The History of Cricket
By James
No one knows when or where cricket began
but there is a body of evidence, that strongly
suggests the game was devised during Saxon
or Norman times by children living in the
Weald, an area of dense woodlands and
clearings in south-east England that lies across
Kent and Sussex. In medieval times, the Weald
was populated by small farming and metalworking communities. It is generally believed
that cricket survived as a children's game for
many centuries before it was increasingly
taken up by adults around the beginning of
the 17th century.
The first definite reference to the game is found in a 1598 court case concerning
dispute over a school's ownership of a plot of land. A 59-year old coroner, John
Derrick, testified that he and his school friends had played creckett on the site fifty
years earlier. The school was the Royal Grammar school Guildford, and Mr.
Derrick's account proves beyond reasonable doubt that the game was being played
in Surrey c.1550
A number of words are thought
to be possible sources for the
term "cricket". In the earliest
known reference to the sport in
1598 it is called creckett. The
name may have been derived
from the Middle Dutch rick
meaning a stick; or the Old
English cricc or cryce meaning a
crutch or staff.
Cricket was introduced to
North America via the
English colonies in the 17th
century, probably before it
had even reached the north
of England. In the 18th
century it arrived in other
parts of the globe. It was
introduced to the West
Indies by colonists and to
India by British East India
Company mariners in the
first half of the century. It
arrived in Australia almost
as soon as colonization
began in 1788. New
Zealand and South Africa
followed in the early years
of the 19th century.
The basic rules of cricket such as bat and
ball, the wicket, pitch dimensions, over's,
how out, etc. have existed since time
immemorial. In 1728, the Duke of Richmond
and Alan Brodick drew up "Articles of
Agreement" to determine the code of
practice in a particular game and this
became a common feature, especially
around payment of stake money and
distributing the winnings given the
importance of gambling.
The game continued to spread throughout
England and, in 1751, Yorkshire is first
mentioned as a venue. The original form
of bowling (i.e., rolling the ball along the
ground as in bowls) was superseded
sometime after 1760 when bowlers began
to pitch the ball and study variations in
line, length and pace. Scorecards began to
be kept on a regular basis from 1772 and
since then an increasingly clear picture
has emerged of the sport's development
Cricket faced its first real crisis during the
18th century when major matches
virtually ceased during the Seven Years
war. This was largely due to shortage of
players and lack of investment. But the
game survived and the "Hambledon Era"
proper began in the mid-1760s.
Cricket faced another major crisis at the
beginning of the 19th century when a
cessation of major matches occurred
during the culminating period of the
Napoleonic wars. Again, the causes were
shortage of players and lack of
investment. But, as in the 1760s, the
game survived and a slow recovery began
in 1815.
The game also underwent a fundamental change of organisation with the formation
for the first time of county clubs. All the modern county clubs, starting with Sussex in
1839, were founded during the 19th century.
No sooner had the first county clubs established themselves than they faced what
amounted to "player action" as William Clarke created the travelling All-England
Eleven in 1846. Though a commercial venture, this team did much to popularise the
game in districts which had never previously been visited by high-class cricketers.
Other similar teams were created and this vogue lasted for about thirty years
Between May and
October 1868, a team
of Australian
Aborigines toured
England in what was
the first Australian
cricket team to travel
overseas.
The First ever International cricket game was between the
USA and Canada in 1844. The match was played at the
grounds of the St George’s Cricket club in New York
In 1859, a team of leading English professionals set off to
North America on the first-ever overseas tour and, in
1862, the first English team toured Australia.
Image of
the 1878
Australian
cricket team
from the
State Library
of NSW
A major watershed occurred in 1890 when the official
County Championships was constituted in England. This
organisational initiative has been repeated in other
countries. Australia established the Sheffield Shield in
1892–93. Other national competitions to be established
were the Currie Cup in South Africa, the Plunkett Shield
in New Zealand and the Ranji Trophy in India.
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The period from 1890 to the outbreak of the
First World War has become an object of
nostalgia, ostensibly because the teams played
cricket according to "the spirit of the game",
but more realistically because it was a
peacetime period that was shattered by the
First World War. The era has been called The
Golden Age of cricket and it featured
numerous great names such as Grace, Wilfred
Rhodes, C B Fry, K S RanjitsinhiiK and victor
Trumper.
In 1889 the immemorial four ball over was
replaced by a five ball over and then this was
changed to the current six balls an over in
1900. Subsequently, some countries
experimented with eight balls an over. In
1922, the number of balls per over was
changed from six to eight in Australia only. In
1924 the eight ball over was extended to New
Zealand and in 1937 to South Africa. In
England, the eight ball over was adopted
experimentally for the 1939 season; the
intention was to continue the experiment in
1940, but first-class cricket was suspended for
the Second World War and when it resumed,
English cricket reverted to the six ball over.
The 1947 Laws of Cricket allowed six or eight
balls depending on the conditions of play.
Since the 1979/80 Australian and New
Zealand seasons, the six ball over has been
used worldwide and the most recent version
of the Laws in 2000 only permits six ball overs.
Test cricket remained the sport's highest
level of standard throughout the 20th
century but it had its problems, notably in
the infamous “Bodyline Series" of 1932–
33 when Douglas Jardine’s England used
so-called "leg theory" to try and neutralise
the run-scoring brilliance of Australia's
Donald Bradman.
When the Imperial Cricket Conference (as
it was originally called) was founded in
1909, only England, Australia and South
Africa were members. India, West indies
and New Zealand became Test nations
before the Second World War and
Pakistan soon afterwards. The
international game grew with several
"affiliate nations" getting involved and, in
the closing years of the 20th century,
three of those became Test nations also:
Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
The greatest crisis to hit international cricket was brought
about by apartheid, the South African policy of racial
segregation. The situation began to crystallise after 1961 when
South Africa left the Commonwealth of Nations and so, under
the rules of the day, its cricket board had to leave the
International Cricket Conference (ICC). Cricket's opposition to
apartheid intensified in 1968 with the cancellation of England's
tour to South Africa by the South African authorities, due to
the inclusion of "coloured" cricketer Basil D’Oliveira in the
England team. In 1970, the ICC members voted to suspend
Basil D’Oliveira
South Africa indefinitely from international cricket
competition. Ironically, the South African team at that time
was probably the strongest in the world.
The money problems of top cricketers were also the
root cause of another cricketing crisis that arose in 1977
when the Australian media magnate Kerry Packer fell
out with the Australian Cricket Board over TV rights.
Taking advantage of the low remuneration paid to
players, Packer retaliated by signing several of the best
players in the world to a privately run cricket league
outside the structure of international cricket. World
Series Cricket hired some of the banned South African
players and allowed them to show off their skills in an
international arena against other world-class players.
The schism lasted only until 1979 and the "rebel"
players were allowed back into established international
cricket, though many found that their national teams
had moved on without them. Long-term results of
World Series Cricket have included the introduction of
significantly higher player salaries and innovations such
as coloured kit and night games.
In the 1960s, English county teams began
playing a version of cricket with games of
only one innings each and a maximum
number of overs per innings. Starting in
1963 as a knockout competition only,
limited overs grew in popularity and in
1969 a national league was created which
consequently caused a reduction in the
number of matches in the County
Championship.
Although many "traditional" cricket fans
objected to the shorter form of the game,
limited overs cricket did have the
advantage of delivering a result to
spectators within a single day; it did
improve cricket's appeal to younger or
busier people; and it did prove
commercially successful.
Limited overs cricket increased television
ratings for cricket coverage. Innovative
techniques that were originally introduced
for coverage of LOI matches was soon
adopted for Test coverage. The innovations
included presentation of in-depth statistics
and graphical analysis, placing miniature
cameras in the stumps, multiple usage of
cameras to provide shots from several
locations around the ground, high speed
photography and computer graphics
technology enabling television viewers to
study the course of a delivery and help
them understand an umpire's decision.
In 1992, the use of a third umpire to
adjudicate run out appeals with television
replays was introduced in the Test series
between South Africa and India. The third
umpire's duties have subsequently
expanded to include decisions on other
aspects of play such as stumpings, catches
and boundaries. As yet, the third umpire
is not called upon to adjudicate lbw
appeals, although there is a virtual reality
tracking technology (i.e., Hawk-eye) that
is approaching perfection in predicting the
course of a delivery.
Cricket remains a major world sport in
terms of participants, spectators and
media interest.
Cricket's newest innovation is
Twenty20, essentially an evening
In June 2001, the ICC introduced
entertainment. It has so far
a "Test Championship Table"
enjoyed enormous popularity and
and, in October 2002, a "Onehas attracted large attendances at
day International Championship
matches as well as good TV
Table". Australia has consistently
audience ratings. The inaugural ICC
topped both these tables in the
Twenty 20 World Cup tournament
2000s.
was held in 2007 with a follow-up
The ICC has expanded its development program event in 2009. The formation of
with the goal of producing more national teams Twenty20 leagues in India – the
capable of competing at Test level. Development unofficial Indian Cricket League,
efforts are focused on African and Asian nations; which started in 2007, and the
official Indian Premier League,
and on the United States. In 2004, the ICC
Intercontinental Cup brought first-class cricket to starting in 2008 – raised much
speculation in the cricketing press
12 nations, mostly for the first time
about their effect on the future of
cricket.
Player
Team
Brian Lara
Score
Against
Venue
Date
West Indies 400
England
St John's
Apr 10, 2004
M.Hayden
Australia
Zimbabwe
Perts
Oct 09, 2003
Brian Lara
West Indies 375
England
St John's
Apr 16, 1994
Jayawardene
Sri Lanka
South Africa
Colombo
27 Jul 2006
Gary Sobers
West Indies 365
Pakistan
Kingston
Feb 26, 1958
Len Hutton
England
364
Australia
The Oval
Aug 20, 1938
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sri Lanka
340
India
Khettarama
Aug 02, 1997
Hanif Mohammad Pakistan
337
West Indies
Bridgetown
Jan 17, 1958
Wally Hammond
England
336
New Zealand
Auckland
Mar 31,
1933
MA Taylor
Australia
334*
Pakistan
Peshawar
15 Oct 1998
380
374
Full Name: Brian Charles Lara
Born: 2 May 1969, Cantaro, Santa Cruz, Trinidad
Major Teams: Trinidad & Tobago, Warwickshire, Northern
Transvaal, ICC World XI, West Indies
Batting Style: Left Hand Bat
Bowling
Style: Leg Break Test Debut: Pakistan VsTest
West Indies at
Competition
Gaddafi
MatchesStadium, Lahore, 3rd Test, 1990/91
131
ODI Debut: Pakistan Vs West Indies at National Stadium, Karachi,
Runs
Scored
11,953
1st
ODI,
1990/91
Twenty20
Intl Debut: Hasn't played any T20Is 52.88
Batting Averages
ODI
FC
LA
299
261
429
10,405
22,156
14,602
40.48
51.88
39.67
100s/50s
34/48
19/63
65/88
27/86
Top Score
400*
169
501*
169
Balls bowled
60
49
514
130
Wickets
-
4
4
5
Bowling averages
-
15.25
104.00
29.80
5 wickets in innings0
0
0
0
0
10 wickets in match
0
n/a
0
n/a
2/5
1/1
2/5
120/-
320/-
177/-
Best bowling
Catches/stumpings
164/-
Stats
Competition
Tests
FC
Matches
52
234
Runs Scored
6,996
28,067
Batting average
99.94
95.14
100s/50s
29/13
117/69
Top score
334
452*
Balls Bowled
160
2114
Wickets
2
36
Bowling average
36.00
37.97
5 wicket innings
0
0
10 Wicket in a match
0
0
Best bowling
1/8
3/35
Catches/stumpings
32/-
131-
Competition
Test
ODI
FC
LA
Matches
93
1
383
95
Runs Scored
8032
0
28314
2721
Batting average
57.78
0.00
54.87
38.32
100s/50s
26/30
0/0
86/121
1/18
Top Score
365*
0
356*
116*
Balls Bowled
21599
63
70789
4387
Wickets
235
1
1043
109
34.03
31.00
27.74
21.95
5 Wickets in
innings
6
-
36
1
10 Wickets in
innings
0
n/a
1
n/a
Best Bowling
6/73
1/31
9/49
5/43
1/-
407/-
41/-
Catches/Stumpings 109/-