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The exact origins of the game are unknown and are still open to debate. However, it appears that the English game does originate in the South East from probably Norman or Saxon times. It was for countless generations, a children’s game and the first reference to adults playing dates from 1611.

It was as an adult’s game that cricket grew in popularity and developed into the game we recognise today. Though the sport would be plagued over time by government bans on assembly and rampant gambling issues, the first Laws of Cricket were codified in 1744 and in 1774. Further rules familiar to us today (such as LBW – leg before wicket) were introduced as the years passed.

Until the 1760s, the bowler actually rolled the ball along the floor rather like in a game of bowls. As the sport moved out of England into the Commonwealth countries, the first cricket international was in 1844 between Canada and the United States. By the end of the 1800s, national competitions were sprouting up in the participating countries and The Ashes competition was born at London’s Oval in 1882. In 1909, representatives for England, Australia and South Africa met and formed the Imperial Cricket Conference, eventually changing its name to the International Cricket Council which still serves as the sport’s international governing body.

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The English cricket team take the pitch in Australia, 1928
Wikimedia Commons