Test: History & Sport The Story Of Cricket - 1 - UPSC MCQ

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the international governing body of cricket. It was established in 1909 by the representatives of England, Australia and South Africa as "Imperial Cricket Conference". In 1965, it has been renamed as "International Cricket Conference", and finally in 1989 it was renamed as "International Cricket Council" (ICC). Its headquarter is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The current ICC chairman is Shashank Manohar, President is Zaheer Abbas and Richardson is Chief Executive Officer.

After the formation of cricket clubs on communal lines; the Quadrangular tournament was being organized. It was played by four teams, viz. the Europeans, the Parsis, the Hindus and the Muslims and hence was given then name Quadrangular.

India entered the world of Test cricket in 1932, a decade and a half before it became an independent nation. This was possible because Test cricket from its origins in 1877 was organised as a contest between different parts of the British empire, not sovereign nations.

The first World Cup was organised in England in June 1975, with the first ODI cricket match having been played only four years earlier.

Pakistan has pioneered two great advances in bowling:  The doosra and  The reverse swing. Both skills were developed in response to subcontinental conditions.

1. Doosra - Doosra to counter aggressive batsmen with heavy modern bats who were threatening to make finger-spin obsolete
2. Reverse swing - Reverse swing to move the ball in on dusty, unresponsive wickets under clear skies.

Initially, both innovations were greeted with great suspicion by countries like Britain and Australia which saw them as an underhanded, illegal bending of the laws of cricket. In time, it came to be accepted that the laws of cricket could not continue to be framed for British or Australian conditions of play, and they became part of the technique of all bowlers, everywhere in the world.  

Cricket matches are organised to establish friendship between nations and cricketers are seen as ambassadors of the country.

The first officially recognised Test match began on 15 March 1877, between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where Australia won by 45 runs. A Test match to celebrate 100 years of Test cricket was held in Melbourne from 12 to 17 March 1977, in which Australia beat England by 45 runs—the same margin as that first Test.

The Indian cricket team toured England in the 1932 season under the title of "All-India". They were captained by the Maharaja of Porbandar. It was the national team's second tour of England following the one in 1911. India had just been granted the status of ICC Full Member and they played their inaugural Test match at Lord's in June.

The guy who is thought off to be one of first exponents of reverse swing is “Sarfraz Nawaz” of Pakistan. He probably picked it up on the streets of Karachi where we play with a tennis ball but bound tightly by scotch tape. It makes the ball zip and is really quick but doesn't swing or spin , so people work hard to swing it late.

Cricket was invented in the South Eastern part of England in the 19th century. The British carried the game to wherever they went. This includes their colonies in Africa and Asia. After gaining freedom from the rulers, these colonies became organized in the form of Commonwealth.

During British colonial rule cricket came to represent all that the Victorian English valued fair play, discipline and gentlemanliness.

The growth of modern nationalism is intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement in India, just like in any other country.

In the process of their struggle with colonialism people began discovering their unity.

Anti-colonial movement gave a strong issue to the people with which they could identify and could come on a common platform.

All though each class or group of people felt that they were being oppressed under colonialism, the effects of colonialism were felt differently.

Hence, the growth of nationalism in the colonies is linked to an anti-colonial movement. 

Cricket as a modern game grew out of many stick and ball games played in England during the 14th and 15th century.

The game was invented/developed in South Eastern England.

The earliest cricket bats had the same shape as hockey sticks because:

1. It grew out of many stick and ball games played in England during the 14th and 15th century.

2. The cricket bats curved outwards at the bottom like hockey sticks because the ball was bowled underarm, along the ground. The curves at the end of the bat enabled the batsman to make contact. 

The first written Laws of Cricket in 1744 were:

The rules shall choose from amongst the rich batsmen present.

The twoumpires who shall absolutely decide all disputes.

The stumps must be 22 inches high and the bailacross them six inches.

The ball must be between5 and 6 ounces, and the two sets of stumps 22 yards apart.

There were no limits on the shapeor size of the bat.

The world's first cricket club was formed in Hambledon in the 1760s. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787. In 1788, the MCC published its first revision of the laws and became the guardian of cricket's regulations.

Amateurs: The rich who could afford to play for pleasure were called amateurs. Amateurs considered sports a kind of leisure and they played for the pleasure and for the money. There was not enough money in the game for the rich to be interested.

The correct answer is B as Amateurs were generally aristocrats.

In 1952, when England crushed India 3-0 at home, Len Hutton had the honour of becoming the first professional captain to lead them. David Sheppard had captained the first two Tests in his absence. 

West Indian cricket team in England in 1950. The West Indies cricket team touredEngland in the 1950 season to play a four-match Test series against England.West Indies won the series 3-1 with no matches drawn.

In the eighteenth century India, cricket was mostly a sport played by British military men and civil servants in all-white clubs and gymkhanas. This history of gymkhana led to first-class cricket being organised on communal and racial lines. The teams that played colonial India’s greatest and most famous first-class cricket tournament represented religious communities and not regions. The tournament was initially called the Quadrangular, because it was played by four teams: the Europeans, the Parsis, the Hindus and the Muslims. It later became the Pentangular when a fifth team was added, namely, the Rest, which comprised all the communities left over, such as the Indian Christians. For example, Vijay Hazare, a Christian, played for the Rest.

While British imperial officials brought the game to the colonies, they made little effort to spread the game, especially in colonial territories where the subjects of empire were mainly non-white, such as India and the West Indies. Here, playing cricket became a sign of superior social and racial status, and the Afro-Caribbean population was discouraged from participating in organized club cricket, which remained dominated by white plantation owners and their servants. 

The origins of Indian cricket is to be found in Bombay and the first Indian community which started playing the game were the Parsis. 

(i) This was because they were first to come into close contact with the British because of their trading interests. 

(ii) They were also the first Indian community to westernize. 

(iii) The Parsis founded the first Indian cricket club called the Oriental Club Bombay in 1848. The Parsis club was sponsored by rich Parsi business men like the Tatas and the Wadias.

Babaji Palwankar Baloo (19 March 1876 – 4 July 1955), commonly known as Palwankar Baloo, was an Indian cricketer. He bowled left-arm orthodox spin with great accuracy and the ability to turn the ball both ways. He was also a moderately skilled lower-order batsman.

He was the first member of the Dalit (also known as the "Untouchable") caste to make a significant impact on the sport. Although being one of the finest cricketers of his time, he was never allowed to lead the team as a captain because of his so-called lower caste. 

The teams which participated in the Pentangular tournament were the Europeans, the Parsis, the Hindus, the Muslims and the Rest. 

Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu, also known as CK, was the first captain of the Indian cricket team in Test matches. He played first-class cricket regularly till 1958, and returned for one last time in 1963 at the age of 68.

The Indian cricket team toured England in the 1932 season under the title of "All-India". They were captained by the Maharaja of Porbandar. It was the national team's second tour of England following the one in 1911. India had just been granted the status of ICC Full Member and they played their inaugural Test match at Lord's in June.

The first officially recognised Test match began on 15 March 1877, between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where Australia won by 45 runs. A Test match to celebrate 100 years of Test cricket was held in Melbourne from 12 to 17 March 1977, in which Australia beat England by 45 runs—the same margin as that first Test.