All About Cricket

The topic of this article is sports. Referring to the insect, see Cricket (insect). For other usage, please see Cricket (disambiguation).

Cricket is one of many "club ball" games that include hitting a ball with a hand-held object; others include golf, hockey, tennis, squash, badminton, table tennis, and baseball (which shares many similarities with cricket and also belongs to the more specific bat-and-ball games group).

The wicket (originally, it is said, a "wicket gate" through which sheep were herded) is a solid target construction that the batter must defend in cricket. Harry Altham, a cricket historian, identified three "groups" of "club ball" games: the "hockey group," in which the ball is driven to and from between two targets (the goals) the "golf group," in which the ball is driven toward an undefended target (the hole) and the "cricket group," in which "the ball is aimed at a mark (the wicket) and driven away from it."

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English Cricket in the 18th and 19th centuries 

In the 18th century, the game underwent significant development to become England's national sport. Patronage and gambling were the twin pillars supporting its success. In the middle of the 18th century, enormous audiences frequented the Artillery Ground in Finsbury to watch cricket matches.

During the 1748 season, the single wicket style of the sport attracted massive spectators and wagers to match. Around 1760, bowlers began pitching the ball towards the hitter as opposed to rolling or skimming it. This prompted a revolution in bat design since, in order to deal with the bouncing ball, the traditional "hockey stick" shape had to be replaced with the current straight bat.

The Hambledon Club was created in the 1760s, and for the next two decades, until the founding of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the opening of Lord's Old Ground in 1787, it was both the biggest club and the center of the game.

MCC rapidly became the sport's preeminent club and the keeper of the Cricket Laws. In the second half of the 18th century, the three stump wicket and leg before wicket were adopted as new laws (lbw).

Cricket becomes an International Sports 

In 1844, the first-ever international match was played in Toronto between essentially club teams from the United States and Canada; Canada prevailed. In 1859, a group of English players embarked on the first foreign tour, traveling to North America. In the meantime, the British Empire was helpful in spreading the game internationally, and by the middle of the 19th century it was well-established in Australia, the Caribbean, British India (which includes modern-day Pakistan and Bangladesh), New Zealand, North America, and South Africa.

In 1862, the first trip of Australia was undertaken by a British team. Aboriginal stockmen constituted the first Australian team to travel abroad in 1868, when they toured England.

In 1876–1877, an England team competed against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in what is now considered as the first-ever Test match. The rivalry between England and Australia gave rise to The Ashes in 1882, and it has remained Test cricket's most renowned competition. In 1888–89, South Africa and England sparked the expansion of test cricket.

The Rise of Limited Overs Cricket 

In 1963, when English counties launched the restricted overs variety, cricket entered a new era. As limited overs cricket was guaranteed to deliver results, it was profitable and the number of matches expanded. The inaugural Limited Overs International was played in 1971, and the International Cricket Council (ICC), recognizing its potential, held the first World Cup for limited overs cricket in 1975. Twenty20, a new type of limited overs cricket, made an immediate impact in the 21st century. Afghanistan and Ireland became ICC full members on 22 June 2017, allowing them to participate in Test cricket. 

Women’s Cricket 

In 1745, women's cricket was first documented in Surrey. At the beginning of the 20th century, international development began, and in December 1934, the first Test Match was played between Australia and England. The next year, New Zealand joined them, and in 2007, the Netherlands debuted against South Africa as the tenth women's Test nation. The International Women's Cricket Council was established in 1958. (it merged with the ICC in 2005).

In 1973, England hosted the first Cricket World Cup of any sort when the Women's World Cup was staged. In 2005, the International Sport Council (ICC) and the International Women's Cricket Council (IWCC) united to form a single entity to oversee and grow cricket. On October 1, 2015, the ICC Women's Rankings were introduced for all three formats of women's cricket. In October 2018, following the ICC's decision to grant all members T20 International status, the Women's rankings were separated into ODI (for Full Members) and T20I lists.

Governance 

The International Cricket Council (ICC), headquartered in Dubai, is the international governing body of cricket. It was established in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference by members from England, Australia, and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and adopted its current name in 1989. 

In 2017, the ICC has 105 members, 12 of which are full members and can play Test cricket. The International Cricket Council is responsible for the organization and administration of cricket's main international competitions, including the men's and women's Cricket World Cups. It also appoints the umpires and referees for all sanctioned Test matches, Twenty20 Internationals, and Limited Overs Internationals.

Each member nation has a national cricket body that governs cricket matches played within its borders; chooses the national squad, and plans home and away trips for the national team. In the West Indies, which for cricket purposes is a federation of nations, Cricket West Indies handles these affairs.

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