CRICKET: A RELIGION, NOT JUST A GAME

Reading Time: 8 minutes

INTRODUCTION:

The sport of cricket has a known history beginning in the late 16th century. Having originated in south-east England, it became the country’s national sport in the 18th century and has developed globally in the 19th and 20th centuries. International matches have been played since 1844 and Test cricket began, retrospectively recognized, in 1877. Cricket is the world’s second most popular spectator sport after football.

LAWS OF CRICKET THEN AND NOW:

There has been a lot of variation in the rules of cricket now, since the great game was started way back in 1744, for comparison,

In 1744 the rules were:

there is a reference to the toss of a coin and the pitch dimensions (length = 22 yards)
the stumps must be 22 inches high.
the ball must be 6 inches in circumference and weigh between 5 and 6 ounces
overs last 4 balls
the popping crease is exactly 3 feet 10 inches before the bowling crease
hitting the ball twice and obstructing the field are emphatically out following experiences in the 17th century
the wicket-keeper is required to be still and quiet until the ball is bowled
the umpire cannot give a batsman out if the fielders do not appeal

Rules of cricket nowadays are little different:

there is a reference to the toss of the coin but in some places bats are also being tossed such as the big bash, although it’s not at an International level still it is a big change. whereas the length of the pitch has remained unchanged.
the stumps must be 28 inches high.
the ball must be 9 inches in circumference and weigh between 5.50 and 5.75 ounces
overs last 6 balls
the popping crease is exactly 4 feet before the bowling crease
hitting the ball twice and obstructing the field are not necessarily given out, the particular ball may be declared a dead ball or in severe condemption of the rules of the game, the batsman may be given out.
the wicket-keepers are not at all still and quiet until in the modern game, in fact, they are te most disturbing players on the field.
umpires can give a batsman out when the fielders
do not appeal if he feels the batsman is out

ALL ABOUT THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL MATCH:

The first officially recognized Test match began on 15 March 1877 and ended on 19 March 1877 and was played between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where Australia won by 45 runs. It was a historic match in which not only 2 teams but 2 rivalries, 2 nations were against each other and had 25,000 people cheering for them in the stadium, with everyone up there feet. Everyone knew that this particular sport is going to be the most popular sport in the future for sure by looking at the response it was getting and now eventually, not first but it’s the second most followed sport in the world behind football.

Here is the summary of that match:

This was all about the first test match, but when did various other nations start their International cricket?

There are currently twelve Test-playing men’s teams. Test status is conferred upon a country or group of countries by the International Cricket Council. The teams are listed below with the date of each team’s Test debut:

England (15 March 1877)
Australia (15 March 1877)
South Africa (12 March 1889)
West Indies (23 June 1928)
New Zealand (10 January 1930)
India (25 June 1932)
Pakistan (16 October 1952)
Sri Lanka (17 February 1982)
Zimbabwe (18 October 1992)
Bangladesh (10 November 2000)
Ireland (11 May 2018)
Afghanistan (14 June 2018)

A BRIEF ABOUT INDIAN NATIONAL CRICKET TEAM:

The India national cricket team, also known as Team India and Men in Blue, is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status.

India’s national cricket team played its first Test match on 25th June 1932. becoming the sixth team to be granted Test cricket status. In its first fifty years of international cricket, India was one of the weaker teams, winning only 35 of the first 196 Test matches it played. From 1932 India had to wait until 1952, almost 20 years for its first Test victory. The team, however, gained strength in the 1970s with the emergence of players.

Traditionally much stronger at home than abroad, the Indian team has improved its overseas form, especially in limited-overs cricket, since the start of the 21st century, winning Test matches in Australia, England, and South Africa. India has won the Cricket World Cup twice – in 1983 under the captaincy of Kapil Dev and in 2011 under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. After winning the 2011 World Cup, India became only the third team after West Indies and Australia to have won the World Cup more than once, and the first cricket team to win the World Cup at home. It also won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. It was also the joint champions of 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, along with Sri Lanka.

As of October 2018, India is ranked 1st in Tests, 2nd in ODIs and 2nd in T20Is by the ICC. Virat Kohli is the current captain of the team.

Indian team test match status:

India was declared or given the tag of “Test Playing Nation” when they played their first test match on 25th June 1932 against England in England. Although India recorded their first Test victory, in their 24th match i.e. after 20 years of playing test cricket, against England at Madras in 1952. Later in the same year, they won their first Test series, which was against Pakistan

Indian team success under MS Dhoni:

Dhoni has proven to be one of the greatest captains for India and has contributed immensely towards India’s success, India has had many great captains in their past, but Dhoni is one of a kind, just not because of his record as captain, but also because of his respect towards the game, his calmness on the field his temperament and his simplicity, which are the same reasons why he is loved so much around the world.

India at the World Cups

Here are some Individual records which show the contributions of the greatest players India produced:

Test records by nations:

Some astonishing Individual test records

ICC Cricket World Cup

The ICC Cricket World Cup is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organized by the sport’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), every four years, with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament. The tournament is one of the world’s most viewed sporting events and is considered the “flagship event of the international cricket calendar” by the ICC.

The first World Cup was organized in England in June 1975, with the first ODI cricket match having been played only four years earlier. However, a separate Women’s Cricket World Cup had been held two years before the first men’s tournament, and a tournament involving multiple international teams had been held as early as 1912. The first three World Cups were held in England. From the 1987 tournament onwards, hosting has been shared between countries under an unofficial rotation system, with fourteen ICC members have hosted at least one match in the tournament.

The World Cup is open to all members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), although the highest-ranking teams receive automatic qualification. The remaining teams are determined via the World Cricket League and the ICC World Cup Qualifier. A total of twenty teams have competed in the eleven editions of the tournament, with fourteen competing in the latest edition in 2015; the next edition in 2019 will have only ten teams. Australia has won the tournament five times, with the West Indies, India (twice each), Pakistan and Sri Lanka (once each) also have won the tournament.