Cricket is a bat-and-ball game that is played between two sides and each team comprises of eleven players. Cricket is a national game in many countries, such as India, South Africa, Australia, and the West Indies. It is quite popular all around the world.
Early History of Cricket
Cricket was invented or played in the early 16th century but it gained popularity in the 17th century. Village cricket started in the 17th century in England and the first laws of cricket were written in the year 1744. Cricket became a popular sport among adults in England and it also became popular in other part parts of the world as the British Empire spread.
Meaning of Cricket
Early on cricket was spelt as creckett which is derived from the Middle Dutch krick(-e), meaning a stick, or the French word criquet meaning a wooden post, or the Old English cricc or cryce which means a crutch or staff.
Cricket is a popular game and you will find people playing this sport everywhere. Gully cricket is very popular, especially in South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Many children or even adults play cricket in the streets and it is called the Gully cricket.
Cricket is very famous among the youngsters and you will find many cricket lovers that want to make a career in this sport. They have a cricket fever and they have many cricket dreams. These youngsters find the cricket classes near them and work hard for their cricket careers.
Mecca of Cricket
In the year 1787, the historical Lord’s cricket ground was inaugurated. Lord’s cricket ground is known as the Home of Cricket and it is the most crucial and best cricket ground. The Lord’s cricket ground has the world’s oldest cricketing museum and this ground is referred to as the Mecca of Cricket. It was the first stadium that was built only for the game of cricket and it is a dream of every player to play in this stadium.
History of Cricket in India
Cricket came to India by British sailors in the 18th century. The first cricket club in India was inaugurated in 1792. The national cricket team of India played their first Test match on 25 June 1932 at the Mecca of Cricket and they became the sixth country in the world to be granted the test cricket status.
After the partition cricket got popular in both India and Pakistan. The Indian team had to wait for 20 years for their first Test win in the year 1952. The Indian team was not much good in this game early on but in the 1970s they gained a lot of success with the addition of great players like Gundappa Viswanath, Sunil Gavaskar, and Kapil Dev.
Cricket in the 20th century
Cricket gained more and more popularity at the end of the 20th century and the first Cricket World Cup was introduced in 1975 that was won by West Indies. Australia is the champion of this tournament with 5 World Cup titles. The interest of people in cricket was increased with the introduction of 50-over cricket and color full kit.
Cricket in the 21st century
In the 21st century, the T20 format brought a new life to cricket and now cricket has become very fast. The way of playing cricket has changed a lot. Many T20 leagues are played all around the world each year in which players from all over the world participate and play for the respective franchises.
Some Cricketing records
Many cricket records have been made in history so far but some of them are almost impossible to break like the fastest delivery in history and the longest six in cricket history.
The fastest delivery in cricket history was bowled by the Pakistani speed star Shoaib Akhtar against England at Cape Town in the year 2003. Akhtar bowled a delivery of 161.3 km/h speed and no other bowler has ever managed to break this record so far.
Zard Ali struck a 173-meter-long six in a domestic game and it is considered the biggest six in cricket history in any format.
But in International cricket, the record for the longest six was made by Shahid Afridi. He smashed a 158 meter six against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2013. It is declared unofficial by ICC but on the record book, this six is still known as the longest six in cricket history.
Cricket legends
Cricket had produced a lot of great and iconic players who took this game to the next level and became an inspiration for many young cricketers. The batting Giants include Sir Donald Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Hanif Muhammad, Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting, and the list goes on.
On the other hand, bowling legends like Curtly Ambrose, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Glen Mcgrath, Shane Warne, Murlidharan, and many more made the ball talk in their times.
At the current time, a lot of great players are playing and they are the current cricket legends. Virat Kohli is leading this generation of cricket alongside Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Joe Root, Mitchell Starc, James Anderson, etc.