Origin of Cricket

Cricket is very old sport but it played as a recognized sport since the early 18th century. The first recorded match was played in Sussex, England in 1967. It is hard to say that from where and it was exactly originated, but the country where it was originated is England, basically the area of dense woodlands and clearings in south-east England that lies across Kent and Sussex.

It is believed that, in that period, children used a stone as a ball and the batsman supposed to stop that ball to reach its target by hitting it away with a stick as a bat and the target is assumed to be tree or stool act as a wicket.  According to Heiner Gillmeister, a European language expert of Bonn University, "cricket" derives from the Middle Dutch met de (krik ket)sen (i.e., "with the stick chase"), which also suggests a Dutch connection in the game's origin.

The earliest types of bats were much like a hockey stick - long, heavy clubs curved outward toward the bottom. The design of the bat reflected the type of bowling that was prevalent at the time - fast, underarm bowls rolled along the ground. By the eighteenth century, the bat had developed into a heavier, longer, curved version of our modern bat—the handle and blade were carved out of a single piece of wood.

During the 1760s and 1770s, it became common to pitch the ball through the air rather than roll it along the ground. This innovation worked well for the bowlers rather than batsmen as they increased the seam and speed of the ball. It was also helpful for spinners because they could turn the ball and swing it in the air. On the other hand batsmen needed to be more skillful. They had to learn master shots and concentrate on timing of the shot. This was the time when curving bat was replaced with the straight one.