Here’s a fun fact: football might be the most popular sport
in Britain, but cricket is the official national sport of England! However, not many
people in Britain can explain the rules and how to play, so after reading this
post you are more likely to be able to educate the British population on an
aspect of their own culture!
Cricket has a reputation for being an upper-class sport, the
sport gentlemen play in the glorious British summer time. This is because the
sport is only played between April and August (perfect for the fans of football
which runs August to May) and matches can be found played across the nation
during this time. It seems to be something of a difficult sport to play
however, as cricket matches are often delayed due to the weather, or “bad
light”.
The basic game is a simple one. Two teams of 11 play against
each other. One team bowls (throws) the ball and tries to hit the wooden stumps
(3 pieces of wood standing vertically some distance away) with 2 smaller pieces
of wood balanced on top (the bails). Another player tries to keep the bowler
from hitting the stumps by standing in front of them with a bat, and hit the
ball away when it comes close. This person is known as the batsman. The
bowler’s team mates will then try to catch a hit ball and so that player will
be “out” and replaced by another member of the opposing team. Once a ball has
been hit, the batsman runs towards the bowler and then back to the stumps to
earn points (known as “runs”). The aim is to be the team with the highest
number of runs. Simple, right? Unfortunately, there are so many more rules
in the game that the sport remains a mystery to most! If you are still
confused, check out this video from the BBC:
(but do not take it
too seriously!)
Other associations with cricket include the player’s
fondness for drinking tea. In fact, cricket has their own version of "afternoon tea". Care to guess what it’s called? “Cricket tea” of course!
As unimaginative as the name is, it’s still rather
enjoyable! Cricket tea is often provided by the partners of the cricket players
and in some local cricket matches, the competitive nature between teams extends
to the tea too! Each team’s cricket tea will try to be better than the tea
provided at other clubs so standards are usually high.
What do people know
about cricket? Well, there’s the tea…
In a few days you may find that Britain, well, mainly
England, becomes much more enthusiastic about cricket as the Ashes will begin.
The Ashes is a 5 day event spread out between July and August, in which England
and Australia compete to win a small urn containing ashes of a wooden bail. The
name “the Ashes” comes from the defeat of England in 1882, when it was said
that English cricket had died and “the body will be cremated and the ashes taken
to Australia” when they would attempt to win.
Years later, actual ashes were created and given as a prize, and now it is
traded back and forth to whoever wins the latest matches!
Cricket is not a big sport in Liverpool, but you will find
that people do play and enjoy watching it around the city. There are
approximately 10 cricket clubs within 5 miles of the University, and the
Liverpool Guild of Students has a popular Cricket society which takes on local
rivals LJMU, as well as teams from other cities. If you are interested in
knowing more, or joining in, see the following website for details http://www.liv.ac.uk/sports/sports/cricket/.
And if you want to know more about cricket, including some of the unusual terms
and phrases, this website gives you a great overview http://www.wandererscricket.com/glossary.html.
Have you ever played cricket? Did you enjoy it? Is it
something you want to try? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or
on Facebook!
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