Many people do not even realize that after the “king of sports,” soccer, the second place in popularity is not basketball, hockey, or even tennis, but cricket. For hundreds of years since its inception, this ancient game of English shepherds has so strongly settled in the hearts of fans that there is no chance of it disappearing from there. Today, we will look at how it happened, why fans value cricket, and why you should try to get into this game, too. Here we go!
A very brief history of cricket
No, we’re not going to discuss insects. Cricket originated in England in the 16th century. This game quickly became popular among the local nobility, giving it an initial impetus in the form of the first professional clubs, special equipment, and, of course, a set of official rules. As the British Empire grew, so did cricket. The British exported gold, slaves, spices, and fabrics from their colonies, and cricket left its homeland and took root in the territories of modern India, Pakistan, Australia, and others.
How to play it
Cricket is a team game in which two groups of 11 try to score as many points as possible. In essence, the game consists of 3 phases: bowling (throwing the ball), batting (hitting the ball with the bat) and fielding (catching the ball). Baseball fans have already noted the similarities. It is believed that cricket became the forerunner of this extremely popular game in the United States.
Let’s not go into the process, you can easily google it if needed. Let’s take a better look at the different formats of cricket:
- Test Match. This format is considered the most old-school of all and is famous for its duration. The fact is that such matches can last up to five days! Fans appreciate this format for its adherence to tradition and emphasis on the strategic aspects of the game.
- One Day International. As you might have realized from the name, this format involves a competition between national teams, and the duration of such matches is much shorter. The point is that the number of innings and overs in ODIs is reduced to speed up the game.
- Twenty20. T20 is an even more modern and faster format. Each team has just 1 innings and 20 overs to score. This is the format in which the Indian Premier League, the most popular cricket league in the world, is played.
The variety of formats is one of the keys to cricket’s popularity, making the game more diverse and attracting fans with different tastes. This approach also attracts many betting enthusiasts who can display their knowledge of the game in betting offices or websites like this one – https://india1xbet.in/en/mobile.
The main factors of cricket’s popularity
- To begin with, cricket continues to gain popularity by inertia in countries where the sport has already become an integral part of the culture, such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
- Media also contributes to the popularity through broadcasts that improve their quality year by year.
- Thanks to the simplicity of the rules and the absence of the need to buy expensive equipment, this sport is accessible to people of different social classes and income levels.
- Clubs and cricket associations open academies, sponsor tournaments for the disabled, and donate money to charity, thereby raising the game’s prestige.
- Cricket is a great sport for gamblers due to its variety and unpredictability. With the advent of the internet, sports betting online attracts new fans, fueling their emotions from watching the games.
Conclusion
Every day, the army of cricket fans is growing, and I see no reason to think this will somehow change. We should remember that sports are businesses, and businesses do everything to increase revenue. This means that the world of cricket will continue to grow and attract more and more fans. It is also worth noting that there is a natural increase in the population of cricketing countries such as India and Bangladesh, hence the potential fans.
That’s all; I hope I have interested you, and you will join the list of fans of this beautiful game!
