The Wide World of Cricket

Cricket, the sport, not the chirping insect serenading summer nights, has finally landed in the United States for the 2024 World Cup. Yes, you read that right. In a country where the phrase "sticky wicket" might be mistaken for something happening on Wall Street and where most people's knowledge of cricket begins and ends with Jiminy Cricket, the little guy who kept Pinocchio out of trouble, Americans are about to witness the bat-and-ball spectacle that has captivated billions across the globe.

Imagine explaining to an American that cricket matches can last longer than a Netflix binge-watching session, and you're halfway there. This is a sport where tea breaks are an official part of the game. Yes, while baseball has its seventh inning stretch, cricket has its leisurely pause for a spot of tea. It's charming, it's confusing, and it's wonderfully eccentric. In a land where instant gratification rules, cricket's patient dance is like introducing a Zen master to a New York minute.

So, for those who’re trying to figure out if "googly" is something you need an ointment for, we are going to embark on a journey into the wide world of cricket. We'll take a brief look at its storied past, try to explain a few terms unique to the game, and sprinkle in some fascinating facts along the way. And maybe, just maybe - if you aren’t already - you'll find yourself a cricket convert by the end.

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world. A cricket match is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams, each consisting of eleven players. The game is played on a circular or oval-shaped field with a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch at the center. The “run” is the main scoring unit in cricket. Batsmen score runs by running between the wickets,

hitting boundaries (4 runs for a ball that reaches the boundary, 6 runs for a ball that clears the boundary without touching the ground), or through extras (additional runs given due to errors by the fielding side). Clear as a cup of Earl Grey tea with milk, no?

The game began in England before being brought to many of the UK’s former colonies and has adapted over time into a sped-up version of the original five-day match. Today, the sport is perhaps most popular in those former colonies and surrounding regions - a 2015 game between India and Pakistan, for example, was watched by a billion people!

Early Development and Spread

Often referred to as the “gentleman’s game”, cricket's journey from a regional pastime to a globally celebrated sport is a tale of colonialism, cultural exchange, and strategic development. Cricket's roots can be traced back to medieval England, possibly as early as the 13th century. It began as a children's game in the rural areas of southeastern England. The first recorded match in 1646 in Kent signifies its growing popularity. By the 18th century, cricket was well-established in England, enjoyed by all social classes.

In 1744, the formal laws of cricket were codified, laying the foundation for the modern game. These rules were refined over the years, with significant contributions from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) established in 1787, which became the custodian of the Laws of Cricket.

·      Googly: No, this is not the children’s version of Google. Also known as a “wrong ‘un”, a googly is a deceptive ball delivered by a leg-spin bowler (the player who delivers, or pitches, the ball) that turns unexpectedly to the leg side of a right-handed batsman. Sorta like a curve ball in baseball. The googly is also sometimes referred to as a “Bosie”, named for its inventor, English bowler Bernard Bosanquet. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the origin of googly is unknown, although it might be related to goggle, which describes eyes that are protuberant and rolling.

Formation of Clubs and Competitions

The formation of the first cricket club in Hambledon, England in the 1760s was crucial. This period saw the rise of county cricket, which further formalized the sport. The introduction of the County Championship in England in 1890 provided a competitive structure that spurred local rivalries and talents.

·      Innings: Refers to the period in which a team bats. In some formats, teams have two innings, while in others, just one. An innings in cricket is analogous to an inning in baseball, except that the plural is always used in cricket, whether about a single innings or more than one (cricket matches usually max out at two innings). To have a good innings means to have a good run or a long life.

Global Expansion

Cricket spread primarily through the British Empire. British colonists and soldiers introduced the game to their colonies, where it took root and evolved uniquely in different regions. For example:

1.    Australia:

Cricket was introduced in the late 18th century, with the first recorded match played in Sydney in 1803. The establishment of the Melbourne Cricket Club in 1838 and the first inter-colonial match in 1851 boosted its popularity.

2.    India:

The British brought cricket to India in the early 18th century. The Parsis were the first Indian community to embrace the game, forming the Oriental Cricket Club in 1848. The sport gained widespread popularity, leading to the formation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 1928.

3.    West Indies:

Cricket was introduced to the Caribbean islands by colonists and took a stronghold, with the West Indies team making its debut in Test cricket in 1928.

4.    Sri Lanka:

British planters and civil servants brought cricket to Sri Lanka in the early 19th century. The Colombo Cricket Club, founded in 1832, is one of the oldest cricket clubs in the country. Sri Lanka's cricketing prowess grew steadily, culminating in their Test debut in 1982 and their remarkable victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, which boosted the sport's popularity exponentially nationwide.

5.    New Zealand:

British settlers introduced cricket in the early 19th century, with the national team playing its first Test match in 1930.

·      Nervous Nineties: Unlike baseball, there’s the possibility for a lot of runs to happen in cricket. There’s even a terminology set up to describe when a lot of runs are scored by one batter. A ton, also called a century, is when a batter scores 100 runs in one innings (remember that plural thing…) - and no one wants to be the batter who just missed making a ton. The nervous nineties refer to that stretch when a batter has scored 90 to 99 runs and feels the heat to make it to 100. Analogous are the yips in golf, a state of anxiety that causes the golfer to miss easy shots.

Global Popularity

Cricket ranks as the second most popular sport globally, following soccer. It boasts a fan base of over 2.5 billion people, primarily in regions like South Asia, the UK, Australia, and Africa.

The advent of One Day Internationals (ODIs) in the 1970s and the introduction of the Twenty20 (T20) format in the early 21st century revolutionized the game, making it faster paced and more appealing to broader audiences.

Of course, “faster-paced” is a completely relative term in this case. An ODI match typically last around 7-8 hours which, you may say, is a damn long time. However, when compared with the traditional format of cricket, known as Test Matches, which typically are played over five days (with breaks for lunch and tea of course), an ODI match must really seem like a New York minute! And for the even faster food fans, a T20 format game lasts only around 3 hours.

In 1939, a match between England and South Africa lasted a staggering 14 days…..

·      Snickometer: No, it’s not a tv camera seeking out shots of people munching on snickers candy bars during the match. A Snickometer (snicko for short) is a microphone placed in a stump that debuted in 1999 in the United Kingdom. The device measures sound waves with an oscilloscope, and the data from the Snickometer is then shown to TV viewers and game umpires so they can see whether or not a batter hit the ball or if the bat hit something else (such as the pads or the ground) that made a similar sound.

Cricket in the United States

Despite its early presence in the United States, cricket did not achieve the same level of popularity as in other former British colonies. Several factors contributed to this:

1.    Rise of Baseball: In the mid-19th century, baseball emerged as the dominant bat-and-ball sport. Its simpler rules, shorter game duration, and American cultural alignment made it more appealing to the local population.

2.    Cultural Factors: Cricket was seen as a British sport, and following the American Revolution, there was a cultural shift away from British traditions and sports.

3.    Lack of Infrastructure and Promotion: Unlike other countries where cricket infrastructure was developed and promoted by colonial authorities, the United States lacked a similar level of investment and organization in cricket.

The first public report of a cricket match in North America was in 1751, when the New York Gazette and the Weekly Post Boy carried an account of a match between a London "eleven" (as cricket teams, or "sides," are called) and one from New York City.

The New Yorkers won.  

·      Duck: Ducks and crickets – what’s going on here you may well ask? A duck is “zero” (similar to the expression goose egg) because a duck’s egg is the same shape as a zero (well, more or less). And just to keep things sufficiently complicated, there’s not just one type of duck in cricket - there are four! 

And the better sounding the duck, the worse it is for the batter. The standard duck is when a batter is out without scoring a run. When the batter is out after the first legal ball, it’s called a golden duck. A diamond duck happens when the batter is out before they get a chance to swing at a legal bowl. And then there’s the platinum duck. This ultimate duck happens when a batter is out on the first ball of the first innings (yes, remember with an “S”) of the match. Conversely, to break one’s duck means to score a first run in an innings, thus breaking the duck’s egg, or zero score.

Modern Era and International Influence

In the modern era, the International Cricket Council (ICC) governs the sport globally, ensuring its development and popularity. Major tournaments like the Cricket World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup, and the Indian Premier League (IPL) attract massive viewership, contributing to cricket's status as a major global sport.

Cricket continues to grow, with emerging cricketing nations and initiatives to promote the game in non-traditional regions, ensuring its place as a beloved sport worldwide. Even in the United States cricket is growing. In 2006 it was estimated that 30,000 people in the US played or watched cricket annually. By 2017, this figure had risen to 200,000.

·      The Corridor of Uncertainty: A lot can be gleaned from a name. In this case, it’s pretty clear, even to people who know nothing about cricket, that a player doesn’t want to have to deal with something in the corridor of uncertainty. 

It refers to a delivery (thrown ball) that lands in a spot where the batsman is unsure whether to play or leave the ball. When a bowler throws the ball in the corridor of uncertainty, the batter needs to quickly decide whether or not to play the ball. If they do, the hit may be easy for the fielders to catch. If they don’t, it could hit the batter and then hit the wicket and result in an out. It’s cricket’s very own Bermuda Triangle where a batsman is caught in a Shakespearean dilemma – “to play or not to play?” – while the bowler is fully aware that he’s just unleashed cricket’s most elegant mind game.

Bats 

We’ve talked about crickets, we’ve talked about ducks, there’s even cows involved in cricket (the ‘cow corner’ is an area of the pitch that rarely gets hit to), so now it’s time to talk about bats.

No, not that kind of bat!

All cricket bats are made from either English or Kashmir willow. English willow tends to come in at a higher price range as they are seen as the superior of the two and the choice for professional cricket players. Kashmir willow, on the other hand, tends to be a dryer and harder bat, coming in at a lower price range. For this reason, they are best suited for beginner or junior players. Choosing the right bat is vital for gameplay, as the right size bat can have a significant effect on technical development.

Cricket bats require ‘knocking in’ to prepare them for play.  Doing this involves using a wooden bat mallet and hitting the bat on the face and front edges to compress the willow fibers and reduce the risk of damage to the bat. It is also best practice to oil cricket bats to keep in the moisture content, avoiding the willow from drying too much and causing cracks or splits in the wood.

·      Sticky Wicket: One of the first words you need to know in a conversation about cricket is wicket. The word wicket refers to a set of three stumps with two bails (resembling sticks) on top that are knocked off as one way to get a person who is batting out.

There are two wickets on the field placed 22 yards apart, and the bowler - positioned at one wicket - throws the ball to the batter located near the other wicket.

A sticky wicket refers to the space in between the wickets. It’s simply an expression used when that space between the stumps (known as the pitch) is wet, and the ball doesn’t bounce well. Similar to sports phrases like knocked it out of the park or home stretch, sticky wicket can be used outside of the sport as well, in this case to describe anything that’s tough to accomplish. A person can find themselves in a sticky wicket after losing their wallet, for example. We can only assume it doesn’t mean this guy has trouble hitting the right notes….

It’s time now to wrap up our little soiree into the grand and occasionally baffling world of cricket, that most quintessentially English game. I mean come on, how many other sports can you name that break for finger sandwiches and tea or cancel play due to inclement weather? And in a year when cricket's World Cup has improbably touched down on American soil, it's a beautiful irony that many locals might still think "googly" is an unfortunate medical condition. Yet, here we are, introducing baseball's boisterous cousin to the land of fast food and faster cars.

Cricket, with its gentlemanly veneer and labyrinthine rules, is like dancing a stately waltz at a rave. While American sports often resemble a high-speed chase, cricket saunters in with its tea breaks, lunch intervals, and a casual five-day match structure. It's a sport where patience isn't just a virtue—it's a requirement. But don't be fooled by its leisurely pace; cricket is a game of cunning, strategy, and yes, a touch of madness.

So, as the 2024 Cricket World Cup unfolds in the land of the free and the home of the brave, maybe take a moment to appreciate the bizarre brilliance of cricket. From the 'corridor of uncertainty' to tea breaks that would make Downton Abbey proud, cricket is a sport that defies the quick and easy. It’s a saga, a drama, and an elegant dance that’s as complex as it is captivating. And, for our American friends, who knows? By the end of the tournament, you might just find yourself an unlikely fan of this most eccentric of sports.

If you’d like to learn more about the history of cricket, below is a video we found that will tell you everything. And if you’re a fan of cricket, we’d love to hear why in the comments below.

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