Cricket ha been played in England for many centuries, but the game we know today began in the 18th century. The first great club was Hambledon, a village in Hamphshire, who were good enough to take on and beat ``all England’’ in those days. The Marylebone Cricket club (MCC) formed in 1787, drew up the laws of cricket in 1788 and revised them in 1835. Overarm bowling was allowed in 1864, the same year W.G.Grace began to play. He scored 170 and 56 not out two days before his sixteenth birthday, and went on to become one of the greatest cricketers of all time.
Cricket matches last anything from an afternoon of 5days for test matches. Tests are played between the main cricket countries, England, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Each country also has its own competitions, with games lasting one, two three or four days. Kenya and Bangladesh are added as play countries.
Cricket an eleven-a side game played with bat and ball. The players on the batting team try to hit the ball to score runs. One run is scored each time the two batsmen run from one wicket to the other. If they hit the ball across the boundary of the field, they score four runs or six if it crosses the boundary without bouncing.
The other team tries to get the batsmen out. The bowler, who must blow the ball with a straight arm, can hit the wicket to get a batsman out ``bowled’’. If the batsman’s leg stops the ball hitting the wicket, he can be out `leg before wicket’ (LBW). Fielders can catch batsmen out if the ball is hit in the air, and can run out batsmen if they hit the wicket with the ball before the batsman reaches it. Batsman can also be out `stumped’, when the wicket-keeper takes the ball and kraals the wicket with the batsman out of his crease, and `hit wicket’ if they break it themselves.
The batting team’s innings ends when ten batsmen are out or when they declare their innings closed. Then the other team bats and tries to score more runs to win the game.
*Over
6 successive balls bowled by bowler.
*No ball
It the bowler steps out of the bowling line before he delivers the ball; it is declared as ``no ball’. One run is added to the score of the batting team. And even if the batsman is out with this ball, he is given `not-out’.
*Bye
The run taken of the ball which did not touch is either the bat or the batsman’s glove.
*Follow -on
If a batting team falls short of 150 or more runs than follow-on is enforced on it. That is, it has to bat again.
*Leg-bye
The run taken on the ball that touches any part of the batsman’s body except his hands.
- Measure of Cricket ground : cricket – wicket pitch-22 yard
- The weight of the cricket ball: 5- 1/5 ounce to 5-3/4 ounce
- The cricket team has eleven players