The game of cricket has a known history spanning from the 16th century to the present day. Cricket was introduced to North America via the English colonies in the 17th century. Cricket is the world's second most popular sport after Association football. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team sport. The game cricket is played between two teams of 11, one team for bowling and fielding against two on the batting side. Each team is headed by a captain who is responsible for making tactical decisions such as determining the batting order, the placement of fielders and the rotation of bowlers. The rules of the game are known as the Laws of Cricket. There are currently 42 laws, which outline all aspects of how the game is played from how a team wins a game, how a batsman is dismissed (out), through to specifications on how the pitch is to be prepared and maintained. Thus, Cricket remains a major world sport in terms of participants, spectators and media interest. |