History:
Popularized by the English and Irish, the game's origins stretch back to the 700s along the Pakistan-India border -- the birthplace of the bat. Italian monks, traveling the East on missions, brought the bat-and-ball game to Europe in the 9th century. Nine hundred years later, English gentry took the game to New York and Boston.
Baseball, as it is played today, grew out of cricket in the 1800s. Kids in urban areas modified cricket to allow for more participants and faster games (a game of cricket can last for days.) The Yankees introduced the new game to their Southern adversaries during the Civil War.
Gaining a Foothold in the States
Ten thousand cricket players in the U.S. sounds like a large contingent. Only about 1,700 men play professional football, and fewer still play pro basketball (465, give or take a Michael Jordan like un-retirement ;-) ). Why don't more people know about cricket?
One major hurdle is exposure. Better pony up the pay-per-view dollars if you want to watch a match. Another hurdle is the language barrier. A majority of the players in the US are foreign-born South East Asians. Imagine a passer-by trying to figure out what's going on when players are shouting strategy in Hindi.
| Cricket in American Baseball terms |
- Cricket fields have two bases (instead of four) signified by three sticks in the ground called wickets. Kids in New York replaced the wickets with bases.
- A batsman in cricket runs between the bases like a hitter in baseball. However, in cricket, there are two batsmen, one at each base. If the hitting batsman runs, they both run, trading places.
- A batsman does not have to run after a hit. He can chose when to run.
- Cricket games have innings. But only two. Each team goes through its entire order (or 10 outs) one time.
- Cricket bats are flat and crooked. Kids in Boston, New York and Philadelphia started using bats (probably broom sticks) because of more immediate availability.
- Every time a batsman successfully makes it to the opposite wickets, he scores a run.
- A cricket bowler is analogous to a baseball pitcher. The bowler throws overhand but keeps his arm completely straight. He also intentionally bounces the ball off the ground in front of the batsman.
- If a bowler strikes a wicket, or a fielder catches the ball before it hits the ground, the batsman is out. Cricket fielders don't wear gloves, and some bowlers can throw even at 100 miles per hour (a few others bowl at the same speed ;-) )!
- A batsman can hit the ball in any direction. No foul territory, no out of bounds. A home-run is worth 6 runs and the batsman continues to play.
- Bowlers alternate after six pitches until they either reach 300 pitches, combined, or 10 outs. Further, each bowler can't have more than 60 legal pitches per match.
Feel free to let your creativity flow in the comments section and add on to this write-up. There is a fair chance, I might credit you and edit the blog. So, please do let me know who you are than being anon.
P.S: I have tried sticking to explaining only the basics of ODI (One Day International, for the uninitiated) for now, because I realize, even many in the Indian sub-continent (assumed to be land of 'experts' when it comes to this game) don't actually understand and/or appreciate the beautiful part of the wonderful game - Test Matches. :-)
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