Cricket - The Most Complicated Sport In The World?

Jan 14
07:17

2013

Jessica J Smith

Jessica J Smith

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1024x768 Despite the huge popularity of cricket in many countries all over the world, many people tend to think of it as a complicated sport with esot...

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Despite the huge popularity of cricket in many countries all over the world,Cricket - The Most Complicated Sport In The World? Articles many people tend to think of it as a complicated sport with esoteric rules that harken back hundreds of years. It is true that the sport does have many more rules than most other sports, although it really isn't that much more difficult than sports such as baseball, with which cricket is often compared. In fact, American football can be said to be somewhat for complicated than cricket in its own way.

The roots of cricket can be traced to 16th century England, the country with which the sport is still most often associated. At the close of the 18th century, cricket had in fact become England’s national sport. With the expansion of the British Empire in the following decades, cricket was introduced to many parts of the world including Australasia, England, India, and Southern Africa.

Although cricket was introduced to North America as well, the sport hasn’t enjoyed as much popularity in the United States as it has in other countries. Nevertheless, the United States was one of the teams in the first international cricket match in 1844. The United States team played against Canada, where the sport is considerably more popular.

There are three basic forms of cricket, although the fundamentals of the game are quite similar. First-class games are played over a period of four days, although this may be extended to five days in certain cases. Some tour matches may be played over a period of three-days only.

There are also List A matches which are played throughout 50 or 40 overs. These series of games may also last over considerably fewer overs depending on the rules of the particular series.  On the lower end of the range are one-day matches, which are generally played for 20 overs and over an 8-hour period.

More recently, the T20 variation of the game was introduced. This cricket variation is played at a maximum of 20 overs for every inning. In some games, the overs can be as few as five for every inning. T20 games typically last for three hours.

Cricket may seem remarkably similar to baseball, and they do have a number of similarities. Nevertheless, there are a number of key differences between both sports. There are 11 players in each of two teams in cricket, with the games played on a field with a 22-yard long rectangular pitch down the center. Each team takes turns batting and fielding. When at bat, the team tries to score as many runs as possible, while the other team attempts to eliminate the batsmen, thereby reducing the other team's chances of scoring. The batsman scores a run by hitting the ball with the bat and then immediately running to the other end of the pitch. The teams switch roles at the end of each inning.

As in all team sports, cricket players are subjected to considerable pressure. However, each player in cricket largely plays independently of the others, further reinforcing the similarity of the sport with baseball.

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