HISTORY OF CRICKET

 

A rudimentary form of the sport can be traced back to the 12th century. Written evidence exists for a sport known as creag being played by Prince Edward, the son of Edward I, in England in around 1300. In 1598 there was a reference to the sport of cricket being played by boys at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford. This is generally considered to be the first mention of cricket in the English language.

 

A number of words are thought to be possible sources for the term cricket. The name may derive from a term for the cricket bat: old French criquet (meaning a kind of club) or Flemishkrick(e) (meaning a stick) or in old English cricc or cryce (meaning a crutch or staff). Alternatively, the French criquet apparently derives from the Flemish word krickstoel, which is a long low stool on which one kneels in church and which resembles the long low wicket with two stumps used in early cricket.

 

From the mid-17th to the 18th century, cricket transformed from being a children's game to one played by men for bets. Originally played with only two stumps and a single, long bail, Sevenoaks Vine C.C. established a third stump and second bail (folklore suggests that a certain bowler continuously bowled the ball through the middle of the stumps, but due to the speed nobody could tell for sure).

 

Old Coulsdon hosted the first ever cricket match with three stumps and two bails. The Coulsdon and Caterham Team were a pretty confident bunch, laying out a bullish all-comers challenge in 1731 to beat any 11 men in England. Around 1750, a cricket club was formed in Hambledon, Hampshire. In 1788, the Marylebone Cricket Club framed the first set of rules to govern matches played between English counties.