History

Cricket started out as a game played by children,but expanded to become a betting game and where rich aristocrats were involved,the wagers could be large.The earliest laws were drawn up in that context,to help regulate a game on which large sums of money were being staked.

The earliest exiting code of cricket was drawn up by certain ''noblemen and gentlemen''who used the Artillery Ground in London in 1744.In 1755 there is further reference to the laws being revised by several cricket clubs, particularly the star and garter in pall mall followed by a revision of the laws by a committee of noblemen and gentlemen in 1774.

A printed form of the laws was published in 1775 and a further revision to the laws was undertaken by a similar body in 1786.

However,these laws were not universally followed,with different games played under different guidance on 30 may 1788,the MCC which had been formed by the leading noblemen and gentlemen playing the game just 1 year before,produced its first code of laws.

The next major change was in 1809 and saw the further standardisation of the weight of the ball from between 5 and 6 ounces to between 5.5 to 5.75 ounces.

The width of the cricket bat was standardised for first time.

The length of stumps was increased from 22 to 24 inches and bails from 6 to 7 inches.In 1829 the length of stumps increased from 24 to 27 inches and length of the bails was increased from 7 to 8 inches.

A new laws was approved by the MCC committee on 19 may 1835 and another on 21 April 1884.

In 1947 a new code was approved by the MCC on May 7Th.In 1979 after a number of minor revisions of the code 1947,a new code was approved at an MCC special general meeting on 21 November.In 1992 a second edition of the 1980 code was produced.In 2000 a new code which for the first time included a preamble defining the spirit of cricket was approved on May 3rd.In 2003 a second version of the code 2000.

Throwing was first regulated in laws produced in 1829.

In 1864 overarm bowling was permitted for the first time.

In 1889,the length of an over increased from 4 balls to 5 balls.

In 1900 the length of an over was increased to 6 balls.

In 1922 variation was allowed in the length of the over.

In 1947 the length of an over was to be 6 or 8 balls.

Dismissals

There are 10 ways in which batsman can be dismissed.Before the umpire will award a dismissal and declare the batsman to be out,a member of the fielding side must appeal.This is invariably done by asking the term HOWZAT? Which means How is that?

Bowled-The bowler has hit the wicket with the ball and the wicket has broken with at least one bail being dislodged.

Caught-The batsman has hit the ball with his bat or with his hand,and the ball has been caught before it has touched the ground by a member of the fielding side.

Leg Before Wicket-First and foremost,the ball must,in the opinion of the on-field umpire,be going on to hit the stumps if the ball had not hit the pad of the batsman first .If the batsman plays an attempted shot to the delivery,then the ball must hit the batsman's pad in line with the stumps and be going on to hit the stumps for the batsman to be given out.If the ball pitches outside the leg stump then the batsman cannot be given out.

Run out-A member of the fielding side has put down the wicket with the ball while the batsman was out of his ground.

Stumped is similar except that it is done by the wicketkeeper after the batsman has missed the bowled ball and has stepped out of his ground.

Hit wicket-A batsman is out hit wicket,if he dislodges bails with his bat.

Hit the ball twice is very unusual and was introduced as a safety measure to counter dangerous play and protect the fielders.The batsman may legally play the ball 2nd time only to stop the ball hitting the wicket after he has already played it.

Obstructed the field-Which tends to involve a batsman deliberately getting in the way of a fielder.

Handeld the ball-The bowled ball often hits the batsman's hand while it is holding the bat but it is not out;though he can of cource be caught of his hand.

Timed out-The next batsman did not arrive at the wicket within 3 minutes of the pree being dismissed.

Fielding

All 11 players on the fielding side take the field together.One of them is the wicket-keeper.Apart from the one currently bowling, the other 9 fielders are tactically deploped by the team captain in chosen positions around the field.These positions are not fixed but they are known by colourful names such as silly mid on,third man,fine leg etc.

In all forms cricket,if a fielder gets injured,a substitute is allowed to field instead of him.

Indian Cricket

The 1st record we have of cricket being played in India is from 1721, an account of recreational cricked played by English sailors Cambay.The 1st Indian club,the Calcutta Cricket Club was established in 1792. Through the 18Th century,cricket in India was almost wholly a sport played by British military men and civil servants in all white clubs and gymkhanas.

The origins of the Indian cricket are to be found in Bombay(Mumbai) and the first Indian community to start playing the game was the small community of the Parsis.Brought into close contact with the British because of their interest in trade and the first Indian community to westernise,the parsis founded the first Indian cricket club,the oriental cricket club in Bombay(Mumbai) in 1848.Parsi clubs were funded and sponsored by parsi businessmen.The white cricket elite in India offered no help to the enthusiastic parsis.In fact,there was a quarrel between the Bombay(Mumbai) gymkhana,a white only club and parsi cricketers over the use of a public park.The parsis complained that the park was left unfit for cricket because the polo ponies of the Bombay(Mumbai) gymkhana dug up the surface.

When it became clear that the colonial authorities were prejudiced in favour of their white compatriots,the parsis built their own gymkhana to play cricket in.The rivalry between the parsis and the Bombay(Mumbai) gymkhana had a happy ending for these pioneers of Indian cricket.Parsi team beat the Bombay(Mumbai) gymkhana at cricket in 1889,just 4 years after the foundation of the Indian national congress in 1885,an organisation that was lucky to have amongst its early leaders the great parsi statesman and intellectual Dadabhai Naroji.

India entered the world of test cricket in 1932,a decade and a half before it become an Independent nation.This was possible because test cricket from its origins in 1877 was organised as a contest between different parts of the British empire, not sovereign nations.

The 1st test was played between England and Australia when Australia was still a white-settler colony.

First Laws of Cricket

The first written laws of cricket were drawn up in 1744.They stated,"the principals shall choose from amongst the gentleman present two umpires who shall absolutely decide all disputes."

The stumps must be 22 inches high and the ball across them six inches.The ball must be between 5 and 6 ounces.

The two sets of stumps 22 yards apart.

The world's 1st cricket club was formed in Hambledon in the 1760 and the MCC was founded in 1787.

During 1760 and 1770,it became common to the pitch the ball through the air rather than roll it along the ground.This change gave bowlers the options of length,deception through the air,plus increased pase.It also opened new possibilities for swing and spin.

One immediate result was the replacement of the curved Bat with the straight Bat.

The weight of the ball was limited to between 5 1/2 to 5 3/4 ounces,and the width of the Bat to 4 inches.

In 1774,the first leg-before law was published.

Also around the time, a third stump become common.By 1780, 3 days had become the length of a major match and this year also saw the creation of the 1st six seam cricket ball.

About Cricket

Cricket grew out of the many stick-and ball games played in England 500 years ago.The word bat is an old english word that simply means stick or club.By the 17th century,cricket had evolved enough to be recognisable as a distinct game.Till the middle of the 18th century,bat were roughly the same shape as Hockey sticks.

There was a simply reason for this:the ball was bowled Underarm,along the ground and the curve at the end of the Bat gave the batsman the best chance of making contact.

History of the Bat

Curved Bat-C1750
Early Straight Bat-C1774
Little Joey-C1792
E.Bagot,Sky Scraper-C1793
Fuller Pilch's Bat-C1835
W.G. Grace's-C1901
Jack Hobbs Bat-C1930
Early curved Bat-C1720