History and Sport: The Story of Cricket

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Cricket had been invented in England; cricket grew out of the many sticks and ball games played in England. By the 17th century, it evolved enough to be recognisable as a distinct game.

The Britishers took the game to all those places where they went, i.e., to their colonies in Asia and Africa.

Peculiarities of cricket

1. A match can go on for five days and still end in a draw.
2. Length of the pitch is specified — 22 yards — but the size or shape of the ground is not.

Reasons:

1. Cricket rules were made before the Industrial Revolution when life moved at a slow pace.
2. Cricket was played on the commons. Each common had a different shape and size. There were no designed boundaries or boundary hits.

The organisation of cricket in England reflected the nature of English society. The rich who could afford to play it for pleasure were called amateurs and the poor who played it for a living were called
professionals.

The rich were amateurs for two reasons:

1. Play for the pleasure
2. There was not enough money in the game

The wages of professionals were paid by patronage or subscription or gate money. The game was seasonal and did not offer employment the year round.

Rules of cricket were made to favour the gentlemen. These gentlemen did most of the batting. Their superiority over players made only the batsmen captains of teams. It was said that “the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.”

The First Written Laws of Cricket (1744)

1. Principals shall choose from among the gentlemen present two umpires who shall absolutely decide all disputes.
2. Stumps must be 22 inches high and bail across them six inches.
3. The ball must be between 5 to 6 ounces.
4. Two sets of stumps 22 yards apart.

The world’s first cricket club was formed in Hambledon in the 1760s. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787. In 1788 the MCC published its first revision of the laws and became the guardian of cricket’s regulations. A series of changes in the game occurred in the 2nd half of the 18th century.

1. It became common to pitch the ball through the air.
2. Curved bats were replaced by straight ones.
3. Weight of ball was limited to between 5½ to 5¾ ounces.
4. The width of the bat was limited to four inches.
5. A third stump became common.
6. Three days had become the length of a major match.
7. First, six seam cricket ball was introduced.

Cricket as a game changed and matured during the early phase of the Industrial Revolution but remained true to its origins in rural England. Unlike other games, cricket has refused to remake its tools with industrial or man-made materials. Protective equipment, however, has been influenced by technological change.