The game of cricket has a known history spanning from the 16th century to the present day, with international matches played since 1844, although the official history of international Test cricket began in 1877. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries Test cricket is the longest form of the Sport of Cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations During this time, the game developed from its origins in England into a game which is now played professionally in most of the Commonwealth of Nations. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

Early cricket

See also: History of English cricket to 1696

Origin

No one knows when or where cricket began but there is a body of evidence, much of it circumstantial, 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. For their language see Anglo-Saxon language. Anglo-Saxon is the term usually used to describe the invading Tribes in the south The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. The Weald (wɪəld is the name given to a physiographic area in south-east England situated between the parallel Chalk Escarpments of the North KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. In medieval times, the Weald was populated by small farming and metal-working 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.

It is quite likely that cricket was devised by children and survived for many generations as essentially a children’s game. Adult participation is unknown before the early 17th century. Possibly cricket was derived from bowls, assuming bowls is the older sport, by the intervention of a batsman trying to stop the ball reaching its target by hitting it away. Playing on sheep-grazed land or in clearings, the original implements may have been a matted lump of sheep’s wool (or even a stone or a small lump of wood) as the ball; a stick or a crook or another farm tool as the bat; and a stool or a tree stump or a gate (e. g. , a wicket gate) as the wicket ^[1].

Derivation of the name of "cricket"

A number of words are thought to be possible sources for the term cricket, which could refer to the bat or the wicket. In old French, the word criquet meant a kind of club which probably gave its name to croquet. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Croquet is a Game played both as a recreational Pastime and as a competitive Sport which involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through Some believe that cricket and croquet have a common origin. In Flemish, krick(e) means a stick, and, in Old English, cricc or cryce means a crutch or staff (though the hard "k" sound suggests the North or Northeast midlands, rather than the Southeast, where cricket seems to have begun).

Alternatively, the French criquet apparently comes from the Flemish word krickstoel, which is a long low stool on which one kneels in church. It may appear similar to the long low wicket with two stumps used in early cricket, or the early stool in stoolball. Stoolball is a sport that dates back to the 14th century originating in Sussex, southern England. The word stool is old dialect for a tree stump in a forest, but in stoolball it may well refer to the milking-stools which are believed to have been used as wickets in early times. Stoolball is a sport that dates back to the 14th century originating in Sussex, southern England.

Stoolball is an ancient sport similar to cricket, still played in southern counties of England, especially Sussex, and is considered a precursor to cricket, rounders and baseball. Stoolball is a sport that dates back to the 14th century originating in Sussex, southern England. Rounders ( Irish: cluiche corr) is a Sport played between two teams each alternating between batting and fielding Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each

First definite reference

Despite many prior suggested references, the first definite reference to the game is found in a 1597 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 kreckett 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. See Royal Grammar School for the other schools with the name RGS Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. 1550.

The first reference to it being played as an adult sport was in 1611, when two men in Sussex were prosecuted for playing cricket on Sunday instead of going to church. In the same year, a dictionary defines cricket as a boys' game and this suggests that adult participation was a recent development.

Early seventeenth century

A number of references occur up to the English Civil War and these indicate that it had become an adult game contested by parish teams, but there is no evidence of county strength teams at this time. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Equally, there is little evidence of the rampant gambling that characterised the game throughout the 18th century. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system It is generally believed, therefore, that "village cricket" had developed by the middle of the 17th century but that county cricket had not and that investment in the game had not begun.

The Commonwealth

After the Civil War ended in 1648, the new Puritan government clamped down on "unlawful assemblies", in particular the more raucous sports such as football. Football is the word given to a number of similar Team sports all of which involve (to varying degrees kicking a Ball with the foot in an attempt to score a Their laws also demanded a stricter observance of the Sabbath than there had been previously. As the Sabbath was the only free time available to the lower classes, cricket's popularity may have waned during the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth of England was the Republican government which ruled first England (including Wales) and then Ireland and Scotland Having said that, it did flourish in public fee-paying schools such as Winchester and St Paul's. Winchester College is a well-known boys' Independent school, and an example of an English Public school, in the city of Winchester in Hampshire St Paul's School is the name of many schools with St Paul's School in London, (founded 1509 being the oldest There is no actual evidence that Oliver Cromwell's regime banned cricket specifically and there are references to it during the interregnum that suggest it was acceptable to the authorities providing it did not cause any "breach of the Sabbath". Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity of a government organization or social order

Gambling and press coverage

Cricket certainly thrived after the Restoration in 1660 and is believed to have first attracted gamblers making large bets at this time. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored In 1664, the "Cavalier" Parliament passed a Gambling Act which limited stakes to £100, although that was still a fortune at the time. Cricket had certainly become a significant gambling sport by the end of the 17th century. We know of a "great match" played in Sussex in 1697 which was 11-a-side and played for high stakes of 50 guineas a side. The guinea coin of 1663 was the first English machine-struck Gold coin.

Our knowledge of this game came about because, for the first time, cricket could be reported in the newspapers with freedom of the press having been granted the previous year. A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. Freedom Constitutional or statutory protections pertaining to freedom of the press But it was a long time before the newspaper industry adapted sufficiently to provide frequent, let alone comprehensive, coverage of the game. During the first half of the 18th century, press reports tended to focus on the betting rather than on the play!

Eighteenth century cricket

See also: 1697 to 1725 English cricket seasons and Overview of English cricket 1726 - 1815

Patronage and players

Gambling introduced the first patrons because some of the gamblers decided to strengthen their bets by forming their own teams and it is believed the first "county teams" were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration. The first game we know of in which the teams use county names is in 1709 but there can be little doubt that these sort of fixtures were being arranged long before that. The match in 1697 could well have been Sussex versus another county.

The most notable of the early patrons were a group of aristocrats and businessmen who were active from about 1725, which is the time that press coverage became more regular, perhaps as a result of the patrons' influence. These men included Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet, Alan Brodrick and Edward Stead. Charles Lennox 2nd Duke of Richmond and 2nd Duke of Lennox, KG, KCB, PC, FRS ( 18 May 1701 at Goodwood, Sir William Gage 7th Baronet KB (born 1695 in Firle, East Sussex; died 23 April 1744 was the MP for Seaford. Alan Brodrick 2nd Viscount Midleton ( 31 January 1702 &ndash 8 June 1747) succeeded his father Alan Brodrick as Viscount Midleton Edward Stead ( aka Edwin Steed (born 1701 in Maidstone, Kent; died 28 August 1735 in London) was a famous patron of English For the first time, the press tells us something about individual players like Thomas Waymark. Thomas Waymark (probably born 17 June 1705 at Mitcham, Surrey; date of death unknown was an English Cricketer in the first half of the 18th

The oldest cricket bat still in existence is dated to 1729. A cricket bat is used by batsmen in the sport of Cricket. It is usually made of Willow wood Note the shape of the bat, which is more like a modern-day hockey stick than a modern-day cricket bat.

Cricket moves out of England

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. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Honourable East India Company ( HEIC) referred to most commonly as the East India Company, also historically and colloquially as John Company, or It arrived in Australia almost as soon as colonization began in 1788. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand and South Africa followed in the early years of the 19th century

Development of the Laws

See also: Laws of Cricket

The basic rules of cricket such as bat and ball, the wicket, pitch dimensions, overs, how out, etc. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The laws of cricket are a set of rules framed by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC which serve to standardise the format of Cricket matches across the world to ensure have existed since time immemorial. In 1728, we first hear of "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. In 1744, the Laws of Cricket were codified for the first time and then amended in 1774, when innovations such as lbw, middle stump and maximum bat width were added. The laws of cricket are a set of rules framed by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC which serve to standardise the format of Cricket matches across the world to ensure These laws stated that 'the principals shall choose from amongst the gentlemen present two umpires who shall absolutely decide all disputes. ' The codes were drawn up by the so-called "Star and Garter Club" whose members ultimately founded MCC at Lord's in 1787. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC is a private members' club founded in 1787 Lord's Cricket Ground (generally known as Lord's) is a cricket MCC immediately became the custodian of the Laws and has made periodic revisions and recodifications subsequently.

Continued growth in England

The game continued to spread throughout England and, in 1751, Yorkshire is first mentioned as a venue. Yorkshire is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in Great Britain. The original form of bowling (i. Bowling is a Game / Sport in which players attempt to score points by rolling a Bowling ball along a flat surface either into objects called pins 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. Bowls (also known as Lawn Bowls or Lawn Bowling) is a precision Sport in which the goal is to roll slightly radially asymmetrical Balls Scorecards began to be kept on a regular basis from 1772 and since then we have an increasingly clear picture of the sport's development.

An artwork depicting the history of the cricket bat. (Click on the image for larger view)

The first famous clubs were London and Dartford in the early 18th century. For the Edwardian club that WG Grace played for see: London County Cricket Club The original London Cricket Dartford Cricket Club is one of the oldest in England and its origins go back to the early 18th century perhaps earlier London played its matches on the famous Artillery Ground, which is still there. The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is one of London 's most centrally located Cricket grounds situated just off the City Road immediately north Others followed, particularly Slindon in Sussex which was backed by the Duke of Richmond and featured the star player Richard Newland. Slindon Cricket Club was famous in the middle part of the 18th century when it claimed to have the best team in England Richard Newland (born 1718 christened 2 March 1718 at Slindon, Sussex; died 29 May 1791 at Bath) was an English Cricketer There were other prominent clubs at Maidenhead, Hornchurch, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Bromley, Addington, Hadlow and Chertsey. Bromley Cricket Club was one of the strongest English Cricket clubs in the mid-18th century when it had a fine team led by star player Robert Colchin aka Addington is about 3 miles south-east of Croydon. It is only a small place but Addington Cricket Club fielded one of the strongest Cricket teams in England Hadlow Cricket Club was one of the early English Cricket clubs formed in the early to mid eighteenth century Chertsey Cricket Club in Surrey is one of the oldest in England

But far and away the most famous of the early clubs was Hambledon in Hampshire. The Hambledon Club was a social club that is famous for its organisation of 18th century Cricket matches It started as a parish organisation and first achieved prominence in 1756. The club itself was founded in the 1760s and was well patronised to the extent that it was the focal point of the game for about thirty years until the formation of MCC and the opening of Lord's Cricket Ground in 1787. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC is a private members' club founded in 1787 Lord's Cricket Ground (generally known as Lord's) is a cricket Hambledon produced several outstanding players including the master batsman John Small and the first great fast bowler Thomas Brett. For other people with the same name see John Small John Small (born 1737 at Empshott Hampshire; died 31 December Thomas Brett (born 1747 in Catherington, Hampshire; died 31 December 1809 in Kingston Cross Portsmouth, Hampshire was one of Cricket Their most notable opponent was the Chertsey and Surrey bowler Edward "Lumpy" Stevens, who is believed to have been the main proponent of the flighted delivery. Edward "Lumpy" Stevens (1735 at Send Surrey – 7 September 1819 at Walton-on-Thames, Surrey was an English Cricketer

It was in answer to the flighted, or pitched, delivery that the straight bat was introduced. The old "hockey stick" style of bat was only really effective against the ball being trundled or skimmed along the ground.

Cricket and crisis

Cricket faced its first real crisis during the 18th century when major matches virtually ceased during the Seven Years War. The Seven Years' War (1756&ndash1763 involved all of the major European powers of the period causing 900000 to 1400000 deaths 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 another cessation of major matches occurred during the culminating period of the Napoleonic Wars. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions 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.

MCC was itself the centre of controversy in the Regency period, largely on account of the enmity between Lord Frederick Beauclerk and George Osbaldeston. The Lord Frederick Beauclerk (born 8 May 1773 in London; died 22 April 1850 in Westminster) was an outstanding but controversial English "Squire" George Osbaldeston (26 December 1786 in Westminster, London – 1 August 1866 in St John's Wood, London In 1817, their intrigues and jealousies exploded into a match-fixing scandal with the top player William Lambert being banned for life. William Lambert (born 1779 at Burstow, Surrey; died 19 April 1851 at Nutfield, Surrey was a famous English cricketer in the first Gambling scandals in cricket have been going on since the 17th century.

In the 1820s, cricket faced a major crisis of its own making as the campaign to allow roundarm bowling gathered pace. In Cricket, roundarm bowling is a style that was introduced in the early years of the 19th century to supersede Underarm bowling.

Nineteenth century cricket

See also: Overview of English cricket from 1816 to 1863

A cricket match at Darnall, Sheffield in the 1820s. This article presents an overview of English cricket from 1816 to 1863.

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, were founded during the 19th century. Sussex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic county of

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. William Clarke (born 24 December 1798 in Nottingham; died 25 August 1856 in Wandsworth, Surrey) was a famous English Cricketer In Cricket, the term All-England Eleven has been used for various non-international England teams since the 1739 English cricket season and it indicates 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. But the counties and MCC prevailed.

The growth of cricket in the mid and late 19th century was assisted by the development of the railway network. For the first time, teams from a long distance apart could play one other without a prohibitively time-consuming journey. Spectators could travel longer distances to matches, increasing the size of crowds.

In 1864, another bowling revolution resulted in the legalisation of overarm and in the same year Wisden Cricketers' Almanack was first published. In Cricket, overarm bowling refers to a delivery in which the bowler's hand is above shoulder height Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (often referred to simply as Wisden or colloquially as "the Bible of Cricket" is by far the best The "Great Cricketer", W G Grace, made his first-class debut in 1865. William Gilbert Grace ( 18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English Cricketer who by his extraordinary skills made First-class cricket refers to the class of Cricket matches of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players and officially adjudged first-class by His feats did much to increase the game's popularity.

International cricket begins

The first Australian touring team (1878) pictured at Niagara Falls

The first ever international cricket game was between the USA and Canada in 1844. United States of America v Canada (1844 was the first official international cricket match to be played The United States national cricket team is the team that represents the United States of America in international Cricket matches The Canada cricket team is the national Cricket team representing Canada in men's international competition The match was played at Elysian Fields, Hoboken, New Jersey

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. Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey is believed to be the site of the first organized Baseball game giving Hoboken a strong claim to be the birthplace

In 1877, an England touring team in Australia played two matches against full Australian XIs that are now regarded as the inaugural Test matches. The England cricket team is the national cricket team which represents England and Wales. The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. Test cricket is the longest form of the Sport of Cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations The following year, the Australians toured England for the first time and were a spectacular success. No Tests were played on that tour but more soon followed and, at The Oval in 1882, arguably the most famous match of all time gave rise to The Ashes. The Oval PavilionJPG|250px|right|thumb|The Members Pavilion]] The Oval is an international Cricket ground in Kennington, London The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. South Africa became the third Test nation in 1889. The South African cricket team, also known as The Proteas are a national Cricket team representing South Africa

The County Championship

A major watershed occurred in 1890 when the County Cricket Championship was formally constituted for the first time. The County Championship is the domestic first class Cricket competition in England and Wales. The period from 1890 to the outbreak of the First World War has become especially nostalgic, ostensibly because the teams played cricket according to "the spirit of the game". World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All 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 Ranjitsinhji and Victor Trumper. The Golden Age of Cricket is a term that has often been applied in Cricket literature to the period in English cricket from the formation of the official County Championship Wilfred Rhodes (born October 29, 1877, North Moor Kirkheaton, near Huddersfield, Yorkshire; died July 8, 1973 Charles Burgess Fry ( 25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English Polymath; an outstanding Sportsman Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji Jadeja, Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar ( 10 September 1872 &ndash 2 April 1933 Victor Thomas Trumper (born 2 November 1877 in Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, died 28 June 1915, Darlinghurst

Balls per over

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. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. In 1924 the eight ball over was extended to New Zealand and in 1937 to South Africa. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of 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. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including 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.

Twentieth century cricket

Growth of Test cricket

When the Imperial Cricket Conference (as it was originally called) was founded in 1909, only England, Australia and South Africa were members. The International Cricket Council (ICC is the international governing body of Cricket. But that would soon change, and India, West Indies and New Zealand became Test nations before the Second World War and Pakistan soon afterwards. The Indian cricket team is an international Cricket team representing India. The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national Cricket team representing The New Zealand cricket team, also known as the Black Caps or BLACKCAPS, played their first Test in 1929-30 against England in Christchurch World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Pakistan National Cricket Team is an international Cricket team representing Pakistan. 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 Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka. The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Zimbabwe. The Bangladeshi cricket team, also known as "The Tigers", is a national Cricket team representing Bangladesh.

Test cricket remained the most popular form of the sport throughout the 20th century but it had its problems, never more so than 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 Don Bradman. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on For information about the British code name "Bodyline" for the WWII V-2 rocket, see Operation Crossbow. Douglas Robert Jardine ( October 23, 1900 - June 18, 1958) was an English Cricketer and captain of the England Sir Donald George Bradman, AC (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001 often referred to as The Don, was an Australian Cricketer widely

Suspension of South Africa (1970-1991)

See also: International cricket in South Africa (1971 to 1981)

The greatest crisis to hit international cricket was brought about by apartheid, the South African policy of racial segregation. International cricket in South Africa between 1971 and 1981 consisted of 4 private tours arranged by English sports promoter Derrick Robins, 2 tours by a private team called 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). The International Cricket Council (ICC is the international governing body of Cricket. 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. Basil Lewis D'Oliveira CBE (born 4 October 1931 is a retired Cricketer Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, he was classified as 'coloured' In 1970, the ICC members voted to suspend South Africa indefinitely from international cricket competition. Ironically, the South African team at that time was probably the strongest in the world.

Starved of top-level competition for its best players, the South African Cricket Board began funding so-called "rebel tours", offering large sums of money for international players to form teams and tour South Africa. The ICC's response was to blacklist any rebel players who agreed to tour South Africa, banning them from officially sanctioned international cricket. As players were poorly remunerated during the 1970s, several accepted the offer to tour South Africa, particularly players getting towards the end of their careers for whom a blacklisting would have little effect.

The rebel tours continued into the 1980s but then progress was made in South African politics and it became clear that apartheid was ending. South Africa, now a "Rainbow Nation" under Nelson Mandela, was welcomed back into international sport in 1991. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (xolíɬaɬa mandéːla born 18 July 1918 is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative

World Series Cricket

See also: World Series Cricket

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. World Series Cricket (WSC was a break away professional Cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC (17 December 1937 &ndash 26 December 2005 son of Sir Frank Packer, was an Australian publishing media and gaming tycoon 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.

Limited overs cricket

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.

The first limited overs international match took place at Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1971 as a time-filler after a Test match had been abandoned because of heavy rain on the opening days. It was tried simply as an experiment and to give the players some exercise, but turned out to be immensely popular. Limited overs internationals (LOIs or ODIs, after One-day Internationals) have since grown to become a massively popular form of the game, especially for busy people who want to be able to see a whole match. Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. The International Cricket Council reacted to this development by organising the first Cricket World Cup in England in 1975, with all the Test playing nations taking part. The Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International (ODI Cricket.

21st century cricket

Cricket now is arguably the second most popular sport in the world. ^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

The story so far

In June 2001, the ICC introduced a "Test Championship Table" and, in October 2002 a "One-day International Championship Table". Australia has consistently topped both these tables (to the end of 2007).

Cricket remains a major world sport and is the most popular spectator sport in the Indian subcontinent. This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. The ICC has expanded its Development Program with the goal of producing more national teams capable of competing at Test level. Development efforts are focused on African and Asian nations; and on the United States. The United States national cricket team is the team that represents the United States of America in international Cricket matches In 2004, the ICC Intercontinental Cup brought first class cricket to 12 nations, mostly for the first time. The ICC Intercontinental Cup is a Cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council as part of its cricket development program

Cricket's newest innovation is Twenty20, essentially an evening entertainment. Twenty20 is a form of Cricket, originally introduced in the United Kingdom for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board It has so far enjoyed enormous popularity and has attracted large attendances at matches as well as good TV audience ratings. The inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup tournament was held in 2007, India emerged as the first champions, after defeating Pakistan in a nail-biting match by 5 runs. The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was a Twenty20 Cricket tournament which took place in South Africa from 11 September to 24 September The formation of Twenty20 leagues in India - the unofficial Indian Cricket League, which started in 2007, and the official Indian Premier League, starting in 2008 - raised much speculation in the cricketing press about their effect on the future of cricket ^{[10] [11] [12][13]}

The future

The USA has long been seen as a promising market for cricket, but it has been difficult to make any impression on a public largely ignorant of the sport. The Indian Cricket League (ICL is a private Cricket league that runs parallel to the Indian Premier League (IPL managed by BCCI. The Indian Premier League (also known as the " DLF Indian Premier League" and often abbreviated as IPL) is a Twenty20 Cricket competition The establishment of the Pro Cricket professional league in America in 2004 did little to broach this last frontier, though the game continues to grow through immigrant groups. Pro Cricket was a professional Cricket league in the United States. For example, cricket is a recently added league sport in the New York City school system, with over 600 high school players in 14 teams playing in a 12 week competition. The City of New York ^[14] China may also be a source of future cricket development, with the Chinese government announcing plans in 2004 to develop the sport, which is almost unknown in China, with the ambitious goals of qualifying for the World Cup by 2019 and becoming a Test Nation. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National

Despite the disproportionate publicity (in the cricket press at least) given to developments in the USA, the next major cricket nation is likely to be from South Asia. The game is already very popular in Nepal and Afghanistan, and results in competitions such as the under 18 world cup and the ACC trophy suggest these teams are not short of natural talent.

Secondly, the ICC is conducting ongoing reviews of the interpretation of Law 24. 3 of the Laws of Cricket: Definition of fair delivery – the arm, in the wake of biomechanical findings that Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan violates the guidelines for arm extension when bowling his doosra. Muttiah Muralitharan ( Tamil: முத்தையா முரளிதரன் born 17 April 1972 in Kandy, Sri Lanka) often referred to as Murali A doosra (دوسرا is a particular type of delivery by an off-spin bowler in the Sport of Cricket, popularised by Pakistani The reporting of Muralitharan for a suspect arm action by match referee Chris Broad and the subsequent study has precipitated a crisis by finding that the current interpretive guidelines may be inadequate and ultimately unenforceable. A match referee is an official appointed to oversee professional Cricket matches Brian Christopher "Chris" Broad (born September 29, 1957, Knowle, Bristol is a former England Test Cricketer and current What this means for the Laws of Cricket remains to be seen.

Finally, it remains to be seen how Twenty20 will develop. Already there are calls for it to be extended into a season-long competition as cricket's answer to American baseball, which is also essentially an evening entertainment. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each

References

External sources

• CricInfo
• CricketArchive
• From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787
• Wisden Online archives

Further reading

• A History of Cricket (to 1914) by Harry Altham
• A Social History of English Cricket by Derek Birley
• Cricket: History of its Growth and Development by Rowland Bowen
• Wisden Cricketers Almanack (annual): various editions