The story of cricket - class-VIII

Cricket was introduced to India by the British, and the first cricket clubs were established in Bombay (now Mumbai) by the British and later by local communities.

Cricket has its origins in England which have colonized India for almost 200 years. During these years British influenced Indians in many ways and one of them is cricket. Cricket was brought to India by the British rulers. In the beginning, the game was played amongst the British nationals. Later it struck deep roots in the Indian soil as a result of the patronage extended to it by the ruling class and the princely households. Cricket also gave rise to nationalistic feelings as Indians were not allowed to play autonomously and were a part of the team of the Great Britain.

The Parsis were the first Indian community to take up cricket, forming the Oriental Cricket Club in Bombay in 1848.

Cricket is a colonial game that originated in England and was spread to colonies like India, making both statements true and the second statement a direct explanation for the first.

The rich were amateurs for two reasons. One, they considered sport a kind of leisure. To play for the pleasure of playing and not for money was an aristocratic value. Two, there was not enough money in the game for the rich to be interested. The poor who played it for a living were called professionals. 

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787. In 1788, the MCC published its first revision of the laws and became the guardian of cricket’s regulations.

The length of the pitch is specified – 22 yards – but the size or shape of the ground is not.

Cricket’s most important tools are all made of natural, pre-industrial materials. The bat is made of wood as are the stumps and the bails. The ball is made with leather, twine and cork. Even today both bat and ball are handmade.

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787. In 1788, the MCC published its first revision of the laws and became the guardian of cricket’s regulations. The MCC’s revision of the laws brought in a series of changes in the game that occurred in the second half of the eighteenth century. 

It consists of two pieces, the blade which is made out of the wood of the willow tree and the handle which is made out of cane. Unlike golf and tennis, cricket has refused to remake its tools with industrial or man-made materials: plastic, fibreglass and metal have been firmly rejected.  Australian cricketer Dennis Lillee tried to play an innings with an aluminium bat, only to have it outlawed by the umpires. 

Cricket’s connection with a rural past can be seen in the length of a Test match. Originally, cricket matches had no time limit. The game went on for as long as it took to bowl out a side twice. In the same way, cricket’s vagueness about the size of a cricket ground is a result of its village origins. Cricket was originally played on country commons, unfenced land that was public property. 

Nearly 500 years ago, cricket developed in rural England out of several
stick and ball games. Till the 18^th century, cricket bats were
curved like hockey sticks. The game was originally played on unfenced land in
English villages with no defined boundaries.

The MCC’s revision of the laws brought in a series of changes in the game that occurred in the second half of the eighteenth century. The weight of the ball was limited to between 5½  to 5¾ ounces, and the width of the bat to four inches. 

 The early history of Indian first class cricket, teams were not organised on geographical principles and it was not till 1932 that a national team was given the right to represent India in a Test match. Cricket in colonial India was organised on the principle of race and religion. 

 When the West Indies won its first Test series against England in 1950, it was celebrated as a national achievement, as a way of demonstrating that West Indians were the equals of white Englishmen. 

Len Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.  It was not till the 1930s that the English Test team was led by a professional, the Yorkshire batsman, Len Hutton.

While British imperial officials brought the game to the colonies, they made little effort to spread the game, especially in colonial territories where the subjects of empire were mainly non-white, such as India and the West Indies. The Afro-Caribbean population was discouraged from participating in organised club cricket, which remained dominated by white plantation owners and their servants. 

The first record we have of cricket being played in India is from 1721, an account of recreational cricket played by English sailors in Cambay.  The first Indian club, the Calcutta Cricket Club, was established in 1792. Through the eighteenth century, cricket in India was almost wholly a sport played by British military men and civil servants in all-white clubs and gymkhanas. 

 The first Indian community to start playing the game was the small community of Zoroastrians, the Parsis. They came in close contact with the British because of their interest in trade. Also, Parsis were the first ones to westernise themselves. The Parsis founded the first Indian cricket club, the Oriental Cricket Club in Bombay in 1848.

 In these colonies, cricket was established as a popular sport either by white settlers (as in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies and Kenya) or by local elites who wanted to copy the habits of their colonial masters, as in India.

Having been played by the gardeners of rich aristocratic families at the end of the 19th century - at which time Vienna Cricket and Football Club was founded, cricket disappeared in Austria until after the Second World War, when it was played by British occupying troops on a recreational basis.

India entered the world of Test cricket in 1932, a decade and a half before it became an independent nation. This was possible because Test cricket from its origins in 1877 was organised as a contest between different parts of the British empire, not sovereign nations. 

The Club was founded as the Calcutta Cricket Club Clippers by British immigrants who had come over with the British East India Company. It is known to have been in existence by 1792.

The Calcutta Cricket Club, one of the oldest cricket clubs in the world outside of England, was established in 1792.

Palwankar Baloo was a brilliant bowler and a key figure in Indian cricket history, but he was denied the captaincy primarily due to the social discrimination he faced as a Dalit.

The first Cricket World Cup, officially known as the Prudential Cup, was held in England in 1975.

According to the Laws of Cricket, the stumps must be 28 inches high above the ground.

Learie Constantine was a famous cricketer and politician from Trinidad and Tobago, which is part of the West Indies.

The Adelaide Oval is a historic and iconic cricket ground located in Adelaide, Australia.

Eton College is a world-famous boarding school in England. It is historically significant for its role in the development of many sports, including cricket.

According to the Laws of Cricket, the weight of a standard cricket ball must be between 5.5 and 5.75 ounces (approximately 155.9 to 163 grams). The range of 5 to 6 ounces is the standard approximation used in general knowledge contexts.

The Oriental Cricket Club, the first Indian cricket club, was founded in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1848 by the Parsi community.

The Parsi community in Bombay was the first Indian community to take up cricket, leading to the formation of the Oriental Cricket Club in 1848.

India played its first official Test match in 1932 against England at Lord's, marking its entry into the international Test arena.

The question is likely referring to the historical context of sports in colonial India. Polo is an ancient game that originated in the Indian subcontinent and was later adopted and formalized by the British.

The weight of the ball was limited to between 5½  to 5¾ ounces, and the width of the bat to four inches. In 1774, the first leg-before law was published. Also around this time, a third stump became common. By 1780, three days had become the length of a major match, and this year also saw the creation of the first six-seam cricket ball.

Success at cricket became a measure of racial equality and political progress.  At the time of their independence many of the political leaders of Caribbean countries like Forbes Burnham and Eric Williams saw in the game a chance for self-respect and international standing. 

Kerry Packer was an Australian media tycoon who revolutionized cricket in the 1970s by launching World Series Cricket, which introduced colored clothing and night matches.

Cricket boards significantly increased their revenue by selling exclusive television broadcasting rights to media companies, which allowed the sport to reach a massive global audience.

The rich were amateurs for two reasons. One, they considered sport a kind of leisure. To play for the pleasure of playing and not for money was an aristocratic value. Two, there was not enough money in the game for the rich to be interested.

Originally, cricket matches had no time limit. The game went on for as long as it took to bowl out a side twice. Cricket was originally played on country commons, unfenced land that was public property. Cricket’s most important tools are all made of natural, pre-industrial materials. The bat is made of wood as are the stumps and the bails. The ball is made with leather, twine and cork. Even today both bat and ball are handmade, not industrially manufactured. 

The organisation of cricket in England reflected the nature of English society. The rich who could afford to play it for pleasure were called amateurs and the poor who played it for a living were called professionals.  The game was seasonal and did not offer employment the year round. Most professionals worked as miners or in other forms of working class employment in winter, the off-season. 

The Bombay Pentangular was a famous cricket tournament in colonial India played between teams representing different religious and ethnic communities.

Cricket was spread by the British Empire to various colonies, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies, and Kenya, becoming popular in all these regions.

Cricket originated in the south-east of England, with early references dating back to the 16th century.

 The first Indian community to start playing the game was the small community of Zoroastrians, the Parsis. The white cricket elite in India offered no help to the enthusiastic Parsis. In fact, there was a quarrel between the Bombay Gymkhana, a whites-only club, and Parsi cricketers over the use of a public park. The Parsis complained that the park was left unfit for cricket because the polo ponies of the Bombay Gymkhana dug up the surface. When it became clear that the colonial authorities were prejudiced in favour of their white compatriots, the Parsis built their own gymkhana to play cricket in.

India played its inaugural Test match against England in 1932, marking its official entry into international Test cricket.

The first Cricket World Cup, known as the Prudential Cup, was held in England in 1975.

The Ranji Trophy is India's premier first-class cricket tournament, where teams represent various regional associations rather than religious or ethnic groups.

In colonial India, especially in tournaments like the Bombay Pentangular, cricket was organized along the lines of race and religious communities (e.g., Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Europeans).

Cricket was promoted by the British as a tool to instill values of fair play, discipline, and sportsmanship, which were considered essential to the 'English gentleman' ideal.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) moved its headquarters from Lord's in London to Dubai in 2005.

Cricket was primarily exported to and adopted by countries that were part of the British Empire, often referred to as British colonies.

The first official Test match was played between Australia and England in 1877. Therefore, 1977 marked the centenary of Test cricket.

Reverse swing is a bowling technique popularized by Pakistani bowlers like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis, which significantly changed the game.

Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in the late 1970s was instrumental in introducing and popularizing the format of One-Day Internationals.

First cricket club in India was Calcutta cricket club. It was established in the year 1792. India’s national cricket team played only in 1932 at Lords. It was established by British colonies.

The colonial sport that was condemned by Gandhi was Pentangular tournament which was a cricket tournament, played based on communal divisions during British rule in India. Gandhi condemned this tournament because it caused communal differences among Indians instead of unity which was Gandhi’s main weapon to achieve freedom. The communal teams contained in this cricket were the Europeans, the Parsis, the Hindus, Muslims and the rest of other communities were included under fifth team.

The colonial sport that was condemned by Gandhi, S.A. Barelvi, AFS Talyarkhan was Pentangular tournament which was a cricket tournament, played based on communal divisions during British rule in India. Gandhi condemned this tournament because it caused communal differences among Indians instead of unity which was Gandhi’s main weapon to achieve freedom.

A cricket ball is made up of cork covered by leather. The ball is layered and tightly wound with string or twine. The circumference of ball ranges from 224mm to 229mm in men’s cricket. 

Gymkhana is usually a place of assembly. In earlier days, cricket was played based on communal classes. Few communities had their respective cricket clubs or gymkhanas. Some of them were Hindu gymkhana, Muslim gymkhana and Parsee gymkhana . These were located in Mumbai. Among the given options  Sikh gymkhana did not exist.

A Parsi team beat the Bombay Gymkhana at cricket in 1889, just four years after the foundation of the Indian National Congress in 1885, an organisation that was lucky to have amongst its early leaders the great Parsi statesman and intellectual Dadabhai Naoroji. 

The colonial sport, pentangular tournament was cricket which was played based on communal divisions during British rule in India. The teams contained in this cricket were the Europeans, the Parsis, the Hindus, Muslims and the rest of other communities were included under fifth team.

The white cricket elite in India offered no help to the cricket
enthusiastic Parsis. In fact, there was a quarrel between the Bombay Gymkhana, a whites-only club, and Parsi
cricketers over the use of a public park. When it became clear
that the colonial authorities were prejudiced in favour of
Englishmen, the Parsis built their own gymkhana called the Oriental Cricket Club in Bombay to play cricket.

The origins of Indian cricket, that is, cricket played by Indians are to
be found in Bombay and the first Indian community to start playing the
game was the small community of Parsis. Brought into close contact
with the British because of their interest in trade and the
first Indian community to westernise, the Parsis founded the
first Indian cricket club, the Oriental Cricket Club in Bombay in 1848.

In the historical context of cricket, 'amateurs' were typically wealthy individuals who played for the love of the game, while 'professionals' were paid to play.

In 1788, the MCC published its first revision of the laws and became the guardian of cricket’s regulations. The MCC’s revision of the laws brought in a series of changes in the game that occurred in the second half of the eighteenth century. 

Tournament during colonial period was called Quadrangular cricket.The Bombay Quadrangular was an influential cricket tournament held in Bombay, India from 1912 to 1936. The communal teams contained in this cricket were the Europeans, the Parsis, the Hindus, Muslims. It was also called as colonial cricket.

International Cricket Council is headquartered in Dubai. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and its current name is given in 1989.

Cricket was widely popular in England. The world’s first cricket club was formed in the year 1760s. World’s first cricket club was Hambledon club in rural Hampshire. Hambledon's great days ended when the focus shifted to new Marylebone Cricket Club formed in 1787.

Since India had the largest viewership for the game amongst the
cricket-playing nations and the largest market in the cricketing world,
the games centre of gravity shifted to South Asia. This shift was
symbolised by the shifting of the ICC headquarters from London to tax-free Dubai.

Among the given options, other than first statement, remaining are true.

• Cricket in England was seasonal.
  
• The captain of the team was traditionally a batsman in Victorian England. This is because amateurs played only as batsmen as they were rich and played for pleasure. They left energetic, hardworking aspects of game to professionals.
  
• Len Hutton was the first professional Yorkshire Batsman to lead the English test team.
  
• There was a clear social hierarchy between the batsmen and the bowlers in Victorian England because rich were called amateurs and were called gentlemen who were batmen. On the other hand professionals were described as players. They even entered from different entrances.
  

Pakistan has pioneered two great advances in bowling: the doosra and the
reverse swing. Both the skills were developed in response to
subcontinental conditions: the doosra to counter aggressive
batsmen with heavy modern bats who were threatening to make
finger-spin obsolete and reverse swing to move the ball in on
dusty, unresponsive wickets under clear skies.

Mahatma Gandhi expressed this sentiment regarding the simplicity of life and the rejection of modern, fashionable distractions. It reflects his philosophy of self-reliance and critique of industrial-age consumerism.

A stylish right-handed batsman and useful left-arm seam bowler, he became famous in the 1950s as the first black captain of the West Indies cricket team. Along with Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott, he formed what was known as "The Three Ws" of the West Indian cricket. He was the first of the two batsmen to have been involved in two 500-run partnerships in first-class cricket.

The statement regarding the Sikhs founding the first Indian Cricket Club in 1820 is historically inaccurate. The first cricket clubs in India were established much later, primarily by British colonial influence.