Know about Cricket History in details

The game played by cricket has long tradition that began in the 16th century. Having originated in the southeast of England the sport became an established sport in the country during the 18th century. It then became a global phenomenon in both the late 19th and early 20th century. International matches were played from the 19th century, and official Test cricket matches are believed to date from 1877. Cricket is the second most popular spectator sport following the association game (soccer).

Internationally speaking, cricket is controlled by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that has more than one hundred countries and territories in membership however, only twelve are currently playing Test cricket.

Early cricket

Origin

Cricket was most likely developed during Saxon or Norman times by children who lived in the Weald the Weald, an area of thick woodlands and clearings in south-east England which extends across Kent and Sussex. The first known written reference dates from the 16th-century.

There have been a myriad of speculations about the game's origins among them, which suggest that it originated from France or Flanders. The earliest of these speculation references is from 1300 and includes that of the new King Edward II, who was playing "creag or other sporting events" at Newenden as well as Westminster or Newenden. There has been speculation it is possible that "creag" was an Old English word for cricket, but expert opinion is that it was a later word for "craic" meaning "fun and games in general".

It is widely thought that cricket remained a children's game for many generations before it began to be adopted by adults around the beginning of the 17th century. It is possible that cricket originated from bowls, as it is believed that bowls was the oldest sport, through an intervention by a batsman trying to stop the ball from hitting its target by throwing the ball away. If you played on land with sheep grazing or in clearings. The original tools might have been an unmatted sheep's wool (or even a stone or a tiny piece from wood) as the ball; a stick or the crook or some other agricultural tool for the bat as well as a stool or an stump from a tree or gate (e.g. or a wicket gate) as the wicket.

First definite reference

John Derrick was a pupil at the Royal Grammar School, then the Free School, in Guildford when he and his friends were playing creckett in the 1550s.

It was in the year 1597 (Old Style - 1598 New Style) a court case in England in connection with a dispute of ownership regarding a common land in Guildford, Surrey, mentions the game of creckett. A 59-year-old coroner, John Derrick, testified that they and their schoolmates had played creckett on the property fifty years before, in the days they attended in the Free School. Derrick's testimony establishes beyond all doubt that it was played in Surrey about 1550. It also is the earliest universally recognized account of the game.

The first mention of cricket being played as a recreational sport was in 1611 when two men from Sussex were convicted of playing cricket on Sundays instead of attending church. In the following year, there was a dictionary which described cricket as a male game. This indicates that the adult game was not a new phenomenon.

The name "cricket" is derived from "cricket"

There are a variety of words believed to be potential sources for the word "cricket". In the earliest reference to the word of the word, it was called as creckett. The name could have been taken from its Middle Dutch krick(-e), meaning stick; and it could be the Old English cricc or cryce meaning a staff or crutch as well as the French word criquet , which means the word "wooden post. A Middle Dutch word krickstoel means an extremely low stool which was commonly that was used to kneel in church It resembled the long low wicket, with two stumps which were common in the beginning of cricket. According to Heiner Gillmeister who is a European expert on languages from the University of Bonn, "cricket" comes of"another" Middle Dutch phrase for hockey"met de (krik ket)sen (i.e., "with the stick chase").

Most likely the terminology of cricket was derived from terms which were popular in south-east England at the time and due to the trading connections with the County of Flanders, especially during the 15th century, when it was part of the Duchy of Burgundy, many Middle Dutch words found their way into southern English dialects.

The Commonwealth

After 1648, when Civil War ended in 1648 after which the new Puritan government clamped down on "unlawful gatherings" and in particular, more boisterous sports like football. Their laws also demanded a stricter respect for the Sabbath, which was not the case as it was before. As the Sabbath was the only day of freedom to the lower classes the popularity of cricket may have decreased during the Commonwealth. It did however flourish in schools that were fee-paying such as Winchester and St Paul's. There isn't any evidence that Oliver Cromwell's regime prohibited cricket in particular, and there is evidence of it during the period of interregnum suggesting that it was permitted by authorities provided that it did not contribute to any "breach on the Sabbath". It is thought that the nobility in general took to cricket during this time through involvement in village games.

Gambling and media coverage

Cricket flourished after during the Restoration in 1660. It is believed to be the first sport to have attracted gamblers that made huge bets at the time. It is possible, as it is believed by some historians that professional matches started. In 1664, the "Cavalier" Parliament adopted the Gaming Act in 1664 which restricted stakes to PS100 but that was still a significant sum at the time, which was equivalent to around PS16,000 in modern terms . Cricket had grown into a significant betting game by the end of the 17th century, according to 1697, an article in the newspaper about the "great game" which was held in Sussex that was played on 11-a-side. The match was that was played with high stakes of 50 guineas for a game.

Freedom of the press being granted in 1696, cricket for the first time could be reported in the newspapers. But it took a lengthy period of time before the newspapers had enough of an improvement to give regular as well as comprehensive coverage of the game. In the early part into the 18th century, news reports would usually focus on betting, not on the game.

18th-century cricket

Players and patronage

Gambling introduced the first patrons , as some gamblers decided to boost their wagers by forming their own teams. It is believed the beginning "county teams" were established as a result of the Restoration in 1660. It was particularly because members of the nobility employed "local experts" of village cricket as early professional. The first game that is known that teams used counties was played in 1709 , but there can be little doubt that these fixtures were in place long before this. The game in 1697 was most likely Sussex against another county. Let see Long Jump

The most notable of the patrons of the beginning were the aristocrats and businessmen, who were active from around 1725. This was the point at which press coverage became more regular, perhaps because of the patrons' influence. They comprised the Duke of Richmond, 2nd of Richmond, Sir William Gage, Alan Brodrick and Edwin Stead. The first time, the media includes individual players like Thomas Waymark.

Cricket expands beyond England

Cricket came into North America via the English colonies during the 17th century, possibly before it was even in the northern part of England. In the 18th century , it began to spread across the globe. This was first introduced to West Indies by colonists and to India by East India Company mariners in the early half into the 19th century. It was introduced to Australia almost as soon as colonisation started in 1788. New Zealand and South Africa began to follow in the early part of the 19th century.

Cricket was never popular in Canada despite efforts made by the upper classes to promote the sport as a way of identifying with the "mother home country". Canada however, unlike Australia and West Indies, witnessed a steady decline in the popularity of the sport from 1860 to 1960. As a sport that was associated in the public's view to a sport of the upper class, the game never became popular for the general population. In the summer season it had to compete with baseball. In this time of the First World War, Canadian units stationed in France used baseball instead of cricket.

Laws and Development Laws

It's unclear when basic rules of cricket such as bat and ball, wicket, pitch dimensions overs, overs etc. were originally formulated. In 1728 The Duke of Richmond and Alan Brodick drew up Articles of Agreement to establish the rules for one particular game. This was adopted as a standard feature, particularly in relation to the making money for stakes and distribution of winnings due to the importance of gambling.

In 1744, the Rules of Cricket were codified in the first instance and was later modified in 1774 when new features such as lbw, middle stump and maximum bat width were added. The law stated that "the principals must select from two gentlemen who are present umpires to decide any dispute". The codes were developed by the so-called "Star Garter and Star Club" the members of which founded the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's in 1787. The MCC quickly became the custodian of the Laws and has been making periodic revisions and revodifications over the following years.

Continued growth in England

The game continued to expand throughout England as well, and in 1751, Yorkshire was first identified as an potential venue. The first version of bowling (i.e., rolling the ball across the ground in the manner of bowls) was replaced around 1760 when bowlers began to pitch their ball and study variations in line, length , and speed. Scorecards were first kept frequently since 1772; since then, an increasingly clear picture has been revealed of the sport's advancement.

The first famous clubs were London and Dartford in the early 18th century. London played matches on the Artillery Ground, which still remains. There were others who followed, such as Slindon in Sussex which was patronized by Duke of Richmond and was home to the most famous actor Richard Newland. Other notable clubs were in Maidenhead, Hornchurch, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Bromley, Addington, Hadlow and Chertsey. Let see High Jump

But by far the most famous of these early clubs were Hambledon within Hampshire. It was an association of parishes, and it was first able to gain prominence in 1756. The club itself was founded in the 1760s, and was well-liked to the extent that it became the center of the game for over thirty years until the formation of MCC and the opening of Lord's Cricket Ground in 1787. Hambledon produced several outstanding players including the master Batsman John Small and the first great fast bowler Thomas Brett. Their most famous adversary was the Chertsey as well as the Surrey bowler Edward "Lumpy" Stevens, who is believed to be the main proponent of the flighted delivery.

It was in response to the pitched, or flighted delivery that straight bats were first introduced. The traditional "hockey stick"-style kind of bat worked only against the ball being trundled or skimmed along the ground.

First-class cricket was introduced in 1772. There are three scorecards that survive from 1772 matches organised by the Hambledon Club which commence a continuously-running statistical record. The three matches played between an Hampshire XI and an England XI, the first game being played in Broadhalfpenny Down between 24 and 25 June. Two of the most popular online archives begin their first-class coverage with this game which is numbered "first-class no. 1" from ESPNcricinfo or "f1" according to CricketArchive. Broadhalfpenny Down continued in regular use by Hambledon/Hampshire teams till 1781.