Cricket in England
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Cricket is known to have been played in England since the 16th century. The Marylebone Cricket Club, based at Lords, developed the modern rules of play and conduct. Cricket is seen as the quintessential English game but also the sport of the British Empire. One of the most defining features of this sport in England is that public opinion is heavily polarized. Due to peculiar rules and esoteric customs, the "archaic game" greatly divides popular opinion. The game having a barbaric, violent and haphazard beginning, gave it the ancient and uncivilized aura until standard regulations of the game were implemented. Due to this violent start, Cricket seemed to have mirrored the English policies of the time, as parliamentarization occurred, the more standardized and civilized cricket became. In addition, the attitude of society as a whole to act more peaceful and exhibit a greater degree of self-control also contributed to the evolution of Cricket as a genuinely competitive sport.
History
- History of English cricket to 1696
- 1697 to 1725 English cricket seasons
- Overview of English cricket 1726 - 1815
- Overview of English cricket 1816 - 1918
Domestic competitions
There are eighteen professional county clubs, seventeen of them in England and one in Wales. All eighteen counties are named after, and were originally representative of, historic counties.
Each summer the county clubs compete in the first class County Championship, which consists of two leagues of nine teams and in which matches are played over four days.
The same teams also play the one day ECB 40,and the short-form Friends Life t20. These clubs are heavily dependent on subsidies from the England and Wales Cricket Board, which makes its money from television and endorsement contracts and attendances at international matches.
The Minor Counties Cricket Championship is a season-long competition in England for county clubs that do not have first-class status. There are nineteen teams representing historic English counties along with a Welsh minor counties team.
Below the county game, there are a raft of club competitions organised on a regional basis. ECB Premier Leagues being the highest level. There are also non-ECB-affiliated leagues such as the Bradford Cricket League, the Lancashire League and the Central Lancashire League.
Derbies
The following games are considered derbies:-
- War of the Roses - Lancashire v Yorkshire
- Battle of London (cross-Thames derby) - Middlesex v Surrey
- South Coast Special - Hampshire v Sussex
- West Midlands Derby - Warwickshire v Worcestershire
- Westcountry Derby- Somerset v Gloucestershire
Recreational club competitions
The ECB runs a national club knock-out competition, the Cockspur Cup, and has in place a regional Premier League pyramid system for recreational club cricket in England and Wales.
Cricket grounds
- See main article: List of cricket grounds in England and Wales
English cricket grounds are smaller than the largest in some other countries, especially India and Australia, but the best of them have been modernised to a high standard, and two new international grounds have been built in recent years. The largest English cricket ground, Lord's in London, is internationally regarded as the "home of cricket".
The following other stadiums also have Test match status The Oval (South London), Old Trafford (Manchester), Trent Bridge (Nottingham), Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham) and Riverside (Durham).
On November 24, 2006, the Rose Bowl, Southampton was awarded provisional test venue status by the England and Wales Cricket Board, with the prospect of the ground hosting its first Test match in 2010.
Cricket grounds are not standard through out the country. The measurements of the wicket are standardized, but the maximum and minimum size of the playing field varies between stadiums. The fields themselves are not all the same; they are not all level and there is variation between different fields. Cricket is literally not played on a level playing field. [1]
Governing body
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was created on 1 January 1997 combining the roles of the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB), the National Cricket Association (NCA) and the Cricket Council.
They are full members of the International Cricket Council.
National team
England is a founding Test cricket, One Day International and Twenty20 nation. England played in the first ever Test match in 1877 (against Australia in Melbourne) and also the first ever One-day International in 1971 (also against Australia in Melbourne).
Each summer two foreign national teams visit England to play seven Test matches and numerous One Day Internationals. In the British winter the England team tours abroad. The highest profile rival of the England cricket team is the Australian team, with which it competes for The Ashes, one of the most famous trophies in British sport.
Popularity
Nineteenth century England gave way to cricket's bright future as the country's 'national game.' What makes cricket the national game of England? The sport's widespread popularity and history in England warrants the national game status. This label shows cricket's importance in English society and culture as it played an even more prominent role in England's interwoven national identity.
Cricket is probably the second most widely covered sport, and the fortunes of the England team are closely followed by many people who never attend a live game.[citation needed]
In 2005 the ECB concluded a commercial arrangement with BSkyB which gave Sky the exclusive television rights for live Test cricket in England for four years (the 2006 to 2009 seasons). This deal, which took live Test cricket for home England matches away from terrestrial television for the first time generated substantial future revenues for English cricket, but was criticised by many England cricket supporters and others.
The Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year is an annual award voted by the Cricket Writers' Club for the best young cricket player in England and Wales, and has been awarded since 1950.
Cricket is also one of the most popular participation sports in Britain, with most villages running a side every Sunday through the season, and towns putting out 2, 3, 4 and occasionally 4 sides for Saturday league matches, and 1 or 2 sides on a Sunday.
Cricket in Society
Cricket emerged and gained popularity in a period of "sportization" during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. The English Civil War (1642-1649) was coming to an end, and as a result the government began to create parliamentary rules that would encourage a peaceful and trusting transference of power between political parties. English sports were often played by the higher class and political figures, and their rules show the same care and attentiveness that politicians had to take with the government. Cricket arose as a "gentlemanly" sport with fair, civil rules and a feeling of comradeship between team-mates. Playing the sport encouraged players to be open and verbal with each other, working together and bonding towards a common goal.[2]
This idea of "gentlemanly" behaviour in cricket was not always so. The violence that arose amongst the fans especially led to a more restricted audience. Attendance prices were raised and the sport became much more elitist in an attempt to keep out the unruly lower classes who often caused the violence, gambling, etc. Thus the sport derived its reputation as an exclusive sport.[3]
Nevertheless, Cricket was initially marked by violence both within and outside the field. Certain players became popular based on the injuries they could bring upon their opponents during a game.[4] Some players even passed away due to Cricket-related injuries.[5] On the other hand, Cricket fans were often engaged in disorderly conduct and violent behaviour, particularly related to gambling.[6] In some occasions, fans were even known to break into the playing field and attack the players.[7] However, some argue that violence associated with the game played an important role in increasing the popularity of the sport given that it was precisely these injuries, fights, and similar incidents which made Cricket a widespread topic of discussion.[8]
Notes
- ^ Malcolm, Globalizing Cricket
- ^ Malcolm, Dominic (2013). Globalizing Cricket Codification, Colonization and Contemporary Identities. Bloomsbury USA Academic. p. 16. ISBN 978-1849665278.
- ^ Malcolm, Dominic (2013). Globalizing Cricket. London: Bloomsbury. p. 22. ISBN 9781849665278.
- ^ Malcolm, Dominic (2013). Globalizing Cricket Codification, Colonization and Contemporary Identities. Bloomsbury USA Academic. p. 17. ISBN 978-1849665278.
- ^ Malcolm, Dominic (2013). Globalizing Cricket Codification, Colonization and Contemporary Identities. Bloomsbury USA Academic. p. 21. ISBN 978-1849665278.
- ^ Malcolm, Dominic (2013). Globalizing Cricket Codification, Colonization and Contemporary Identities. Bloomsbury USA Academic. p. 17. ISBN 978-1849665278.
- ^ Malcolm, Dominic (2013). Globalizing Cricket Codification, Colonization and Contemporary Identities. Bloomsbury USA Academic. p. 18. ISBN 978-1849665278.
- ^ Malcolm, Dominic (2013). Globalizing Cricket Codification, Colonization and Contemporary Identities. Bloomsbury USA Academic. p. 17. ISBN 978-1849665278.
Malcolm, Dominic. Globalizing Cricket: Englishness, Empire and Identity. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2012. Print.
References
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