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Cricket has been played as a recognized sport
since the early 18th century. The origins of
cricket are obscure, and there are several
theories on how it started. One is that shepherds
used to play it - one would stand in front of the
wicket gate to the sheep fold, and another would
bowl a stone or something at him, and he would
have to hit it with his crook, which was known as
a cricket.
The first reference to cricket being played is
thought to be in 1300, between Prince Edward and
his friend Piers Gaveston and the first recorded
match took place at Coxheath in Kent, England in
1646. The earliest known cricket photographs were
taken in 1857, by Roger Fenton at the Artillery
Ground.
By the 18th century, the bat had developed into a
longer, heavier, curved version of the one we know
now, carved out of a single piece of wood. Today's
bat was invented around 1853, with the blade made
of willow, and a cane handle, which is layered
with strips of rubber, tied with twine, and
covered with rubber to make a grip. The 'V' shaped
extension of the handle into the blade is the
splice. The early balls were stones and other
missiles. They're now made of cork, and covered
with hand-stitched leather quarters dyed red.
Cricket is now played at the school, club and
professional level all around the world. The West
Indies, Australia, Pakistan, India, England, New
Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya
and Bangladesh are the teams participating in
cricket at its highest level, the World Cup
Cricket Competition.
Rules:
The objective of the game is to get all the rival
team players "out" for a score as low as possible,
and score as many runs as the opposite team has
scored. For victory, the winning team must score
more than the objective set by the rivals in a
stipulated number of "overs" or get the rival team
all out before they reach their target. Eleven
players make up each team with a few extra "back
ups" and decision makers (umpires). A toss of the
coin by the captains of the rival teams and
umpires, determines who will hold the willow (bat)
and who will handle the leather (ball). Regular
matches consist of two innings with one team to
bat and the other in the field. The team that bats
tries to score runs while the goal of the team in
the field is to get 10 of the 11 members of the
opposite team out. When the team in the field
accomplishes that feat, they get a turn at bat and
the opposing team takes the field. When both teams
have batted it is considered an inning. This can
last a considerable amount of time.
There are two sets of three sticks at each end of
the pitch known as wickets. The batsmen stand at
each end and a bowler bowls from one end to the
batsman, alternating from each end. The passive
batsman at the bowlers end is called the runner.
Players are spread out in the field to stop the
batsmen from scoring runs and in an attempt to run
them out. There are a fixed number of overs that
are bowled in a game of cricket (an over is 6
bowls, like pitches in baseball, in which the
bowler attempts to knock down the wicket of the
battling team and the batsmen attempt to protect
the wicket, by hitting the balls for runs).
Batsmen are declared out in a variety of ways, the
most common of them being bowled out, where the
ball directly strikes the wickets, or caught out,
where the ball struck by the batsmen is caught by
any fielding member of the opposite team. Other
ways include the batsman being stumped out, run
out, hit-wicket, leg before wicket and handling
the ball. Batsmen are generally given the benefit
of the doubt in any kind of "sticky" situation.
American
Cricket Conference Game Formats:
There are two tournaments organized by ACC every
year: Day Tournament and Night Tournament.
Day Tournament (30-Overs):
A match starts either in AM or PM with 30-over
maximum limit, 2 sessions each of 2 hours and
fifteen minutes long. Lasts anywhere from 2 to 5
hours. This tournament is always played during day
time and last 5-6 months.
Night Tournament (20-Overs):
A match starts usually at 6:30 PM 20-over
maximum limit, 2 sessions each of 1 hour and
thirty minutes long. Lasts anywhere from 2 to 4
hours. This tournament is always played under
lights and last 2-4 weeks.
International Game
Formats:
There are two categories of cricket: One day and
Test Cricket. In order to satisfy the need for a
shorter and therefore more "broadcast" friendly
game, the One Day International match was
developed.
One day cricket (ODI - One Day
International): A match played in one day of
duration with 2 sides, normally 3 sessions each of
two hours long (morning, afternoon and after-tea
session) Lasts anywhere from 6 to 12 hours
Test cricket:
Any cricket match of not less than 5 days
scheduled duration, played between teams selected
as representatives of their member countries.
Series:
A series of Test Matches between two teams, a host
nation and a visitor, played in the same cricket
season year. Has a minimum of 2 test matches and 3
ODI's
Tour:
A series of matches where at least one of the
competing teams is an international team
representing a member country playing in a country
other than its own and compromising of at least 1
Test match or at least 1 ODI match
Mini-tournament:
A country hosting another country for a minimum of
3 ODI's
*Most of the Information about
What is Cricket? is taken from
Dish Network.
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