Wherever you happen to go in the world, you are never far away from a game of cricket and have you ever wondered how this amazing sport became a global sensation? Before we attempt to answer this question, we thought we should take a look at the origins of the game of cricket.
The origins of cricket
Cricket is believed to have originated in England in the 14th century, when forest children devised a game what involved hitting a ball with a tree branch that was fashioned into a bat. The ball was likely made from sawdust packed into a bag and the game may have started as a throwing game, rather than hitting the ball. There are written entries stating that sheep farmers collected wool and packed it tightly into a leather ball, which gave it added weight and the game was invented to keep the children amused during the day. If you are looking to take up the game, there are cricket bats for sale from a leading Australian supplier who stocks all the best brands at affordable prices.
The rise of the British Empire
There is no doubt that the British Empire played a major role in bringing cricket to the many Commonwealth countries; at that time, all British aristocracy went to top schools and colleges, where they learned how to play cricket, then they were posted to the many territories under the British Commonwealth umbrella, where they organised cricket teams and created cricket arenas for the game to be played. Of course, the Englishmen schooled the locals and before long, local cricket teams were springing up all over the British Commonwealth. Click here for more useful info about the game of cricket.
National level
As you would expect, the locals really warmed to cricket and small clubs were formed and they began to play each other and before long, there were district leagues and that led to the formation of national cricket squads. In the course of half a century, the Commonwealth embraced cricket at every level, especially here in Australia, where it became a national sport that everyone played.
International level
It didn’t take many years for nations like Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and South Africa to compete at an international level, all competing at the highest level and successfully too! The International Cricket Council (ICC) currently has 104 registered countries as members and the game has never been as popular as it is today; the future looks good for cricket and major countries like the USA and Canada are starting to play the game.
Australian cricket
As you probably know, cricket is extremely popular here in Australia and that doesn’t look like changing anytime soon. There are cricket clubs in just about every town, so getting a game is never going to be an issue.
We hope you now have a better idea of how this old English game became popular all over the world.
