21 July: Cricket

On this date in 1884, the first Test Cricket match played at Lord's. Here are 10 things you might not know about cricket. It’s the second most popular sport on the planet (the first being Football).

1. It’s thought to have originated as a children’s game, and one that was often played by shepherds in England to pass the time while minding the sheep. They’d use a lump of wool as the ball. The word “wicket” comes from a wicket gate, through which sheep were herded.
2. The name of the game itself is thought to come from either the Old English word "cryce" or the Middle Dutch word "krick". Both words have similar meanings – a crook, a staff, or a stick.
3. The first recorded mention of a game of cricket was in 1611, in the ecclesiastical court records at Sidlesham in Sussex. Two men, Bartholomew Wyatt and Richard Latter, failed to attend church on Easter Sunday because they were playing cricket. They were fined 12d each and ordered to do penance.
4. A cricket bat is made up of three parts: the grip, the handle and the blade, the part used to strike the ball. The blade must not be more than four and one quarter inches (108 mm) wide and the bat must be no longer than 38 inches (96.5 cm) long. There’s no standard weight but they usually weigh 2-3lbs. New cricket bats are rubbed with linseed oil to make the bat shrink, resulting in a tougher hitting surface.
5. The ball is made from layered cork which is wrapped in string and covered with leather. The standard size is a circumference of 9 inches (22.9cm) weighing five and a half ounces. Being hit repeatedly by a cricket bat does the ball no good – it will eventually deteriorate to the point where it’s no longer usable. A new ball has a prominent seam which means its behaviour in flight can be manipulated by the bowler. How a ball behaves in flight changes as it deteriorates. Players can manipulate the behaviour of a ball by polishing it or spitting on it on one side. Illegal ball tampering, often mentioned in the news, is when a player has scratched the ball, picked at the seam or rubbed substances other then their own spit on it.
6. The longest cricket match in history was played in 1939 between South Africa and England. The game lasted for two weeks and even then, there was no clear winner. The only reason the game did not go on even longer was that the England team had to catch a ship home, so the result was declared to be a draw.
7. Cricket spread all over the world as a result of the growth of the British Empire. Hence it’s popular in India, Australia, the West Indies and South Africa today. It was once popular in the USA as well - it was a popular sport there between 1834 and 1914 with over 1000 cricket clubs across 46 states. The first international cricket match was in fact between the USA and Canada in 1844. Between 10,000 and 20,000 spectators attended the match and it’s said over $120,000 in bets were placed on the game, which Canada won.
8. Cricket is known for it’s complicated rules, virtually incomprehensible to people who aren’t players or fans. Basically, thirteen players and two umpires are on the field during normal play. All eleven members of the fielding team are there, including a bowler and a wicket keeper. Two of the other team are batting. Batsmen remain until they are out (their innings). The ball is bowled six times from each end of the pitch – six balls is called an over, because the umpire keeps count and calls “Over!” after the sixth one.
9. Traditionally, a match would continue until all the batsmen were out, although in recent years there has developed a form of the game where a limited number of overs is played, usually 20, hence it’s called Twenty20. A twenty20 game can be played in three or four hours and hence has broadened the appeal of cricket to a wider audience. At the other end of the scale, a test match takes place over several days. The term test match comes from the idea that to play any sport for that long was somewhat testing.
10. The complete rules of the game were written into the Laws of Cricket in 1744. These rules apply worldwide and are usually referred to as “the Laws” (capital L). There are 42 of them. The preamble to the laws includes the statement that the game should not only be played according to these 42 rules but “also within the Spirit of Cricket" – in other words, they are to act like gentlemen. The captain of a cricket team’s responsibilities traditionally include making sure his team conduct themselves "within the spirit and traditions of the game as well as within the Laws". Hence we get the English phrase “It’s not cricket” meaning something is unfair. Other cricket terms which have found their way into everyday expressions include “he had a good innings” – meaning he lived a long life, and being “on a sticky wicket”, meaning in a difficult situation.

See also: Quotes about cricket.

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