History of cricket

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The game of cricket has a known history spanning from the 16th century to the present day, with international matches played since 1844, although the official history of international Test cricket began in 1877. During this time, the game developed from its origins in England into a game which is now played professionally in most of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Contents [hide] 1 Early cricket 1.1 Origin 1.2 Derivation of the name of "cricket" 1.3 First definite reference 1.4 Early 17th century 1.5 The Commonwealth 1.6 Gambling and press coverage 2 18th-century cricket 2.1 Patronage and players 2.2 Cricket moves out of England 2.3 Development of the Laws 2.4 Continued growth in England 2.5 Cricket and crisis 3 19th-century cricket 3.1 International cricket begins 3.2 National championships 3.3 Balls per over 4 20th-century cricket 4.1 Growth of Test cricket 4.2 Suspension of South Africa (1970–91) 4.3 World Series Cricket 4.4 Limited-overs cricket 4.5 Increasing use of technology 5 21st-century cricket 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External sources