Cricket
Photo: Punch Magazine, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Cricket is a bat and ball game played by two teams of eleven people, on a large oval field with the action focussed on the pitch in the centre. Speedy it is not: depending on the format, a game can last from 90 minutes to what feels like the rest of your life.
Cricket originated in England and suffuses its culture and language, even among those who never go near a game. "Have a good innings", "hit for six", "bowl a googly", "sticky wicket", "it's just not cricket": the list of cricket metaphors in the speech of playing nations is almost as long as that of nautical metaphors. Many English novels have scenes based around matches, or earnest debates about cricket: the comic Flashman's Lady describes the game as played in the 1840s. PG Wodehouse's character Jeeves, manservant to Bertie Wooster, was modeled on the elegant Warwickshire cricketer Percy Jeeves, lost at the Battle of the Somme. Go to a game anywhere, but especially in the land of its birth, for a fascinating and sometimes unsettling view into the psyche of the English-speaking world.
UnderstandIt's a funny kind of month, October. For the really keen cricket fan, it's when you discover that your wife left you in May.
Going to the gameTest matches may sell out; you're unlikely to have difficulty getting tickets for other games, and at midweek lower-tier games your arrival may boost attendance into double figures.
Major playing countriesCricket originated in medieval times in the southeast of England, where the grass was cropped short by sheep-grazing. The ball was thrown at the wicket-gate of the sheep pen, and defended by a shepherd's crook.
ODI countriesEight countries form a second tier, playing One Day Internationals (50 overs) and T20 matches against full members and each other, but not Tests.
Other countries88 other countries play cricket on an organised basis within the framework of the ICC. They don't routinely play the higher-tier countries, but are eligible for qualifying rounds of major tournaments.
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Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Cricket" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Punch Magazine, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons