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People staying in the sub-continent, cricket is a religion. The sport is literally a way of life in these countries and there is hardly anybody who needs to learn anything about this game. However, definition says cricket a game played with a bat and ball involving 22 players.
Cricket is played on a field with a strip of grass-free zone termed as a pitch. The pitch measures 22 yards.
On both sides of the pitch stand three wooden sticks known as stumps with two small crosspieces called as bails. There are different kinds of cricket games; they are Test cricket, One-Day International cricket and Twenty20 cricket.
Cricket History
The history of cricket dates back to the 13th century. Though not confirmed, the game possibly originated among the farming community in a place called Weald between Kent and Sussex. According to written evidence, a game called as creag was played by Prince Edward, the son of Edward I in Kent in 1300.
There is also a reference about a court case way back in the 16th century which says that a game called kreckett was played at Royal Grammar School in Guildford.
Cricket Popularity
For hundreds of years, cricket has been a very popular games among Commonwealth countries, and is considered to be the second most popular game in the world. The game is played with a bowler, a player from the fielding team, hurling a leather ball to a batsman, who stands on the other side of the pitch.
The job of the batsman is to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket with a wooden bat. And when the ball is hit, there are 11 players from the opponent team whose job is to prevent the batsmen from crossing from one end of a pitch to the other end.
There are lot of ways by which a batsman can get out. These are bowled, caught, run out, leg before wicket, to name a few. One more thing, there are always two batsmen on a pitch and they change sides one of them scores a run.
Cricket Origin
The source of the word cricket may have come from many sources. One of them is a French word called criquet which means a kind of club. There is another word called Flemish krick (e) that means a stick. According to old English, crycc means a crutch or staff.
According to various research papers on cricket, there are a number of references that indicate that the game was played in south-east England during the 17t century.
West Indies Cricket
West Indian cricket team is a confederation of many English-speaking Caribbean countries and British dependencies that form the British West Indies. The history of Caribbean cricket dates back to the 1890s, when the first team was created to play visiting English sides.
The West Indies team played their first official international match and was granted Test status in 1928. By the 1970s, the team became known as the unofficial world champions. During those glorious years, the Windies were literally an unbeatable team. However, in the 90s and 2000s, the team declined mainly because the board failed to move the game from an amateur pastime to a professional sport.
Cricket Captains
Some of the top captains of West Indies are Karl Nunes 1928-1929/30, Teddy Hoad 1929/30, Nelson Betancourt 1929/30 to name a few. But the most successful captains that West Indies have ever produced are Garfield Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd, Alvin Kallicharran, Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan.
Bug
If you think cricket is all about sports, then think again. Crickets are a kind of insects that are characterized by the chirping courtship call of the male. True crickets include the familiar black field cricket and the house cricket. These insects have long antennae and are renowned for hind legs adapted for jumping.
Cricket Pavilion
A cricket pavilion is a building that is located within a stadium for players to rest or change their dress or for refreshments. It has a verandah that provides players protection from the sun. Cricket pavilions are highly guarded areas as all the big names put in there during a game. In modern day cricket, tickets are also available for the pavilion which fetches the organizers huge money
Live Cricket
Live cricket is the most popular term today. It refers to the live telecast of a cricket match on television. With about 90 seconds given between over, it gives sponsors a huge opportunity to advertise their products. |
