Cricket: 7 Incredible Facts Sports Fans Will Love

Cricket is a sport played, watched and celebrated by beloved fans around the world.

It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned spectator or new to the game, you are sure to fall in love with it! From its fascinating history to fun facts that will help you impress your friends, Palmerbet has collected everything you need to know cricket.

The History of Cricket

Cricket dates back to the late 16th century with roots in the South East of England. It is not known who designed the sport, but it is widely believed that cricket originated from bowls.

In the humble beginnings, players even practiced the game with alternatives such as a ball of sheep’s wool to throw at a bat with a stick. Genius!

The first reference to cricket being played as an adult sport was reported in 1611 when two men from Sussex, England, were prosecuted for skipping church to play the game. In the same year, the English dictionary listed cricket as a boy’s sport.

In the 18th century it was officially the national sport of the country and its growing popularity soon began to spread on a global level in the 19th and 20th centuries.

It was first introduced to the West Indies and eventually Australia in 1788. Shortly afterwards New Zealand and South Africa took over the game.

The first international match took place in 1844 and test cricket followed in 1877.

Cricket is currently considered the second most popular spectator sport in the world, after soccer – also known as soccer in other parts of the world.

It is governed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), of which more than 100 countries are members, 12 of which play test cricket.

Cricket in Australia

One of the first things that come to mind when you think of Australia? Cricket, of course. Considered the national summer sport, it is widely played across the country.

It has only continued to grow in popularity with more than 2.3 million people attending cricket during the summer of 2017 to 2018 – more than the record of 1.8 million set the year before.

The first recorded cricket match in Australia took place in Sydney in December 1803.

The history of the female cricket

The first recorded women’s cricket match was reported in July 1745 by The Reading Mercury. But it wasn’t until 1887 that the first known women’s cricket organization, the White Heather Club, was founded in Yorkshire, England.

An Australian women’s cricket league was founded in 1894, followed shortly by South Africa.

In 1958, the International Womens Cricket Council was formed to coordinate women’s cricket matches around the world. In 2005 the IWCC merged with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to form one unified organization for the management of cricket.

The first international women’s cricket game took place between England and Australia in December 1934. The following year New Zealand also took part.

The Cricket World Cup for women has now been held nine times.

Fun facts about cricket

• The very first ever international cricket game took place between the US and Canada in 1844. The historic match was held at St George’s Cricket Club in New York.

• The longest cricket match in history lasted 14 days before ending in a draw and took place in 1939 between England and South Africa.

• Cricket was played for the first (and last) time at the 1900 Olympics, where Great Britain won the gold medal. However, there is talk of welcoming the sport to the Olympics in the future.

• Australia beat England in the first ever test match by 45 runs at Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1877. One hundred years later it was dj vu because the opposition, venue and result were the same!

• England cricketer, Alec Stewart, scored 8,463 runs during his test cricket career – the same number as his date of birth (08/04/63).

• Antiguan cricketer Sir Vivian Richards and Australian cricketer Ellyse Perry are the only names in history to have played both cricket and football at the World Cup.

• In 2011 India became the first team to win a cricket world cup on home soil. Australia followed in 2015 before England took home the trophy four years later.

Palmerbet is on hand to provide year-round coverage, analysis and betting tips for any major cricket tournament. It doesn’t matter which team you support or which betting market you want to hit upon, our blog is dedicated to keeping cricket fans all over the world up to date with the latest action.