Cricket is a sport of unknown origin that is played in an open-air stadium between two teams of eleven players each, using a bat and a ball slightly smaller than the ball used in baseball. The rules governing this game were drawn up in London, Great Britain, by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1788. Since then, the rules have been subject to subsequent updates.
Cricket is played in the Annual International Series, although there are also games between college and university teams, including traditional games held in Cambridge and Oxford every year.
Cricket is believed to be a name that comes from the English word Crick, which means “stick” or “stick shepherd”. This reference could be associated with the first bats that were used to play in the eighteenth century. However, the first ever recorded cricket match, as we know the game today, was held in Melbourne, Australia, in a test match between England and Australia during 1877.
In the United States, the first game of cricket was held between this country and Canada in 1844 and took place on the grounds of St George’s Cricket Club in New York. However, it was not until 1859 that the first team of English professional cricketers visited the United States for the first overseas tour before embarking on their first tour of Australia in 1862.
By the way, the first cricket team to tour England in 1868 was a team of Aboriginal Australians and their visit achieved great success which would later be the main force in bringing South Africa as the third test nation after England and Australia. in 1889.
The cricket bat is currently paddle-shaped, but it is flat and made of willow wood. A cricket bat is 96 cm long and 10.8 cm wide, it has a cane handle. According to cricket regulations, the dimensions of the field of play can range from 133 by 152m to 160 by 168m. The cricket ball weighs between 156 and 163 g and is made of yarn wound around a cork core and covered with leather.
Cricket is actually considered the national sport of England. When it comes to cricket records, bowler Kapil Dev of India brought down 434 wickets in his 24-year career, the highest cricket score in history, although Australian Allan Border made 11,174 runs between 1978 and 1992.
Actually, the only cricket team to have won the Cricket World Cup twice is the West Indies cricket team, which won the championship in 1975 and 1979. Although cricket is mostly popular in Europe, most the Commonwealth of Nations has professional cricket teams.
