Cricket (sport)

Overview

Originally played in England, cricket has evolved into one of the most popular sports throughout the former countries of the British Empire. In cricket, two teams of eleven players compete over a series of innings on an oval-shaped field. Cricket is a multifaceted sport, involving a combination of bowling, hitting, running, and throwing. It is also a game of strategy and tactics, relying on the leadership of teams’ respective captains. Furthermore, cricket is a sport steeped in tradition. Players and fans alike hold the game’s rules and decorum in high reverence and believe strongly in the “Spirit of the Game.”

There are two main types of cricket played at the professional level. The first of these games is limited “overs” cricket, in which competition is confined to one innings (a term used in both the plural and singular) per team, with a set number of overs—a sequence of six balls played to completion by a specific bowler—allowed per innings. The second is first-class cricket, which may last between three and five days. The longest of matches are in “Test” cricket, which transpire over five days. The governing body of all forms of international professional cricket is the International Cricket Council (ICC). Ten of the ICC’s members play Test matches with one another, while thirty-eight Associate members and fifty-seven Affiliate members play limited overs matches.

Every four years, the ICC hosts the Cricket World Cup for both men’s and women’s teams. The ICC also hosts limited overs tournaments, most notably the Pepsi ICC World Cricket Championship—a tournament consisting of the top eight Affiliate and Associate teams—and the ICC Intercontinental Cup—a first-class tournament among Associate members meant to prepare the teams for eventual Test play.

Origins and History

Although historians largely accept that the traditional version of cricket originated in England (probably around the mid-eighteenth century) and from there spread across the British Empire, the sport’s roots are much more difficult to trace. After all, the game is based on a simple idea—using a bat to hit a thrown ball. Evidence of such bat-and-ball games traced back to eighth century India and Persia has given rise to the theory that a cricketlike game was first played in the Indian subcontinent and was carried westward by nomads and soldiers through the trading center of Constantinople and into Europe.

When the Normans invaded England in 1066, they adopted as a recreational activity a Saxon bat-and-ball game, adapting it to existing Norman lawn play and calling it “cricke.” Over the course of the next two centuries, the game increased in popularity, even garnering the support of England’s King Edward II. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, written in the last two decades of the fourteenth century, referenced the widespread play of this game. However, King Richard II—who ruled in the latter part of the fourteenth century—banned cricke and all other ball games. The monarchy encouraged its citizens to choose archery as a recreational sport instead, to foster a supply of skilled archers for the British army.

In the eighteenth century, cricket reemerged as a legitimate sport in England and elsewhere in the British Empire. In 1721 the first recorded cricket match in India took place between a group of sailors in the western part of the country. In 1750, one of the first cricket clubs was established in the Hampshire village of Hambledon (this club is still operating today). Although a number of cricket laws were drawn up over the course of the mid-1700s, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was tasked with the custodianship of the official laws of cricket with its founding in 1787. The first MCC code of laws was adopted for play in May 1788. The MCC remains the custodian of the laws today, with many provisions having undergone only minor modification since their creation.

Cricket’s popularity continued to spread across the British Empire during the Victorian Era (1837–1901). It became a sport of international diplomacy, as teams traveled around the globe to take part in matches in England and elsewhere. The international growth of cricket fostered a desire among teams to have longer matches and thus “test” the endurance and strength of the teams. Australia and England met in Melbourne in 1877 and played the first Test match, which lasted four days of play. England lost to Australia by forty-five runs. In 1909, the ICC was established with England, Australia, and South Africa as its founding members.

Rules and Regulations

Cricket is played on an oval-shaped field between two teams of eleven players. On the long axis of this elliptical field is the pitch—a rectangle marked at both ends with white lines (creases). In the center of each crease is a wicket: a structure composed of three wooden posts planted in the ground (stumps) topped with two wooden crossbars (bails). Every time a team comes up to bat is known as innings. Each team is afforded ten outs per innings before the two sides switch. Once the total number of innings agreed upon before the game is reached, the score is tallied.

On the defensive end, two players focus their play on the pitch: the bowler and the wicketkeeper. Also on opposite ends of the pitch are two batsmen for the offense: the striker and the nonstriker (both of whom stand behind the area known as the popping crease). The bowler—who is positioned behind the nonstriker—runs up to the nonstriker’s popping crease. In overarm fashion, he or she bowls the ball across the pitch and at the wicket (this is known as the delivery). The cricket bowl is unlike a typical baseball throw, as a bowler’s arm must be straight during delivery. The striker attempts to hit the ball using the bat. If the striker is successful in making contact and putting the ball into play, the nonstriker and striker may (but do not necessarily have to) run across the pitch to the other popping crease. When this action is successful, a point is awarded. The batsmen may opt to continue running if the ball is not yet recovered or a wicket is not felled.

In bowling, the bowler attempts to knock the bails off the striker’s wicket with his or her throw and, thereby, put out the striker. If the striker is successful in hitting the ball into play, the fielders will either attempt to catch the ball (if it is hit in the air) or throw it at a wicket to put out the striker. Most of these fielders, including the wicketkeeper, form a protective pattern in the immediate area around the pitch. Several more fielders take up position deeper on the playing field.

There are two types of cricket play. The first is limited duration, which has strict time limits within which each team plays two innings. Test matches and other first-class professional matches fall under this category. The second is limited overs, in which there is a predetermined number of overs (six balls bowled) per innings. For example, an abbreviated, one-day type of cricket known as Twenty20 (T20)—in which there is a maximum twenty overs per innings—has become popular at clubs across England and elsewhere.

Strategy and Tactics

There are a number of complexities to the sport of cricket, but the overall goal of the game is simple: to score more points than the other team. Players and team leaders—all of whom must demonstrate strong bowling, hitting, and fielding skills—must also make careful decisions in order to maximize the points the team earns during a match. For example, the coin toss made prior to the start of the match is critical. Most team captains who win the coin toss choose to bat first, as this move enables the team to score first. Then again, captains must also be mindful of the pitch condition at the start of the match. If it is humid or if rain fell earlier, the pitch could be a little wet, potentially making a ball much harder to hit.

The coin-toss decision to bowl or bat first depends on the skills and abilities of the players. Captains and team members must be cognizant of their potential contributions prior to the start of the match. For example, the decision to bowl first because the pitch is moist is only a wise one if the bowler can take advantage of those conditions (he or she can bowl at a high speed or apply an effective spin to the ball) and make his or her bowls difficult to hit. Similarly, a team might choose to bat first if its batters will be able to score quickly during the match.

The length of the match is also an important factor in terms of team strategy. First-class matches, which last for as many as five days, may be effectively won in the first day or two. The pitch becomes progressively worn over the course of a multiday match. Teams must therefore work to put out their fastest bowlers and most skilled batters early in the match. Doing so can maximize the team’s performance before conditions on the pitch becomes less conducive to scoring.

Professional Leagues and Series

As mentioned earlier, cricket is played in two general formats. The first of these is limited overs, which consists of one-day play between two teams. The second is first-class cricket, which involves matches that last three days or more. These two formats have given rise to a number of different types of tournaments and matches, from the club-level to the international circuit. The ICC governs cricket played on the international level.

One of the most highly regarded of the different cricket contests is the Cricket World Cup. This tournament, which is the championship of men’s One Day International (ODI) cricket, was introduced in 1975 and has taken place every four years since. The World Cup typically features ten teams, all of which compete in a tournament of fifty-over matches. Women’s cricket also features an ICC World Cup, which was launched in 1973.

In addition to the World Cup, the ICC also offers the World T20. The World T20 was introduced in 2007 and featured twelve teams playing in South Africa. The field was later expanded to twenty international teams. The World T20 is held biennially.

Furthermore, there is a Women’s World T20. With a format similar to the men’s competition, this tournament consists of two groups of five seeded teams. The two highest teams from each group play in a semifinal setting, followed by the finals.

Amid surging popularity for Test cricket, the ICC launched the ICC World Test Championship, also known as the Test World Cup, in 2019. The first Test World Cup began with the Ashes Series, held in 2019, and culminated in New Zealand's victory over India in the final, held in June 2021. Similar to the World T 20, the ICC World Test Championship is held every two years.

Popularity

Cricket is a highly popular international sport, particularly among the many countries that were once part of the British Empire and are currently part of the British Commonwealth. According to the ICC, including viewers and participants, the World Cup involves countries containing roughly one-fifth of the world’s population. The 2019 World Cup became one of the most-watched sporting events of all time, with 2.6 billion viewers.

Meanwhile, T20 has become one of the most popular versions of cricket. With its matches taking place over a period of about three hours (twenty overs), the relative brevity of the game has infused county clubs with new energy. T20 requires a decidedly different approach to the game, as the endurance and patience required for matches lasting as long as four or five days are replaced with the intensity of playing a concentrated cricket match. Some observers argue that T20—which began in county clubs in England as a brand of light recreational fare—currently generates the majority of revenue for these venues.

In the face of T20’s surging popularity, support for the sport’s top echelon—Test cricket—is declining. This trend largely results from the fact that many of the sport’s most marketable players are taking part in T20, taking their fans with them. With T20 being the game of choice for young cricketers, there is an active debate over the future of Test-level play.

Despite the global popularity of cricket, by the 2020s the sport had also drawn criticism for certain aspects of its culture, particularly in the United Kingdom. In June 2023 the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) released a report on cricket in England and Wales and found systematic patterns of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of exclusion and discrimination occurring at even the highest levels of the game. The report also identified declining representation for players of color in the sport and under-representation of players who did not attend exclusive private schools. In the aftermath of these findings the England and Wales Cricket Board apologized and pledged to accept the ICEC recommendations for cultural changes.

Bibliography

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"An Explanation of Cricket." Purdue University Computer Science. Purdue University, 1 Dec. 2009, www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/hosking/cricket/explanation.htm. Accessed 15 Oct. 2024.

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