The quintessential gentleman’s game, cricket originated a few hundred years ago and has a huge international following. Its modern version originated in England and there are now many cricket playing nations across the globe. Each of them follows the 42 rules that are laid down by the key cricketing body, the Marylebone Cricket Club.
A precursor of cricket is thought to have originated in the 1300s, or even earlier, in the farming areas of Sussex and Kent. In the Oxford English Dictionary, the first mention of cricket in written English was in the 16th century when it was spelt “kreckett”. The term “cricket” may have originated from an Old English word “crycc” which meant “staff” or “crutch”. The term could also have evolved from the French word “criquet” which means “club” or the Flemish word “kricke” which means “stick”. All of these words refer to the bat used in cricket. The French word “criquet” seems to have evolved from the Flemish word “krickstoel”, which refers to the low church stools that resemble the stumps used as wickets in cricket. Back then, two stumps were used as wickets instead of three.
Towards the end of the 1600s, cricket was officially recognized as a game in Britain and many professional cricketers emerged during that time. After another a hundred years or so, it became the national sport of the UK and the legendary Lord’s cricket ground was founded towards the end of the 1700s. Until the 1800s, under-arm bowling was the only type of bowling seen. However, it was eventually replaced by round-arm and over-arm styles of bowling. Thee “Golden Age of Cricket” was the twenty years before World War I. The years between the two World Wars were dominated by the first international cricket superstar, Sir Don Bradman.
After World War II ended, different types of cricket matches were introduced. A limited over cricket match was called a One Day International or ODI and was also known as a LOI (Limited Over International). This was ideally suited to the new types of media that began cricket coverage such as TV and radio. The ODI games finish quickly and have more nail-biting tension compared to cricket test matches which span three or more days. Another type of cricket that is quickly gaining popularity is the Twenty20 or the T20. Here, the game finishes in 20 overs and the team with the maximum runs wins. This cricket game finishes in three or four hours and is well suited to the short attention span of many viewers today.
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