A short history of cricket

 History Of Cricket

Cricket is a sport which is played by bat and a leather ball. The rules of the game are very complex but still this game is very entertaining. In India the meaning of cricket in Hindi is ' Lamb Dand Gol Pind Dhar Pakad Pratiyogita'. Willian Gilbert Grace is called the Father of cricket and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is called the God of cricket. The history of cricket is very old. The beginning of this game is considered to be in 16th century. After being originated in south east England, this game became national sport in 18th century and became famous across the world during 19th and 20th century. International matches started in 1844 and it is during this time when test match begun. When is comes to attendance of audience during matches, after soccer cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. This sport is governed by International Cricket Council (ICC) which provides membership to more than 100 countries. However in present there are only 12 test playing nations.

According to experts cricket was discovered during Saxon or Normal time. Children who belonged to an area of dense woodlands and clearance in south- east England discovered this sport. Cricket was defined as the sport of boys in a dictionary in 1611.

Village cricket started by the middle of 17th century and during second half of the century county teams were formed. The first known game of cricket, in which teams used their county names, was played in 1709.

In the first half of 18th century, cricket established itself as a leading sport in London and south east county of England. Even when there were travel constraints this game managed to spread itself  in different parts of England as a popular sport. During 1745 women's cricket was also becoming very popular when first known game was played in Surrey. The laws of cricket were first formulated in 1744. Some amendments in these laws were made in 1774 like Mankading in law 42.15. and some new rules were added which included lbw, 3rd stump and maximum width of the bat. Codes were formed by "Star and Garter Club". This law of "Mankad" was however ammended in 2017 by MCC in terms of its wordings. “Bowler attempting to run out non-striker before delivery” was replaced with “Non-striker leaving their ground early” in order to put the “onus on the non-striker to remain in their ground.” The members of the same club, in 1787, formed the Marylebone Cricket Club in Lords. MCC soon became the custodian and became reason for many amendments till now.

After 1760 bowlers started pitching the ball and the old hockey stick style of bat was also changed. During 17th century cricket was started in North America by English Colonies. And during 18th century this sport reached to different parts of the world. Just after the beginning of colonization in 1788, cricket reached to Australia. Before the introduction of cricket in Australia, cricket was introduced in West Indies and India by Colonists and East India Company respectively Mariners.

The game survived a lack of investment early in the 19th Century due to the Napoleonic Wars and recovery began in 1815. Sussex English which was formed in 1839 was the first among all county clubs. On the basis of Sussex several new county teams were formed during 19th century. USA Vs Canada in 1844 in St. George's Cricket club of New York is the first international match of cricket.

 Two years prior to this i.e 1844 "All England XI" was formed that aimed at spreading cricket to the areas where people had never seen top class cricket. Building of rail networks played a major role in spreading of this game as teams could now travel to different areas without excess time and energy consumption. This also had impact on the audience as they too could travel easily to experience those matches. British Army too played a major role expansion of this game as they encouraged people to play this game. This led to an increase in teams of Old British Empire. 

The first overseas tour took place in 1859 when a team of English Professionals went to North America. The first overseas tour of England was in 1862 when English team visited Australia. In 1864 overarm balling was legalized and it was in this year when a long and influential carrier of W.G Grace began. He played a major role in expansion of cricket to different parts of the world. Women to played a very important role in spreading this game, Women's matches were generally played in front of crowd so that people could attach themselves with this game.

 First women's county match was played in 1811. In 1872, the tribes of Australia toured England which is considered to be the first overseas tour of Australia. First test match was played between Australia XI and England in 1877. Here England played several matches with Australia. This toured made this game more popular. A match which was played in 1882 under tensed conditions which was by Australia. This match was played at Oval and it was the same match that gave birth to "The Ashes". South Africa became the third test playing nation in 1889.

1889-1893 is the period in which the first county championship was played and some series like The Currie Cup in South Africa and in 1893 The Sheffield Shield in Australia started. The period from 1890 to the beginning of the first world war is considered to be the golden age of cricket as this period marked some great names like W.G Grace, Ranjit Singhji, Victor Trumper and Wilfred Rhodes.

Some rules were amended in the 19th century. When this game started, 4 balls were bowled per over which was changed to 5 balls per over and then in 1900 it was changed to 6 balls per over. In 1922 Australia changed the rule and started bowling 8 balls in an over. New Zealand in 1924 and South Africa in 1937 started to follow the same rule. However after the end of second world war England restored the rule back to 6 balls per over. In 1947 Laws of Cricket were drafted which permitted 6 balls per over which continues till date.

When Imperial Cricket Conference was established in 1909, there were only three members - England, Australia and South Africa. West Indies in 1928, New Zealand in 1930, India in 1932 and Pakistan in 1952 became the member of ICC. With its increasing popularity this game started becoming more formal. Island based first class competition in West Indies, Plunket Shield in New Zealand, Ranji Trophy in India in 1934 and Quaid- e- Azam Trophy in Pakistan in 1953 became primal reason behind formalization of cricket game.

During 20th century women's cricket stepped into international cricket when first test match, in 1934, was played between Australia and England. International Women's Council was formed in 1958 which merged in ICC in 2005. World Cup of any type first started in 1973. This women's world cup was won by England under the captaincy of Rachel Heyhoe Flint. Slow game during 1950s became the reason for decreased popularity. 

This led to the introduction of shorter format game. Because of apartheid policy, South Africa was suspended from International Cricket in 1970. When it was clear that apartheid had ended, South Africa was again given affiliation by ICC. After coming back from suspension S.A played world cup of 1992 and played its first test match against West Indies at Barbados in month of April. First limited over international match was played at Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1971. However, this was a test match but due to interruption from rain this game was completed as a time filler.

 Seeing this change, International Cricket Conference ( now International Cricket Council) decided to organize a men's world cup in 1975. All test playing nations of that time participated in this world cup which was won by West Indies at Lords.

Kerry Packer organised world series in 1977 which provided a platform to players ,even some banned South African players, where the can showcase their talent. However this series last for two years only but long term effects of this series, like coloured dresses and kits, higher salaries and some night games, could be seen. Such innovations were introduced in international cricket too. 1975 world cup proved to be successful and it was decided to organize world cup on regular basis. It was organized in 1979 and 1983 in England. India Vs Pakistan match in 1983 was the last match to be played with red ball and white dress.

1992 marked the new era of cricket in which matches were played in floodlights, coloured dresses and white ball. Third umpire was first introduced in a match between India and South Africa to decide run outs through television replays. Later third umpire was started being used for taking decisions on stumping, boundaries and catches too. This game was flourishing at international level and many associate as well as affiliate members are contributing in it. Sri Lanka in 1982, Zimbabwe in 1992 and Bangladesh in 2000 became test playing nations.  All these things are the cause behind cricket being so popular across the world.