form. To succeed in this style, teams must demonstrate endurance, technique, and temperament in a variety of situations.

One-Day Internationals - One Day Internationals, or ODIs, are a more formal format that began in 1971 but gained prominence in the 1980s. Teams with a blend of technique, speed, and skill are expected to do well in these one-innings matchups of 50 overs on each side. The ICC Cricket World Cup, the ICC's flagship tournament, is played in this format every four years.

In recent years, the ICC has added the Champions Trophy for the top eight ranked teams, the ICC Women's World Cup every four years, and the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup every two years to the 50-over format.

Twenty 20 Internationals - Twenty20 Internationals are cricket's newest, shortest, and fastest format. Since its inception in 2005, this format of 20 overs per side has attracted new audiences as well as spawned new skill sets and innovations. A Twenty20 International match normally lasts three hours, and it is incredibly popular with cricket fans all around the world due to its big-hitting, smart bowling, and amazing fielding.

The ICC World Twenty20 is the primary international T20 tournament, which began in 2007 and has been held five times since then, with the addition of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 in 2009. For the first time, the next edition, which will be held in the Caribbean in 2018, will be a stand-alone event.

Following the accession of Afghanistan and Ireland in June 2017, there are now 12 ICC Members having Test Match status, which means they also have ODI and T20I status. Starting in 2019, the ICC World Test Championship will be established, with the top nine teams competing over a two-year cycle. At the end of the cycle, the top two teams will compete in the ICC World Test Championship final.

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