Cricket, the empire on the attack

The origin. The first games of cricket were played in the south of England in the 16th century. The name seems to come from the English term “cryce” which means crutch. At the end of the 18th century, cricket became the national sport of the British Empire. Its extension led to the first international meetings in the course of the 19th century. The ten countries now playing official test matches around the world are all former British colonies. In addition to England (and Wales), there are Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

The competition. In order to offer the sport greater media visibility, the ICC, the International Cricket Council, has decided to organize a World Cup every four years, on the model of what is done in football. The first edition, which took place in England in 1975, brought together 8 participants for 15 meetings. The one played this year in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, brings together 14 countries (104 participated in the qualifications) with 49 matches on the program. The 2011 final opposes India to Sri Lanka on Saturday. With four wins, Australia is the most successful country.

Sri Lanka eliminates England in 1/4 this year:

The principle… in attack. Cricket obviously shares a lot in common with baseball, its American cousin. The team that is in attack has two batsmen, each located in front of one of the two wickets – three vertical stakes – separated on the ground by about twenty meters. The goal for drummers is to make runs, or races in French. A change of position between the two batsmen earns a point. If the ball goes out of bounds after hitting the ground, it is worth four runs. And if it goes out without having touched the ground, it earns six runs. It’s the perfect shot.

The principle… in defense. The goal for the defending team is to eliminate the batter with a good pitch, which is most often done with a rebound, unlike baseball. The most classic elimination consists of catching the thrown ball, either via the wicketkeeper, the player behind the batsman, or with one of the nine other outfield players, the chasers, if the ball has not touched the ground. after the batting. But there are a total of ten different ways to eliminate a beater. One of them consists, for example, in destroying the counter.

The course of the game. The two teams play alternately in attack and defense. During an inning, one of the teams, called in, is at bat, while the other team, called out, tries to end the period of play. During the second inning, the roles are reversed. The team with the most runs wins. Several meeting formats exist. In the World Cup, it is “one-day international”, that is to say that the match is limited in number of throws. This is not necessarily the case for certain test-matches, which can be spread over several days.

The star. The Indian Sachin Tendulkar was playing his sixth and probably last World Cup this year. This exceptional batsman is the player who has scored the most runs in the history of the World Cup. Last year he had the highest individual ODI score of 200 runs. In the final on Saturday, he will try to reach 100 runs in a match for the 100th time in his career…

Sachin Tendulkar hits the ball three times in a row:

The story. Sometimes the big story invites itself into the small one. Tuesday, the semi-final between India and Pakistan was the scene of an unprecedented diplomatic rapprochement. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani were indeed side by side in the Mohali stadium, located in the Indian state of Punjab, bordering Pakistan. It was the first time that an Indian head of state used a cricket match to try to warm diplomatic relations between the two countries. Read: India-Pakistan, cricket diplomacy

The statement. On February 28, Steven Davies, former England Under-19 captain, revealed his homosexuality in an interview with the Telegraph. It is the first time in the history of cricket that an active player has come out in this way. To read: An unprecedented “coming out” in the world of cricket

The drama. On March 3, 2009, a few hours before a cricket test match in Lahore, Pakistan, a masked commando of twelve men attacked the bus of the Sri Lankan team. This attack left eight dead, six policemen and two civilians, and seven injured among the players and management of the Sri Lankan team. This sad episode had upset the world of cricket.

The Sri Lankan team victim of a terrorist attack in 2009:

The film. Cricket is an integral part of the popular culture of Commonwealth countries and many films deal more or less directly with the subject. This is particularly the case of Lagaan, released in 2001. In this Indian feature film, whose story takes place at the time when India was under British command, villagers who know nothing about cricket must win a match in order to obtain the abolition of various taxes. Lagaan was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and his DVD sales have long been the highest for a Bollywood film.