The origin of Cricket

Cricket originated from South-East England in the 16th century. It became England’s national sport in the 18th century and was developed globally in the 19th and 20th centuries. International matches were started been played since 1844 and Test cricket began, retrospectively recognized, in 1877.

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a cricket field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch with a wicket (a set of three wooden stumps) at each end. Each phase of play is called an innings. After either ten batsmen have been dismissed or a fine-tuned number of overs have been consummated, the innings ends and the two teams then swap roles (Test match is an exception). The winning team is the one that scores the most run during their innings. An Umpire is an official who watches a game or match closely to enforce the rules and arbitrate on matters arising from the play.

Currently the top teams reported by ICC; for Test matches is India followed by Australia. For ODI (One Day International) is South Africa followed by Australia and for T20 (twenty overs game) is New Zealand followed by India.