Cricket

Cricket

The game of cricket is very similar to baseball. Two teams play against each other with eleven people on each team. The game originated in England hundreds of years ago. It was played by the wealthy people of South Asia, India, and Pakistan. Today cricket is the most popular sport in many countries around the world including Wales, Australia, New England, and South Africa. Professional and amateur cricket tournaments are a very popular pastime.

The game of cricket received bad publicity when a black man by the name of Basil D’Oliveira. He went to England for the sole purpose of playing cricket professionally. He was to star in the 1968-1969 Test series in South Africa. However he was banned from the game for political reasons due to being black. Sponsors threatened to cancel the tour if he was allowed to play. His fight to play the game was a stand for black men in the world of all sports.

Cricket News

The game of cricket is well known in many countries. There have been exciting tournaments and games of controversy throughout the history of this sport. Anyone who follows the game enjoys being able to keep up on the latest news and events surrounding the sport. Here is some of the latest news that has taken place so far in 2007.

An issue on the floor right now is the Australian team member, Hershell Gibbs appealing his ban from two cricket games due to breaking the players Code of Conduct as defined by the ICC. The comments of Gibbs were picked up by a microphone during a game of play. While Gibbs has apologized for the comments, he does not feel a class 3 penalty of being banned from two games should be imposed.

Cricket Rules

The sport called cricket involves two teams playing against each other. Each team in comprised of eleven players. It is played on a grassy field. The game is somewhat similar to the American game of baseball; however the rules of play are somewhat different. A player on the field called the bowler attempts to throw a ball from a wicket to another. The term wicket means a wooden stump.

The opposing team has a player who attempts to hit the ball with a bat rather than letting it hit the wicket. This player is called the batsman. If he is successful at hitting the ball then he has the chance to run between the two wickets, changing places with the bowler. This is how the batsman scores a point. Each team gets their chance to score until ten outs have been accumulated, and then it is the other teams turn to score as many points as they can. After each team has had a set of ten outs, that is a complete inning.

Cricket Bats

Cricket bats are used similar to baseball bats, but they are made differently. They have a flat side and a blade on the other. The blade is made from willow. The blade is 4 Ω inches long and the entire cricket bat is 38 inches long. Cricket bat manufacturers take pride in providing quality bats as well as preserving the willow resource. For every willow cut down to make cricket bats, two are planted in its place.

The handle of a cricket bat is made of cane and rubber strips that are laminated. Water resistant glue is used to keep it from wearing out. Most cricket bats are made by hand, so some imperfections are to be expected. Knots in the willow wood are common. They don’t deter from the quality of the cricket bat or the strength of the product. A speck is a common imperfection that is the result of the area where the willow tree grew being surrounded by gravel and stones.

International Cricket

The vision behind international cricket is to use the game as a means of promoting and inspiring individuals regardless of their age, gender, color, or background. It also serves as a bridge to bridge continents and countries together in their love of the sport. The International Cricket Council, known as ICC, was established in 1909. It was founded by the countries of Australia, England, and South Africa. Today the ICC has 96 countries as members.

The ICC was formed after a letter from the President of South Africa was sent to England in 1907. The letter requested the formalization of an imperial cricket board to establish set rules to be used in international games. Once these were established the ICC didn’t meet again until 1921. This time the meetings were to discuss the issue of eight-ball overs. The ICC met again five years later to discuss regulations. I was decided in 1926 that they would meet on a yearly basis. They did not meet during the years of the various wars.