History of Cricket

I

Introduction

History of Cricket, historical development of a field game (see Cricket, Rules of) played around the world, but particularly in Commonwealth countries.

II

Early Development of Cricket

The precise origins of the game remain uncertain. The word itself may derive from old French criquet (a kind of club, or goal post), from Flemish krick(e), “stick”, or from old English cricc, “crutch, staff”. There is no reliable evidence of the game until the mid-16th century. A record (dated 1598) of the Borough of Guildford, Surrey, refers to a game of “creckett” played by pupils of the Royal Grammar School, Guildford in about 1550. In the 17th century there is an increasing number of references and in 1676 there is the first of a game played outside England. The logbook of HMS Assistance (part of a British fleet on the Levantine coast) records that some of her crew played cricket at Antioch on May 6, 1676. Early forms of competitive cricket took place in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex towards the end of the 17th century. By about 1700 games were being advertised in the local press. There is plentiful evidence that aristocrats and gentlemen, as well as those lower down the social scale, were playing the game about this time and mostly in south-east England—the traditional, original home of the game. It may well be that the first wickets were the gates of sheepfolds and the first bats shepherds’ crooks, which might help to explain the curved shape of the earliest bats (the oldest existing bat dates from 1729).

William Godwin’s poem in Latin, “In Certamen Pilae; Anglice” (1706), describes a village cricket match. Early in the 18th century there were matches between wealthy landowners on which big wagers were made. The earliest major match for which the full score survives is England versus Kent in London in 1744, and in that year the first known laws of the game were issued. A vital influence on the game’s development was the creation of the Hambledon Club in about 1760 in Hampshire. From this era date some of the celebrated personalities of the game, including John Nyren who at the end of his life published The Cricketers of My Time (1833). By the 1760s there were already a few professional players who were hired by rich and noble patrons, and the Hambledon men established a system of fixed payments for matches. During the 18th century there evolved two kinds of professional player: the retained player and the independent player. The former was a servant of a lord as well as a cricketer; the latter could go where his skills might earn the best money. Gradually there evolved a distinction between a player (a professional) and a gentleman (an amateur). In July 1806 the first Gentlemen vs. Players match was held (on the original Lord’s ground), and this fixture continued until 1963 when the amateur status was abolished. A major event in 1787 was the creation of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which was to become the most influential cricketing body in the world, and by 1800 the organization of the game was being concentrated at Lord’s. By then the game had spread into the Midlands and was often played in public schools and at Oxford and Cambridge (the first University match was held in 1827). Women’s cricket was well established by 1800 (the first recorded women’s match was in 1745, at Guildford).

III

Cricket in Britain and Abroad

Overall, the last third of the 18th century was an important period of development, in Britain and overseas. As with football (and other games) the export of cricket to other lands was often accomplished by English soldiers, sailors, colonial servants, merchants, travellers, teachers, and missionaries. It was introduced in Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Canada, and India. In America it had been known since 1709. It was also introduced to the Greek island of Corfu in the 1820s, and to the West Indies about the same time. And it was pioneered by the English in Sri Lanka, Bermuda, South Africa, and New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century. The first international matches were between Canada and the United States in 1844. During the second half of the 19th century the game became increasingly popular in Holland and Denmark. In 1859 the first representative team from England toured overseas—in Canada and the United States. In 1863 a touring team went to Australia. The first Test match was played at Melbourne in March 1877 between England and Australia. The first Test in England was against Australia in September 1880 at the Oval. First Tests by other nations have been as follows: South Africa (1889), West Indies (1928), New Zealand (1930), India (1932), Pakistan (1952), Sri Lanka (1982), Zimbabwe (1992), and Bangladesh (2000).

Prior to World War I Test series and overseas tours were confined to those between England, Australia, and South Africa. Between the wars, when India, New Zealand, and the West Indies began to take part in Test match programmes and tours the number of Tests increased considerably. However, there were still comparatively few tours compared with modern times and all touring sides made their overseas journeys by ship. After World War II the advent of easy air travel produced much more frequent tours. The addition of four more Test-playing countries has led to cricket becoming a year-round activity, thus imposing big strains on many players.

The oldest “enemies” are Australia and England and a series between them is contested for the Ashes. This funereal trophy resides permanently in the Long Room of the pavilion at Lord’s. The origins are an apt footnote to the esoteric nature of cricket. In August 1882 (at the Oval ground, London) Australia beat England in England for the first time. The following mock “obituary” notice appeared in the Sporting Times (August 29, 1882):

Later that year Ivo Bligh took an English team to Australia where the Englishmen won two of the three “test matches” and two ladies presented him with an urn containing ashes, which he brought back.

During the English tour of Australia in 1932-1933 relationships between the two countries were put under considerable strain by what was called “bodyline” bowling by the English fast bowlers, Harold Larwood and Bill Voce. They bowled persistently fast and short at the Australians to a packed leg-side field. The affair caused much anger and resentment and the tour was later dubbed the “bodyline tour”.

IV

Modern Game

The fortunes of the main Test-playing nations have fluctuated, with Australia and England both having periods of dominance. During the 1970s and 1980s India and Pakistan became progressively stronger, and from the 1960s onwards the West Indies produced increasingly formidable teams. With powerful batting line-ups and an apparently inexhaustible supply of outstanding fast bowlers they enjoyed a long period of ascendancy during the 1980s and early 1990s, and were almost unbeatable in the Caribbean. Since the late 1990s Australia has been the dominant team. South Africa was excluded from Test cricket from 1970 to 1992 because of its practice of apartheid. New Zealand and Sri Lanka have produced several outstanding cricketers, perhaps the most notable being Sir Richard Hadlee of New Zealand and Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka. The other major Test-playing countries are Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

The main competition in England is the County Championship. The first recorded inter-county match was held in 1709 between Kent and Surrey, and the first county to be acclaimed as champions was Sussex, in 1827. A county championship system was established in 1864 (the year in which overarm bowling was legalized) but it was not until 1890 that the County Championship was officially recognized and a points system introduced. A two divisional system was introduced for the 2000 season. There is also a Minor County Championship for those counties that do not belong to the first-class County Championship. The second elevens of many of the first-class counties formerly played in it. This championship was inaugurated in 1895 and officially recognized in 1901. Finally, there are the Friends Provident Trophy (formerly known as the Cheltenham & Gloucester and also sponsored by other organizations in its history), the now defunct Benson & Hedges Cup (last competed for in 2002), the National League, a one-day competition split into two divisions, and the Twenty20 Cup.

In Australia, the annual inter-state first-class competition was previously contested for the Sheffield Shield, a trophy bought with money donated by the third Earl of Sheffield. It was begun in 1891. The original three states, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, were joined by Queensland in 1926, Western Australia in 1947, and Tasmania in 1977. From 1983 onwards the Shield winner was determined by a final between the two top teams. The Sheffield Shield was replaced by the Pura Cup from the 1999-2000 season. A one-day championship, the ING Cup, was instituted in 2001 to supersede the Mercantile Mutual Cup. It was in turn replaced by the Ford Ranger One-Day Cup in 2005. More recently, a Twenty20 competition was inaugurated.

In New Zealand the counterpart first-class competition was the Plunket Shield (presented by Lord Plunket, Governor-General of New Zealand), which was run on a challenge basis from 1906 to 1921 and then annually on a league basis from 1921 to 1975. From that year the provincial competition was sponsored by Shell and the trophy was known as the Shell Trophy. Its successor was the State Championship. The one-day championship is known as the State Shield and a Twenty20 competition started in 2005-2006.

In South Africa the equivalent first-class championship, first contested in 1889, was the Currie Cup, presented by Sir Donald Currie. After 1990 it was known as the Castle Cup. The competition’s format was changed once more to the SuperSport Series for the 1996-1997 season. The country’s one-day tournament is the Standard Bank Cup; the Twenty20 tournament is the Standard Bank Pro20 Series.

In the West Indies the Shell Shield was the trophy for the inter-island competition from 1965 to 1987. Thereafter it was the Red Stripe Cup (1987-1997), the President’s Cup (1997-1998), and the Busta Cup (1998-2002) before being renamed the Carib Beer Cup. From 1893 to 1939 there was a triangular Inter-Colonial tournament, and after World War II other tournaments prior to the Shell Shield. Like other Test-playing nations the West Indies recently introduced a Twenty20 domestic competition.

In India, the Ranji Trophy is the title of the annual inter-state competition. It was instituted in 1934 in memory of the great Indian batsman K. S. Ranjitsinhji. Bombay (Mumbai) was the dominant side from 1935 to 1985. The Duleep Trophy was inaugurated in 1961-1962 and is contested by five zonal teams (West, East, North, South, and Central). The current one-day cricket competition is the Deodhar Trophy, again based on a zonal system.

Pakistan’s major national first-class championship is named after Mohammad Ali Jinnah who was known as Quaid-e-Azam (Great Leader), hence the title Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Another competition, the Pentangular Cup, has been played at intervals since the 1970s. ABN-AMRO sponsors various one-day competitions, including a Twenty20 tournament.

In Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh there are club, district, and league competitions run on similar lines. The International Cricket Council (ICC) recognizes 33 Associate members and at a lower level a further 58 Affiliate members. In Europe, where the European Cricket Championship was inaugurated in 1993, the main cricket playing sides are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jersey, Netherlands, and Scotland, in all of which there are active league and club organizations. The same applies to Africa where Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia are members. In Canada there are numerous senior teams playing in leagues, while in the United States there is a Major Cricket League. The game is also played to a good standard in Argentina, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Fiji, Hong Kong S. A. R., Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.

Much cricket round the world consists of limited-overs competitions, with matches played over a full day or a half day. This form of the game came into being in 1963 in England with the Gillette Cup knockout tournament. Such a competition was the result of waning interest in three-day county cricket and serious financial problems. It was a great success and was in due course followed by the John Player League, instituted in 1969 (a limited-over competition played on Sunday afternoons), and then the Benson & Hedges Cup (1972-2002). The first-ever one-day international match was played at Melbourne in January 1971 between Australia and England. Thereafter one-day internationals began to proliferate and became a part of the fixture list for all touring sides from the main Test-playing nations. The popularity of these encounters led to the creation of the World Cup. This was first staged in England in 1975 and contested by six Test-playing nations plus Sri Lanka and East Africa. These were originally 60-overs per side matches. The World Cup is held every four years. There is also the World Series Cup contested annually since 1979-1980 in Australia between the home country and two other teams, at 50 overs per innings (previously sponsored by Benson & Hedges it is now known as the VB Series).

An important development in England from the 1960s was the registration of overseas players in county sides. From 1968 registration was made easier by a dispensation that allowed a county to engage one overseas player on immediate registration. By the 1970s a large number of overseas players (many from the West Indies, India, and Pakistan) were in English county cricket. An increasing number of overseas players also went into League cricket and the experience gained under English conditions was much to their advantage.

Further significant developments took place in the 1999 season following concerns about the attractiveness and competitiveness of cricket in England's four main competitions. As part of a restructuring of the county game, points awarded for a draw in the County Championship were increased to encourage teams to play to the finish of matches rather than conceding defeat before their conclusion. A further innovation, the Twenty20 Cup, was inaugurated in 2003 in England, a shortened version of the game of 20 overs per side with many day/night matches. The format has now spread around the world and culminated in a Twenty20 World Cup held in South Africa in September 2007.

League cricket began in the 1880s in Yorkshire and became established in the north of England and the Midlands. There is also a South Wales League (begun in 1926). Many first-class cricketers began their careers in the leagues and a number have become league professionals on retirement. A number of very famous Test players have been involved. Matches last a single innings and take place in the course of a day or an afternoon.