The central aspect of this part of our web guide is cricket, an outdoor team sport played with a bat and ball.
Originating in England, the roots of the game can be traced back to the 16th century, with its first definitive reference appearing in the 1590s. Believed to have initially been a pastime for shepherds in southern England, the game evolved over the years, finding favor among the aristocracy.
The the 18th century, cricket had formalized rules, and, with the establishment of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1787 at Lord's Cricket Ground, the MCC became the custodian of the rules, setting standards for fair play.
British colonialism in the 19th and 20th centuries spread the sport to countries like Australia, the West Indies, and South Africa, where it developed regional variants and loyal enthusiasts. Today, the game is popular in more than a hundred countries.
Cricket is played between two teams, each consisting of eleven players. The playing field is oval, with a 22-yard pitch at its center. At either end of the pitch are wickets, composed of three vertical stumps topped by two horizontal balls. The primary aim is for the batting side to score runs while the bowling and fielding side endeavors to dismiss batters and limit runs.
A bowler delivers the ball overarm to the batter, who attempts to strike it with a flat-edged bat. Runs are scored by hitting the ball and running between the wickets or by achieving boundaries--four runs for a ball reaching the field's edge and six runs for one clearing it entirely. The fielding side can dismiss batters through various methods, such as being bowled, caught, or run out. A team's innings ends once ten players are out, leaving the final player "not out."
The adaptability of the game has led to multiple formats. Traditional Test Cricket spans five days, offering a strategic battle of endurance and skill. One-Day Internationals (ODIs), introduced in the 1970s, condensed the game into a single day with 50-over innings for each side. The 21st century saw the advent of Twenty20 (T20) cricket, a format reducing each innings to 20 overs, prioritizing fast-paced action and entertainment.
These formats coexist, appealing to purists and casual fans alike. Domestic leagues like the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League have further popularized T20 cricket.
Cricket is as much a mental game as a physical one. Captains and teams employ a variety of strategies to outwit their opponents. In Test Cricket, patience and endurance are of particular importance, with bowlers exploiting pitch conditions and batters emphasizing technique. In ODIs and T20s, innovation and adaptability are key, with players devising inventive shots, precise yorkers, and agile fielding techniques.
Cricket is also played as a recreational activity by those who don't really care who wins or may not even be keeping score.
On the competitive stage, international tournaments like the Cricket World Cup and the ICC T20 World Cub bring nations together in fierce but friendly rivalry, while series such as the Ashes between England and Australia have cultivated enduring traditions.
While cricket is not widely known in the United States, being a niche sport in North America, it played an indirect but notable role in the development of America's game of baseball. When British immigrants brought cricket to America in the 18th century, it gained some popularity, particularly among the upper and middle classes in Philadelphia and New York. As baseball emerged in the mid-19th century, it drew inspiration from cricket's gameplay while adopting rules to suit American tastes.
Topics related to the game of cricket are appropriate for this category.
 
 
Recommended Resources
The Burton Leonard Cricket Club is a cricket team based in Burton Leonard, Harrogate, England. They are members of the Nidderdale and Harrogate Evening Cricket League. The team's history, which dates back to 1796 or earlier, is told on its website, which features the team's constitution, a sports field availability calendar, club averages, archived results, and a photo gallery. Links to the club's portal allow visitors to inquire about memberships or other information.
https://www.blcc.org.uk/
The online resource allows readers to explore live cricket scores, schedules, news, and other information about the sport, such as team or league news, test teams, associate teams, rankings (men and women), the World Test Championship, World Cup Super League, career information, advertising opportunities, and contacts. Other resources include photographs, downloadable mobile applications (Android and iOS), match previews, social media links, and its terms of use.
https://www.cricbuzz.com/
Cricket Council United States of America
The CCUSA is a professional sports and entertainment-management organization that promotes, develops, and expands cricket in the United States. Formed in 2001, the organization aims to become the sole U.S. governing body for the sport of cricket recognized by the International Cricket Council and the United States Olympic Committee. However, USA Cricket is currently the sole governing body for cricket in the U.S. Its vision, contacts, rules, regions, and tournaments are featured.
https://ccusa.info/
The online web resource is a popular portal for Pakistan cricket news and information. The site offers domestic and international cricket fixtures, including the latest scores, bilateral series, and ICC tournament schedules for the Pakistan team, along with upcoming T20, ODI, and Test matches. Live updates, leagues, and events are included. Registered readers may add the matches for their favorite team to their own cricket calendar for match reminders. A blog is included.
https://cricket.com.pk/
Owned by ESPN Sports Media LTD, the website is an online resource for the sport of cricket. It includes live scores, month views, results, schedules, an international calendar, and other statistics and records, as well as news from several cricket series, teams from around the world, cricket news, photo galleries, The Cricket Monthly, web stories, and "On This Day" features. Several videos are available, and editions of the website are included for worldwide locations.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Headquartered in London, England, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the ICC is the global governing body of cricket. Founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa, the body was renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, taking its current name in 1987. The ICC currently has 108 member nations, 12 full members that play Test matches, and 96 associate members. Upcoming matches and results are posted.
https://www.icc-cricket.com/
Samp Group is a cricket organization based in the United States that focuses on promoting cricket in regions where the sport isn't traditionally followed, such as the United States and the Middle East. The Group owns the Samp Army cricket franchise, and is involved in various tournaments, including the Abu Dhabi T10 and Sim Afro T10 leagues. Leagues, franchises, and an introduction to the Samp Group are featured, along with a gallery of photographs and contacts.
https://sampgroup.us/
Established in 2017, USA Cricket is the official governing body for cricket in the United States. The organization oversees all national cricket teams, including men's, women's, and youth teams, as well as domestic competitions like Major League Cricket, which is the top-level Twenty20 league in the country. Its objective is to grow the sport within the United States, not just among expatriates but also within the broader community. It became an associate member of the ICC in 2019.
https://usacricket.org/