Cricket

This challenge is about common or uncommon knowledge about something you like, dislike or just random fun fact you have stuck in your head. Well I have absolutely no knowledge of Cricket at all and only a minor curiosity about the subject, so you are no doubt wondering "Why?"

I have been watching TV and movies since I was four years old and we got our first big television set. You know the one that sat on your floor in a big wooden box that weighed a ton and the screen bubbled out from it, like it was a pregnant belly. It was at least four feet long, three feet tall, and two feet wide. I was a kid so don't quote me on exact size but you can see by the picture what I am talking about. Anyway I also love going to the movies whenever I could and over the many years of watching TV and movies (now 52 yr old) I have seen at least 15 different TV shows or made for TV movies and at least 18 big screen movies that have some mention of Cricket in them that I remember. Going back now and re-watching these shows and movies my curiosity for Cricket has been picked again. So I thought for this challenge I would look up information about Cricket and share it with everyone.

Here is the first thing I think you should know I am not a true sports fan of any kind I know the basics of must sports because I have siblings and friends who played all kinds of sports and I dragged along for support, not that I didn't want them to win, but I would have rather been at the movies. So fun facts on sports I know: Football- most ball over line by carrying it or ball through two post by kicking it you win. Soccer - most time you get ball in net by kicking it you win. Basketball - most time you get ball in net by throwing it you win. Baseball - most time you hit ball with bat and then can out running some one catching ball or catching ball and throwing it back at you trying to stop you from making it around three different bases you win. Track-n-Field - run the fastest or jump the highest you win. Swimming - swim the fastest or make the best dive you win. Auto Racing - be the fastest around the track you win. Hockey - put little puck in the net by hitting it with stick the most you win. All these are simple making it very easy to keep score and know who is winning at all times. The rules to must of these games are also simple and straight forward, however Cricket: "what the hell guys?"

I will get back to the rules and scoring later lets start with a little history, for this paper I did go to three different websites printed out at least 100 pages of information, some double sided and read all of it. I am only giving you my opinion on what I think was interesting because there was so much information. Cricket dates back to the year 1611, however on at least one official website it says Cricket could have been around as early as the 13th century. The first recording of an official match between the same town folk was in 1697 and the first intercounty match between Kent and Surrey was recorded in 1709 in Dartford, at which time they believed the first Laws of Cricket were written. The earliest recorded know version of Laws of Cricket are dated 1744. The Laws of Cricket were amended in 1779 when new innovations were added. The British of course are the ones who spread Cricket around the world thus making it an international sport.

International Cricket came to the United States when the British colonized the North American Continent, it also came to Canada at the same time in the 1700's. The British took Cricket to Australia and India as well long the same timeline. The first international game between England and Australia was in 1877 in Australia. The next year Australia visited England and although no games were played their love for the game grew and more matches followed and at the Oval in 1882, the Australian victory in a tense finish gave rise to the Ashes. The Ashes is one of the longest running rivalries in sports between England and Australia. It is a special series of matches held roughly every two years. The winner claiming on of the most famous and smallest trophies in the sport, the Ashes urn.

Another long running rivalry is between Canada and the United States, who according to history has the first recorded international game of all time back in 1844 played in New York. Their rivalry started the annual match for the Auty Cup Trophy.

The K.A. Auty Cup Trophy is an international cricket series played between Canada and the United States. It is reputed to be the first and longest running international sporting fixture of any type. It has been an annual series hosted alternately by Cricket Canada and USA Cricket. The series saw a 17-year hiatus beginning in 1994 due to financial difficulties. Since its revival in 2011 the series has been expanded from a two-day match only to a two-day match, a One Day International, and two Twenty20 matches. The first Auty Cup Trophy match was a two-day match held from the 25–27 September 1844 at St George's Cricket Club in Manhattan, New York. Largely as a result of this match, the first Canadian Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, declared cricket Canada’s first official sport in 1867.

There are as follows 102 international members of the Cricket World: Africa has 21 members, Asia has 21 members, East Asia-Pacific has 11 members, the Americas have 17 members and Europe has the most members at 32.

Women in Cricket: The first recorded match was between 11 maids from Bramley and 11 maids from Hambledon on July 26, 1745. The first women's club was formed in Yorkshire in 1887, named the White Heather Club. In 1958 the International Women's Cricket Council was formed, taking over the English Women's Cricket Association to co-ordinate women's cricket around the world. The English Women's Cricket Association had been doing the job for 32 years, but I guess no one cared, however in the end it did not matter because in 2005 the IWCC was merged with the International Cricket Council to form one unified body to help manage and develop cricket. International Women's Cricket has been played since December 1934 with first match between England and you guest it Australia. There are 10 international women's teams: Australia, Bangladesh , England, India , Ireland , New Zealand , Pakistan , South Africa , Sri Lanka and West Indies.

So now back to the playing and rules of Cricket: Cricket grounds can vary in size from the Large Melbourne Cricket Ground to village green to small meadows. A wicket consist of three stumps each 28 inches high and of equal thickness about 1.25 inches in diameter, stuck in the ground spaced apart so the ball can not pass between them. Two pieces of wood called bails, each 4.37 inches long, lie in grooves on top of the stumps. The whole wicket is 9 inches wide. There are two wickets that face each other at each end of the pitch and are approximately in the center of the ground. The batman defends the wicket and the bowler attacks. The bat is made of willow and must not be broader than 4.25 inches, the length of the bat including the handle can not be more than 38 inches long. The ball has a core of cork built up of string, traditionally encased in polished red leather, white now is frequently use for night games. The ball must weigh between 5.5 and 5.7 ounces and measure between 8.8 and 9 inches in circumference. Positions of the team: there is the captain, the batman, the bowler, fieldsman, and the wicketkeeper. There are also umpires on the field during the game. Scoring in Cricket matches involves two elements: the number of runs scored and the number of wickets lost by each team.

Ok I read and reread all the information about scoring and playing Cricket and the above information is all I could honestly understand, so if you need more you are going to have to look it up for yourselves, forewarning there is a lot of information, GOOD LUCK. In the end though I would like to say this about Cricket and all who Love the sport: I did once try to watch a match on TV but because I could not understand how they kept score I gave up on it. However now that I know I little more about the history and see they people still really enjoy it, I might try again to watch a match just for fun to see if I can lean something new.