History of Cricket

Cricket, often referred to as a gentleman’s game was originally played in southern England in the 16th century but colonization spread its popularity to other parts of the world. The game abides by a set of rules known as the Laws of Cricket, which is laid down by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The sport is played between two teams with 11 players who are a mix of batsmen, bowlers and wicketkeepers. The game is refereed by two umpires, one umpire at the bowler’s end and the other is usually at the position known as square leg. In the early years of the game, test matches spanned over several days but soon the days were numbered down to 5 and the format of limited overs cricket also came into existence. In 1962, the first limited overs match was played between English county teams and this trend extended to international cricket in 1971. In professional cricket today, the length of a game may vary from 20 to 50 overs per side (limited overs cricket or one-day international cricket respectively) or 5 days as in the case of Test match.

In 1912, a three-way series between Australia, England and South Africa was organized as an attempt at a world championship but it failed due to bad weather and the concept was re-visited only in 1975. The six test-playing nations (England, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, India and Pakistan) along with Sri Lanka and East Africa participated in the first World Cup in England at Lords, and the championship is now held every 4 years. West Indies lifted the first World Cup defeating Australia, but Australia is the most successful side in the World Cup having won it 5 times. The Ashes is an England-Australia test series which originated in 1882 and the side that wins the most recent series holds the Ashes. The ICC World Twenty20 was first held in September 2007 in South Africa and it was won by India.

Previous Cricket season(s)

Cricket has given the world a host of exemplary players who have won tremendous adulation and respect from fans all over. Don Bradman is inarguably the greatest batsman in the history of cricket. The popular Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar and West Indian cricketer Brian Lara are often compared to him. Other popular names in this sport include Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram, Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan and Graeme Smith, South Africa’s successful captain.