Cricket Fever

History of Cricket

The sport of cricket has a known history beginning in the late 16th century. Having originated in south-east England, it became the country's national sport in the 18th century and has developed globally in the 19th and 20th centuries. International matches have been played since 1844 and Test cricket began, retrospectively recognized, in 1877. Cricket is the world's second most popular spectator sport after association football. Governance is by the International Cricket Council (ICC) which has over one hundred members although only twelve play Test cricket.

International cricket Begins

The first ever international cricket game was between the USA and Canada in 1844. The match 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.

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 the success of this tour ensured a popular demand for similar ventures in future. No Tests were played in 1878 but more soon followed and, at The Oval in 1882, the Australian victory in a tense finish gave rise to The Ashes. South Africa became the third Test nation in 1889.

The Modern Era

The law on cricket bats states that :“The bat should be no more than 38 inches (97 cm) in length and no more than 4.25 inches (10.8 cm) wide”, which makes the current crop of blades radically different from the others. 

The 21st century has witnessed a change in complexity of the game that has grown over the last decade. Matthew Hayden’s mongoose, Symonds’s baseball bat look-alike, were all signs of the changing times. 

In recent times, even a 300-400 score on the board seems inadequate to defend. This is primarily due to the supreme quality of the bats. The law provides room for batsmen to experiment on their own designs, giving batsmen a perfect balance of their needs to satisfy their own style of play. 

Modern bats are custom-made for power hitting weighing upto 3lb. Certain players have their own specifications. Examples are aplenty. Jacques Kallis has his bat done with more meat on the toe of the bat, while England skipper Eoin Morgan insists on a medium sized bat and Chris Gayle possesses bats with blades humongous enough to smash bricks into smithereens.

In order to satisfy the beginning of the T20 era, bats were given longer handles, and a meaty blade. With this improvement, the confidence of the bowlers started to deteriorate. In addition to this, the quality of the balls has not increased and continue to remain the same throughout, supporting the notion of cricket turning into a batsman’s game.

Even the world’s best bowlers see themselves getting plundered, and are often left scratching their heads, hot in pursuit for a solution to counter the batting prowess. 

To sum it up, the modern day batsman possess massive blades, which are only getting bigger and better with time. Of late, cricketers have also started endorsing these brands, getting customised specifications they want on their bats in return.

The limited overs format has over time gained a lot of attention, forcing many players to modify their styles to suit this set-up. Even in Test matches players are trying to play unorthodox shots, testing the quality of new bats and also upsetting bowler’s rythms in the process.

Michael Holding recently said “Bats no longer have edges. They have a front, a back – and two sides.” This is the modern cricket willow. The willow capable of tormenting the world’s best.