Folks, professional sports are not only soccer, hockey, basketball, and the Olympics. Today, I want to tell you about cricket, an incredibly popular team sport! We will understand what it is, how it emerged and changed, its formats, major tournaments, and much more! If you are superficially familiar with cricket or don’t know anything about it at all, I promise you will be interested! Let’s get on with it.
A Brief History Of Cricket
Talking about cricket, it is impossible not to mention its origin and history. It is believed that cricket appeared in the 13th century on the territory of modern England, although the first mention of it dates back to the 16th century. It started as a children’s game with stones and sticks. By the 17th century, cricket became a proper sport, and it also became popular among the nobility. Serious competitions began to take place, and in 1744, the first official set of rules was created.
Due to English colonizers, cricket spread far beyond the Foggy Albion and became popular in present-day Australia, India, Pakistan, Southern Africa, New Zealand, and other territories. The first international cricket match was played between the United States and Canada in 1844, making it one of the oldest international sporting competitions in the world. It marked a new era in cricket’s development, and that progress was unstoppable.
These days, cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, mainly due to India and Pakistan. In these countries with huge populations, cricket is almost a religion, and 1xbet online betting sites in India are busier than ever.
Popular Formats And Tournaments
Modern cricket offers three main formats of the game: Test Match, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 (T20). Let’s take a look at the differences between them.
In short, it’s all about the number of innings and overs. The more innings and overs there are, the longer the game lasts, requiring more stamina and endurance from the players. Test Cricket is the oldest and longest format, with matches lasting up to 5 days. One Day International is a more intense format, and as the name suggests, the match does not last more than a day. The difference is that in it, each team has only 1 innings limited to 50 overs, whereas in Test Cricket, each team can score runs in two innings. In turn, the T20 has the same number of innings as the ODI, but the number of overs in it is reduced to 20, which makes the games more entertaining while forcing the players to give their best. T20 is also a club format, while the other formats are designed for national team games.
Now, let’s talk about the major tournaments, where all the magic of the sport happens! The main tournament of Test Cricket is undoubtedly The Ashes. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious Test series in cricket, played between England and Australia. The series is held roughly every two years, and these countries take turns hosting the tournament. The name “The Ashes” comes from a humorous obituary of English cricket published after Australia’s first victory on English soil in 1882.
Talking about ODIs, undoubtedly, the main tournament is the Cricket World Cup. Every 4 years, the best teams from all over the world compete against each other for this prestigious title. However, we should not forget about the ICC Champions Trophy. Like the World Cup, it is held under the auspices of the International Cricket Council but is played between a smaller number of teams. It is for its short format and high competition among teams that this tournament has gained huge popularity.
The ICC also organizes the T20 World Cup. Since it was first held in 2007, the T20 World Cup has quickly become one of the most popular and entertaining events in world cricket. The Indian Premier League (IPL) and Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) are the leaders when it comes to club competitions. These leagues are popular all over the world and attract the best athletes to their clubs. On match days, each sports betting app tries to create the widest possible betting line, as this promises big profits.
Conclusion
Cricket is an incredible sporting phenomenon delighting millions of people from all over the globe. I hope it will delight you too. Love sport and cheer for cricket!
