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Cricket Origins and how to play
Origins
In 1300 Edward the First listed a reference to a game similiar to cricket in his household accounts, however the precise origins of cricket have been lost in the annals of time.
One story has it being started by shepherds in South East England, with a ball made of wool or rags being bowled along the ground, the target it was said was the wicket gate of the sheepfold and the shepherd would use his crook to ht the ball.
This they say explains why early bats had a curved blade. The first recorded cricket match was played at Coxheath in Kent in 1646. Although a rural pastime by the 18th century it was being played at all levels of society. The first rules were written in 1744 the MCC produced a revised official set in 1835 and these are the rules that are mainly used in the modern game.
Rules and Other Facts
A game played between two sides of 11 players with a wicket consisting of 3 stumps (wooden stakes) on top of the stumps are a set of bails the wicket stands at each end of a what should be a grassy pitch 22yards in length, each side takes turns in batting and fielding, the batting side sends out two batsmen one stands at each wicket they each have a bat with a long flat side and a ball is bowled at them, the ball is solid.
The object of the game is to score as many runs as possible in the allotted time. A bowler delivers the ball in an over which consists of 6 balls being bowled at the batsman, if he hits the ball and in certain other circumstances he can attempt to run to the other wicket the batsman at this end must also run if they succeed they have scored a run, should the ball reach the boundary of the field they have scored four runs automatically should the ball not touch the ground before it crosses the boundary they have scored six runs.
A batsman can be got out by several means either a fielder catches the ball after the batsman has struck it and before it hits the ground. He can be bowled that is the ball hits the wickets and knocks the bails off the stumps, the wicket keeper can stump the batsmans that is knock the bails off the stumps whilst the batsman is stood outside his crease (the safe area in front of his wicket.) or he can be LBW This is when the ball first hits his lower leg before he has hit it and the leg is directly in line with the stumps or the batsman can accidently knock his own bails off. Once ten batsman have been dismissed the other side goes into bat. However in a sport like cricket it is often the sporting thing to do that when a side feels it has scored enough runs to win it can declare and let the other side bat, giving them a sporting chance of catching up with them.
There are lots of Cricket competitions to bet on but the most popular has to be the Ashes series which is played between England and Australia the series came about due to a mock article which appeared in the Sporting Times after Australia had defeated England at Oval in 1882, the article read 'In Affectioan Remembrance of English Cricket Which Died at the Oval on 29 August 1882, deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances, R.I.P. n.b. the body will be cremated and taken to Australia.' They then burnt the bails placed the ashes in an urn and despatched them to Australia. This is the trophy that is so desperately fought over each summer.
You also have the English county championship which is the oldest cricket competition in the world it has been in existence since 1873 but the proper points system wasn't introduced until 1890.