As you all might be knowing, cricket is one of the most popular sports in the commonwealth countries (countries which were colonies of the British Empire).
Cricket Meaning
Cricket is nothing but a sport played by two teams of eleven players each by making use of a bat and a ball. The sport is played on a grassy ground, and the ball is bowled to the batsman on a 22-yard pitch that has stumps on both ends.
The batsman scores run by hitting the ball with his bat after the bowler deliver it. The bowler is allowed to dismiss the batsman in a fixed type of ways. The team which scores more number of runs in total is declared as the winner of the match.
Cricket Meaning in Hindi
Cricket ek balle aur ball se khele jaane wala ek aisa khel hain jisme ballebaj ka kaam jyada say jyada run banana ka hota hain aur bowler ka kaam ballebaj ko jaldi se jaldi out karne ka hota hai. Run daud ke ya chakke, chouke laga kar banaye ja sakte hain. Â
What is cricket?
Sport is contemplated as one of the best ways of entertainment and recreation. Even in the present century, when digital modernities have taken over the world, sport is still sustaining its position with the utmost vitality. When we talk about any game or a sport, then the name of cricket emerges with sheer significance. Cricket is truly the most beloved and celebrated sport across the globe. Test matches, one-day internationals, and world cups are necessary forms of matches in this terrific game.
Almost all the countries of this vast universe are involved with the sport in some or another way. It acquires a massive fandom, and the level of its craze cannot culminate in words. It is a sport that entertains people as no other sport can.
Cricket was introduced many years ago, but the craze of cricket has not gone down. The eminence of this sport is increasing at an alarming rate. Various factors make the game of cricket- a world-class sport. Players own a large chunk of appreciation because they are among the most critical pillars behind cricket’s grandeur. With their immense talent and splendid performances, cricketers have added more vitality to the game: Sachin Tendulkar, Ben Stokes, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
David Warner, Kane Williamson, Kapil Dev, Lasith Malinga are just a few names as thousands of phenomenal cricketers have contributed a lot to this game. Cricket is a favorite sport of most people out there because it is a game that connects people and gives them reasons to celebrate companionship. Cricket is not just a tournament of a bat, ball, and some wickets; in fact, it is a concoction of skills, enthusiasm, physical movements, and passion. It is quite impossible to rate the importance of cricket because it subjugates all the already set norms.
Who Invented Cricket?
This is one of the most common questions that most newbies and cricket fans have. At the same time, you might be thinking that a particular person in history would be the inventor of this great game. This is not the case.
During the medieval period, the children of England’s south-eastern counties used to play a game that is very much similar to the cricket that is played today. However, the rules which they followed were not as rigid and strict as they are now.
This might be because they played it just as a means of recreation. It gained much popularity in England at the end of the 17th century. Early on, the cricketers who played the sport also started to distinguish themselves based on their class origin.
The players from higher social status started to call themselves ‘amateurs’ while those from the middle or lower backgrounds used to call themselves ‘professionals’.
The game then gained further popularity in the 18th century when it became the national sport of England. The emergence of crowds watching cricket matches happening also started in this century itself.
Many things changed related to cricket in this particular century. Bowling changed as well. To cope with the changes in bowling rules, the design of the bat further changed as well. New laws were also introduced, which were related to the dismissal of batsmen like the LBW (Leg Before Wicket) and stumping by the wicketkeeper.
The 19th century then went on to bring many further changes. Underarm bowling lost its appeal and popularity and appeal, and overarm became the norm. 19th century also brought the advent of the county cricket.
This century also the rise of famous cricketers like WG Grace. Cricket today has reached unprecedented popularity and is being played throughout the world.
Who Is Father of Cricket?
Well, WG Grace, aka William Gilbert Grace, is considered to be the father of cricket. Born on the 18th of July, 1848, he was one of the best allrounders that the sport has seen. He went on to play 875+ first-class cricket matches.
He scored a whopping 54896 runs in these matches with an average of 39.55. If we talk about the number of centuries and half-centuries that he scored, they are 126 and 254. His topmost score meanwhile was 344.
Since he was an allrounder, he also managed to take 2800+ wickets. These stats are genuinely mind-boggling and you might now be clear about why he is known as the father of cricket.
You would also be surprised that he was able to take ten wickets in an innings for a record 66 times! We rarely see this happening in modern cricket today. Overall, he was a great cricketer.
Introduction of cricket
Cricket is an astounding assortment of bat and ball played with the companionship of eleven players. In the current era, the fandom of cricket knows no boundaries. Cricket is like a king of the sports world as millions of people adore it. This sport’s excitement has reached its zenith, but have you ever wondered how this incredible sport came into existence? The origin of cricket goes back to the times of the seventeenth century. In 1709, teams played this game by undertaking county names for the first time in the world. It is stated that cricket spread its roots in North America in the seventeenth century. The connections of English colonies helped establish cricket in the early phase of the 17th century.
Although, cricket got introduced in the 17th century. But, it gained considerable momentum in the 18th century. It was in 1845 that cricket was played with full-fledged norms and arrangements in London. Since then, there seems to be no slowdown in the widespread use of this fantastic sport. In the present century, it is the most phenomenal and loved sport. There have been technical and regulatory changes in this game, including rules, type of ball used, game pattern, etc.
Earlier, it was a straightforward sport, but currently, it is one of the most sophisticated and well-organized games. A wide array of national and international associations and administrating organizations have been set up. ICC is the most distinguished organization which regulates the cricket domain. It has transcended and innovated to a great fold since its introduction. It has now amassed the love, support, and place in almost every country of the world. The game is played with set regulations and has properly defined rules, regulations, and restrictions. People cherish it with open arms and celebrate every form of it with full enthusiasm and vibrancy.
History of Cricket
Cricket is indeed a sport with some vibrant history of itself. In this section of our article, we would discuss the significant points of time that shaped the modern form of the game.
So, here we go!
- 1844: The first-ever international cricket match is played amongst North Americans neighbours Canada and the United States of America. The Canadian cricket team managed to beat the American cricket team in this match.
- 1868: The Australian cricket team comprising Aboriginals tour England to play matches with the English cricket team. It was a historic moment for the Aboriginals of Australia as a community.
- 1877: The first-ever test match took place between Australia and the England cricket team. The match took place in the legendary SCGÂ in which the hosts won by 45 runs
- 1890: Starting of the English county cricket championship in May. Around eight teams throughout England participated in this tournament. Surrey won the championship while Lancashire was the runner-up.
- 1892: Australia starts holding the domestic Sheffield shield tournament. Only three teams took part in this championship, and Victoria won it.
- 1900: This was an extraordinary year for cricket as a sport. This was because cricket was played in the prestigious Olympic games. France and Great Britain were the only two teams which played a match. In which, Great Britain was able to defeat the French team by a massive margin of 158 runs.
- 1970: the ICC suspends South Africa from the international cricket scene due to its racist apartheid policy.
- 1971: First ever ODI match held.
- 1973: First-ever women’s world cup organized
- 1975: First men’s World Cup held in England
- 1992: Third Umpire used for the first time
- 2005: First T20I match.
Importance of cricket
Cricket is an incredible sport and a great source of entertainment. People love to keep an eye on this game with absolute interest and keenness because the sport offers them a multitude of entertainment. Cricket is not merely a source of fun and leisure; it bolsters some essential values too. The game augments solidarity, companionship, brotherhood, love, and harmony.
The universe is tremendous in itself, and sports such as cricket help connect the vast world under the same umbrella. An eminent quote says that- human being is a social animal, and he needs a continuous source of joy and amusement to sustain happily. Cricket is one such sport that offers the spectators bundles of enthusiasm, happiness, and contentment. It is considered that cricket is the king of all the existing sports, and that is a fact indeed because the fan base of cricket is massive. It owns a personalized and unique place in people’s spirits, and hardly any other game will ever take its position.
Cricket is a valuable tournament in many aspects. It generates employment at vast folds as a good chunk of players, commentators, workers, and others are involved in the cricket fraternity. The foremost essentiality of cricket is that it keeps the importance of physical fitness and agility alive in people’s minds. The sport stresses the importance of physical activities in leading a fruitful and happy life. Cricket transcends international boundaries and connects people from across the world in one frame. There are many sports in the contemporary era, but no other sport can subjugate cricket’s aura. In this game, one can witness physical and mental coordination, which bestows an important message—being agile and vigorous in all senses to play the game well. Cricket is a treasure of all the games in all significance as it imparts vitality to players and the beholders.
 Let us talk about the basic rules.
Basic Rules Of Cricket
The newbies need to know about the rules of the sport very well. Then only they can honestly expect to enjoy the sport. The batsman’s primary goal is to score as many runs as possible, and that of the bowler is to dismiss the batsman. So here are its rules.
- Both the teams facing each other will have 11 playing players each.
- A 12th player acts as a ‘reserve player’ who will replace an injured player. However, his role can only be that of a fielder.
- Two umpires are present on the field to pass their judgement while a reserve third umpire is also there to review video footage to assist the on-field umpires in making a decision.
- Each game begins with a toss. The team that wins the toss typically decides what it will do first (bat or bowl first).
- Batsmen can score runs in a variety of ways. Either by running between the wickets after hitting a shot or by smashing a six or a four.
- Additionally, the batting side can also make runs because of a no-ball and wide ball. These runs are awarded as a result of the fault of the bowlers.
- There are different ways in which the bowler can dismiss batsmen. They are
- Getting bowled:Â This is when the bowler bowls a bowl which then hits the wickets.
- Catch out: This is when the batsman plays a shot that one of the fielders caught without the ball first hitting the ground.
- LBW or Leg Before Wicket
- Stumping
- Hit Wicket
- Handling the ball etc.
Hope you have got a general idea about the rules of cricket.
So, now we would like to answer a couple of questions and then discuss the history of the sport itself.
