Beginning of international cricket

Cricket is one of the most delightful sports which the people of the world enjoy playing and watching. It is one of the sports which provides great entertainment to the spectators. In the recent years, the subcontinental fans of the sport of cricket have ruled the roost. But before the game began immensely popular in the Indian subcontinent, it was the West Indians, the English and the Australians fans who had a large role to play in thedevelopment of the game. 

The beginning of international cricket could be traced back to the middle of the 19th century. The information on start of international cricket is what you would find here. The details of beginning of international cricket and about cricket are provided below.

The first international match played in the sport of cricket included the countries United States of America and Canada. It was in the year 1844, that this match was played in New Jersey. That was the beginning of international cricket. But both the countries have been unable to popularize the game at home. Canada has been more successful in that respect, since it has been able to qualify for the cricket world cup on more occasions than one. Cricket in the United States of America is slowly getting popular. But it is largely seen as a poor cousin of baseball, the national sport of the country. 

The first ever international test match was played between the countries of England and Australia in the year 1877. The match was won by the Australian team by 45 runs. This was followed by another Australian test victory by 8 runs in the year 1882. That was the time when the term Ashes originated and was subsequently used to refer to all the test series between the 2 countries which followed. In the year 1971, the first ODI was held and 4 years later, the first ODI world cup. The first 20-20 international game was held in the year 2005. These are some of the details about beginning of international cricket. 

ICC and the World Cricket

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the official regulating body and supreme authority of the game of cricket. Set up as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from the then cricket-playing nations England, South Africa and Australia, it was given its present name in 1989. All the laws and playing conditions About Cricket are laid down under the ICC Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct is adhered to by players, match officials and anybody attached to the cricket administration of any country. When it comes to ICC and the World Cricket, the first noticeable thing is that ICC is now a rapidly growing body with 101 member countries. There are 10 full members that have been given the status of official test playing nations. There are also 33 associate members and 58 affiliated members forming the structure of ICC. Headquartered at the historic Lord's Cricket Ground in England, ICC has also offices in Monaco and Dubai. ICC and the World Cricket comes to its full swing when a Cricket World Cup is organized in every 4 years' time. This tournament is officially the biggest ODI cricket tournament in which all the test playing nations and a few other associated members participate. Key administrative aspects of ICC and the World Cricket Apart from orchestrating the World Cup, various ODI tournaments, Test matches and recently introduced Twenty20 Internationals, ICC and the World Cricket recruits the match officials such as umpires and match referees. It also approves new cricketing venues suitable for organizing international cricket matches. The laws of cricket, which are copyrighted only to the MCC, have been made considerably flexible nowadays especially with the emergence of One Day Cricket and Twenty20 Internationals. If it requires a change in the laws, the respective committee from the MCC generally talks to ICC before officially declaring any alteration. Reacting to the match-fixing scandals involving top cricketers, ICC established an Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) in 2000.

Cricket in the 20th Century

As compared all other sports in which the contemporary world engages them, the game of Cricket has a rich history. The modern form of cricketplayed worldwide, has come out of different stages of development. Since it is widely believed that Cricket civilizes people and creates good gentlemen more and more enthusiasts enrolled themselves in the sport. After cricket had already gone through various developments in the 19th century, it stepped into the 20th century with the hope of modernizing it further. Cricket in the 20th Century saw various new rules and innovations which helped the game of cricket to be more interesting. The booming period in the Cricketing History was the first two decades of the 20th century, except the years of 1st World war. Cricket in the 20th Century is remarkable for numerous developments which took place almost throughout the century. The20th Century Cricket has witnessed the golden years of the game, including the cricketing records of Bradman, Hutton and Garfield Sobers. The initial years of the 20th century also saw the memorable bodyline series and the bowling controversies. Most of the precious moments which the cricket lovers can boast of about Cricket have come from this epoch. After departing from the early stages of Cricket, the Cricket in the 20th Century has gifted some nice memories to the cricket lovers all over the world. Ranging from the 1947 Summer of Compton and Edrich to the advent of the world Cup, everything took place during this prolific era of cricket. The combination of some great players and memorable matches make it a historic age for the Cricket. Some reputed players like, Lindwall and Miller, Alec and Eric Bedser, Dexter, etc which will be ever remembered in the history of Cricket. The suspension of South Africa from International cricket (1971 to 1981), starting of first limited overinternational match in 1971 are some of the major events that 20th century witnessed.

Beginning and Growth of Test Cricket

The Test cricket is known to be the dignified version of the game. Since the history of Cricket the cricketing world has witnessed the development of Test Cricket much before the advent of the One Day matches. The cricketers believed that One day cricket is an exhibition and Test cricket is an examination. The English who have first invented this game of Cricket has discovered this mode of the game. While you look to know about the Beginning and Growth of Test Cricket, it will be worthy to know that the name “Test” has come from the idea that the matches are a “test of strength” between the sides involved. 

The term was first used to describe an English team that toured Australia in 1861-62.

Test cricket is known to be the longest form of the sport of cricket which tests the patience and strength of the players, which were highly popular during the initial stages of development. Much of the fame and glory about Cricket owes its reputation to the Test Cricket. Beginning and Growth of Test Cricket has its trace in the period 1877 to 1883, when the matches were played between England and Australia. Growth of Test Cricket started when Test cricket between 1884 and 1889 between Australia and England got much popularity. Since the first Test Match was played on 15 March 1877, it gradually developed into a world’s game. 

With the growing popularity of these matches, countries like, India, West Indies and New Zealand became Test nations and became the members of the Imperial Cricket Conference founded in 1909. The Beginning and Growth of Test Cricket was evident in the fact that during the first half of the 20th century and in the later stages, countries like, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh joined the lists of test playing nations. Test cricket remained the most popular form of the sport throughout the 20th century and its reign continues till the 21st century. 

THE VIEW BEYOND 1700

Cricket, however, still has a long way to go, after 1700.
It is, at this time, a very rowdy sport...riots and mayhem following cricket matches are not uncommon, and a great deal of money is being squandered in side bets, win-or-lose prizes, and the like.Unfortunately, the "sponsors" of cricket, the post-Cavaliers, are aiding and abetting the mayhem by their profligacy in throwing money and liquor around cricket venues.
The Church of those times may very well have had a point.
It took another 80 years for the "gentlemen" of the day to agree on a set of rules and finally, in 1789, publish the Laws of Cricket which marks the dawn of "modern cricket"...the cricket that we know, play and are used to...which still govern the sport today.
By 1700, however chaotic and rowdy the cricket matches of the day might have been, the sport is beginning to look like modern cricket. See the 1704 ruleselsewhere on this Web site, and you can verify this for yourself.

CRICKET GOES PUBLIC: 1600-1700 AD

When Oliver Cromwell was accused in the 1650s of being a "secret cricketter", the Father of the English Republic indignantly denied any connection with the sport. His supporters, the Puritans, were especially opposed to cricket, and thundered against it from their pulpits.
Cricket continued to be played, of course, but not in London or the main cities....it was exiled to the countryside, where it drew the attention of those other exiles, the royalist Cavaliers, the "gentlemen" who had suported the monarchy and were biding their time until the Puritan experiment with a non-monarchical Republic had failed.This happened when the Restoration of 1688 brought the monarchy back to England, swept the Puritans away, and brought back the Cavaliers into power. Cricket came back with them from exile, and at last acquired a metropolitan respectability of sorts. The Cavaliers were now cricket's official patrons, and publicly supported and sponsored the game. Certainly, after this time, more and more cricket is heard of; the protests of the Church grow increasingly plaintive, and finally cease altogether. It appears that, by 1700, cricket is finally there to stay.

CRICKET'S SECRET REVIVAL:1500-1600 AD

The 16th and 17th centuries saw cricket being described, played and mentioned....indeed, the modern name of the game, i.e. crickett or crickette, is dated from those times. No longer is there talk of fines, imprisonments or confiscation of lands, or equipment.....those penalties, if they had ever been enforced, are no longer mentioned.
The nature of the game had also changed a bit by 1500 AD.
The 12th century baseball-type bat was replaced by crooked bats, shaped like oversized hockey sticks. And now there were TWO two-stick wickets, each topped by a single oversized "bail", twenty-two yards apart from each other...a distance that is to prevail for 500 years! Each set of "wickets" was constructed over a hole into which the bat had to be "popped" by a runner before a fielder could "pop" the ball in it...from this comes the modern expression, "popping crease".
From the 1500s to the late 1800s,The pitcher/bowler typically threw under-arm, although round- and even over-arm throwing was employed. In the 1500s, there were no "boundaries"; runs (called "notches" then) were scored by running--- between the bases.
Fielding formations, through the 1600s and even the 1700s, were "elongated" compared to today's cricket. There were fewer square fielders likemidwicket or cover, more "long" ones like long stop, long on or long off(including "backstops" to cover for wicket-keepers who were not as well-protected as today!)
Scoring rates were low in the 1500s, because pitchers/bowlers were able to use the uneven grounds of those days to devastating effect---trick bounces, called "shooters", were a common feature. In fact, "pitching the wickets" (from where we get today's term "pitch" to describe the ground beween the sticks) was considered quite an art...to have the right bumps and soft spots to throw at could be a key to pitching/bowling success in those days!
All this would suggest a popular game, with considerable room for entertainment and strategy. However, "crickett(e)" was considered such a disreputable activity that only idlers, gamblers and dissolute characters would be seen as playing it....Moral tomes were issued, dire threats of damnation were circulated, and church pulpits echoed with vitriolic denunciations of the sport. Indeed, the years during which cricket had been an "illegal" activity had left its mark on the pastime, and many of those who had continued playing in secret did have less than impeccable moral antecendents. Still, more and more people were playing "crickett" every year, and the Church's protests increasingly fell on deaf years.