Evolution of Cricket explained briefly.

1. 1
What is Cricket?
Cricket was invented in the vast fields of England, supposedly by shepherds who
herded their flock. Later on this game was shown appreciation by aristocrats and
now cricket has the stature of being England's national game. The expansion of
the British Empire led to cricket being played overseas and thus earning itself a
high standing all over the world.
After almost a century now, cricket stands in the international arena, with a place
of its own.
Cricket involves two teams with 11 players on each side. The captain who wins
the toss decides whether his team bats or bowls first. If they bat first, their aim is
to score a lot of runs and make sure the other team does not reach that score.
Cricket is played in many formats, but the most popular are TEST CRICKET and
ONE DAY cricket. In TEST cricket game goes on for 5 days, with each team batting
twice - if time permits
It is one of the most popular games in countries like Australasia, England, the
Indian subcontinent, the West Indies and Southern Africa. Besides this, cricket is
practiced in practically every country.

2. 2
Evolution of Cricket
Origin
No one knows when or where cricket began but there is
a body of evidence that strongly suggests the game was
devised during Saxon or Norman times by children living
in the weald, an area of dense woodlands and clearings
in south-east England that lies across Kent and Sussex. It
is generally believed that cricket survived as a children's
game for many generations before it was increasingly
taken up by adults around the beginning of the 17th
century. Playing on sheep-grazed land or in clearings, the
original implements may have been a matted lump of
sheep’s wool (or even a stone or a small lump of wood)
as the ball; a stick or a crook or another farm tool as the
bat; and a stool or a tree stump or a gate as the wicket.
Cricket moves out of England
Cricket was introduced to North America via the English colonies in the 17th
century, probably before it had even reached the north of England. In the 18th
century it arrived in other parts of the globe. It was introduced to the West
Indies by colonists and to India. It arrived in Australia almost as soon as
colonization began in 1788. New Zealand and South Africa followed in the early
years of the 19th century.
International Cricket Begins
The first ever international cricket game was between the USA and Canada in
1844. Thematch was played at the grounds of the St George's Cricket Club in New
York.
In 1859, a team of leading English professionals set off to North America on the
first-ever overseas tour and, in 1862, the first English team toured Australia.
Between May and October 1868, a team of Australian Aborigines toured England
in what was the first Australian cricket team to travel overseas.

3. 3
In 1877, an England touring team in Australia played two matches against full
Australian XIs that are now regarded as the inaugural Test matches. The following
year, the Australians toured England for the first time and were a spectacular
success.
Different Forms of Crickets and Their Rules
The Laws of Cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and
the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) with additional Standard Playing Conditions
for Test matches and One Day Internationals.
Rules of different forms of cricket:-
i. Each team is made up of 11 players.
ii. The bowler must bowl 6 legal deliveries to constitute an over.
iii. A game must have two umpires stood at either end of the wicket. The
umpires then must count the number of balls in the over, make decisions
on whether the batsmen is out after an appeal and also check that the
bowler has bowled a legal delivery
iv. Internationalgames will have a further two umpires known as the third and
fourth umpire. These are in place to review any decisions that the on field
umpires are unable to make.
Different forms of cricket include:-
1. Test Matches
2. One Day International
3. Twenty20

4. 4
Test Match:
i. This is played for a period of Five days, including a restday (usually after 2nd
or 3rd
day of match)
ii. Both the teams play two innings each, meaning each team gets two
chances to bat, alternatively.
iii. There is no restriction on no. of overs bowled by the bowler.
iv. If the team batting second, scores very
less runs in their first inning compared to
the team who has batted first, then the
first team can give ‘Follow On’ to the
second team. ‘Follow – On’ means that
second team gets chance to play their
second inning right after they finish their
first inning.
v. If during any inning any either team
scores exceptionally high runs, the team
can declare the inning. ‘Declare’ means
that the remaining players of the team will not bat.
vi. The results are obtained only when both teams have batted in stipulated
five days. The team who scores maximum runs wins the game
vii. Many times the two teams are not able to complete their two innings in
five days, then the result of match is draw (neither team wins!)
viii. ‘Follow-On’ and ‘Declare’ are strategically used by playing teams to avoid
Draws and get Results

5. 5
One Day International:
i. One Day cricket in played with 50 over. Each team has 50 over to bat and
bowl before swapping and doing the
previous discipline.
ii. An ODI is contested by 2 teams of 11
players each.
iii. The Captain of the side winning the toss
chooses to either bat or bowl first.
iv. The team batting first sets the target
score in a single innings. The innings
lasts until the batting side is "all out" or
all of the first sides allotted over are completed.
v. Each bowler is restricted to bowling a maximum of 10 over
vi. During the first 10 overs of the 50 overs innings only two fielders are
allowed in the outfield (a 15 yards radius circle drawn from where the
batsman stands).
vii. Power Play are the blocks of Five overs, wherein only three fielders can be
deployed in outfield.
viii. The team scoring maximum runs in allotted 50 overs wins the match.
ix. Only in the rare case when two teams scores exactly the same runs does
the match ends in ‘Tie’.

6. 6
Twenty 20:
i. This is the shortest form of Cricket and is becoming increasingly popular
due to certainty of result and excitement associated as the players put in
their best in the limited playing time
ii. As the name suggests, each team bats only for twenty overs each or till the
batting side lasts.
iii. Each of the bowlers can bowl a maximum of only one-fifth of the total over
i.e. 4 over in a total of 20 overs.
iv. Due to limited no. of overs available for
batting, the batsman starts hitting out
from the very first ball. The spectators are
delighted by continuous action on the
field.
v. No more than five fielders can be on the
leg side at any time.
vi. During the first six overs, a maximum of
two fielders can be outside the 30-yard
circle (this is known as the power play).
vii. After the first six overs, a maximum of five fielders can be outside the
fielding circle
viii. If the fielding team does not start to bowl their 20th over within 75
minutes, the batting side is credited an extra six runs for every whole over
bowled after the 75-minute mark; the umpire may add more time to this if
he believes the batting team is wasting time
ix. The team who scores mostin the allotted twenty overs wins, irrespectiveof
no. of players declared out.

7. 7
Types of Matches
Cricket is a multi-faceted sport with multiple formats based around playing
standard and level of formality and the desired time that the match should last. A
pertinent division in terms of professional cricket is between matches limited by
time in which the teams have two innings apiece, and those limited by number of
overs, in which they have a single innings each.
There different types of matches:
1. Test Cricket
2. Limited Overs
3. First-Class Cricket
4. Club Cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the highest standard of first-class cricket. A Test match is an
international fixture between teams representing those countries that are Full
Members of the ICC.
Test cricket is believed to have begun with
two matches between Australia and England
in the 1876–77 Australian seasons.
Subsequently, eight other national teams
have achieved Test status: South Africa
(1889) which was the third country to have
gained Test status, West Indies (1928), New
Zealand (1929), India (1932), Pakistan (1952),
Sri Lanka (1982), Zimbabwe (1992) and
Bangladesh (2000).
Test cricket remained the sport's highest level of standard throughout the 20th
century but it had its problems, notably in the infamous "Bodyline Series" of
1932–33 when England’s Douglas Jardine used so-called "leg theory" to try and
neutralize the run-scoring brilliance of Australia's Don Bradman.

8. 8
Limited Overs
Standard limited overs cricket was introduced in England in the 1963 season in
the form of a knockout cup contested by the first-class county clubs.
Limited overs cricket has seen various
innovations including the use of multi-colored
kit and floodlit matches using a white ball. A
"one day match", named so because each
match is scheduled for completion in a single
day, is the common form of limited overs
cricket played on an international level.
The main objective of a limited overs match is
to produce a definite result and so a
conventional draw is not possible, but
matches can be undecided if the scores are tied or if bad weather prevents a
result. Each team plays one innings only and faces a limited number of overs,
usually a maximum of 50.
First-Class Cricket
First-class cricket includes Test cricket but the term is generally used to refer to
the highest level of domestic cricket in those countries with full ICC membership,
although there are exceptions to this.
First-class cricket in England is played for the
most part by the 18 county clubs which
contest the County Championship.
Australia established its national first-class
championship in 1892–93 when the Sheffield
Shield was introduced. In Australia, the first-
class teams represent the various states. New
South Wales has won the maximum number of titles with 45 to 2008.

9. 9
Club Cricket
Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal, form of the sport of cricket,
usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening.
There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are
always observed.
Club cricket is frequently organized in a league or cup format. Games are limited
by either time or overs. Limited overs games usually last between 20 and 60 overs
per innings. A less common, but more traditional, format is limiting the game by
time only. Games can range from a few hours in the evening to two days long.
A modern innovation is the introduction of Twenty20 competitions, both as a
formatin the existing leagues and new leagues solely based on Twenty20, such as
Last-Man-Standing.
Standards of play can vary from semi-professional to occasional recreational level
and club cricket is often enjoyed as much for the social element as for the
competition. Most clubs have their own ground to play on regularly, often
including a field and pavilion or club house.

10. 10
Women’s Cricket
Till the late eighteenth century, sports and vigorous activities were not
encouraged for women. In England, where cricket had originated, rivalry games
were not included in a girl’s education. Instead, elegant and graceful games were
encouraged which did not include any rigorous activity.
Croquet is a sport that involves hitting plastic
or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops
embedded in a grass playing court. Croquet
was a slow-paced game that did not require
any rough action, it was a relaxed and it was
considered suitable for women, especially of
the upper class. The attire of the women who
played croquet also suggested the character
of the sport. The attire included frilled gowns and fancy hats. Croquet is still
practiced among both men and women.
However, as the society evolved and
modernized, so did the general prejudice
that women shouldn’tget involved in rough
activities. By the early nineteenth century
and in some countries much before the
nineteenth century, women started
participating in cricket. The first known
women's cricket club was formed in 1887 in Yorkshire, named the White Heather
Club. In 1958 theInternationalWomen's Cricket Council (IWCC) was formed to co-
ordinate women's cricket around the world.
Women's cricket has been played internationally since the inaugural women's
Test match between England women and Australia women in December 1934.