Class 9 History Question Answers - History and Sport: The Story of Cricket (Deducted from CBSE 2021-22 examination)

Q.1. Explain how cricket began in England and the way it was played till 1744.

Ans. Cricket grew out of the many stick and ball games played in England 500 years ago, under a variety of rules. The word bat, an old English word, simply means stick or club. By seventeenth century cricket had evolved enough to be recognisable as a distinct game and it was popular enough for its fans to be fined for playing it on Sunday instead of going to church. Till the middle of the eighteenth century, bats were the shape of hockey sticks. The ball was bowled underarm, along the ground and the curve at the end of the bat gave the batsman the best chance of making contact.

Q.2. How was cricket associated with social status in England?

Ans. The rich in England were interested in cricket for two reasons. They considered sport to be a type of leisure. This play for pleasure and not for money, gave it an aristocratic value. Secondly, there was not enough money in the game for the rich to be interested. The rich cricket players who played for pleasure were called amateurs and the poor who played for money or for a living were called professionals.

The amateurs were given a socially superior status which was built on the customs of cricket. Amateurs were called gentlemen, while professionals were called players. Amateurs were usually batsmen, players were bowlers. The social superiority of amateurs was also a reason why the captain of a cricket team was always a batsman. Cricket was a batsman’s game because its rules favoured the batsman who were gentlemen.

Q.3. How did the National Movement affect cricket in India?

Ans. A scheduled tour of MCC in 1930 was cancelled due to Gandhi’s Dandi March and the Civil Disobedience. The first Indian team toured England in 1932. Due to World War II in 1939, various tournaments were affected. By now Congrees and Muslim League had taken opposite stands. Communal feelings had crept into sports. In 1940, a Pentangular was played in Brabourne stadium, Bombay. Seats were allotted on communal basis, 2000 to Hindus, 1250 each to Muslim and Parsis. The Hindus won and there was great rejoicing in the Hindu camp and Vande Mataram was sung.

Q.4. Describe the difference between a Test match and a One-day match.

Ans. Test cricket originated in 1877 and India entered the world of Test cricket in 1932. The first Test was played between England and Australia. The first One-Day International made its appearance in 1971. It was played between England and Australia in Melbourne. It is a shortened version of Test cricket. The Test cricket is played for five days and sometimes ends in a draw. The players were white. The one-day matches go for coloured dress and cricket under lights. In Test cricket each team plays two innings each.

Q.5. Throw light on the curious peculiarities or characteristics of cricket.

Ans. The social and economic history of England in the 18th and 19th centuries shaped the game of cricket and gave it its unique nature.
The first peculiarity of Test cricket is that it can go on for five days and still end in a draw. No other modern team sport takes even half as much time to complete.
Another curious characteristic of cricket is that the length of the pitch is specified – 22 yards – but the size or shape of the ground is not. Team games like hockey and football lay down the dimensions of the playing area, cricket does not. Grounds can be oval like the Adelaide or nearly circular like the Chepauk in Chennai. A six at the Melbourne Cricket Ground needs to clear much more ground than a lofted shot for the same reward at Feroze Shah Kotla in Delhi.

Q.6. Explain the historical reasons behind the oddities of cricket.

Ans. The historical reasons behind cricket's oddities are as below. It is the earliest modern team sport to be codified meaning that cricket gave itself rules and regulatious so that it could be played in a uniform and standardised way well before team games like soccer and hockey. Cricket's connection with a rural past can be seen in the length of a Test match. Originally, Test matches had no time limit. In the same way, crickets vagueness about the size of cricket ground is a result of its village origin. The laws of boundaries do not specify the distance of a boundary from the wicket.

Crickets game equipment are made of natural pre-industrial materials. The bat is made of wood as well as the stumps and bails. The ball is made of leather, twine and cork. Ball and bat are both hand-made.

Q.7. ‘The MCC’s revision of the laws brought in a series of changes in the game that occurred in the second half of the eighteenth century.’ Discuss the revision of the laws.

(CBSE 2010)

Ans. The MCC’s revision of the laws have brought in a series of changes in the game that occurred in the second half of the eighteenth century. During the 1760s and 1770s it became common to pitch the ball through the air, rather than roll it along the ground. This change gave the bowlers the options of length, deception through the air, plus increased pace. It also opened new possibilities for spin and swing. In response, the batsmen had to master timing and shot selection. One immediate result was the replacement of the curved bat with the straight one. The weight of the ball was limited to   and  ounces and the width of the bat to four inches. In 1774, the first leg-before law was published. A third stump became common. 

Q.8. Why did cricket remain a colonial game till the 1930s?

Ans. Cricket remained a colonial game. The reason was that it had a pre-industrial oddness which made it very difficult to export. It was played only in countries that the British conquered and ruled. Though the game was brought into the colonies by the masters, they did nothing to make it popular. The Afro-Caribbean population was discouraged from participating in organised club cricket.

Q.9. How did television coverage change cricket?

Ans. Television coverage made the players celebrities. It expanded the audience for the game by bringing cricket into small towns and villages. Children became great fans. People could now watch and learn how to play cricket by imitating their heroes.

Q.10. Why were the skill of ‘doosra’ and 'reverse swing' developed?

Ans. Both skills were developed as a consequence of subcontinental conditions : the doosra was to counter aggressive batsmen with heavy bats who threatened to make finger-spin obsolete and\ reverse swing to move the ball on dusty, unresponsive wickets under clear skies.

Q.11. Who set the first cricket club in India? Explain their contribution in the field of cricket. [2011 (T-2)]

Ans. The Parsis founded the first Indian cricket club named the Oriental Cricket Club in Bombay in 1848. Parsi clubs were funded and sponsored by Parsi businessmen like the Tatas and the Wadias. The white cricket elite in India offered no help to the enthusiastic Parsis. In fact, there was a quarrel between the Bombay Gymkhana, a whites-only club, and Parsi cricketers over the use of a public park. As a result, the Parsis built their own gymkhana to play cricket in. The rivalry between the Parsis and the racist Bombay Gymkhana had a happy ending for these pioneers of Indian cricket. A Parsi team beat the Bombay Gymkhana at cricket in 1889. The establishment of the Parsi Gymkhana became a precedent for other Indians who in turn established clubs based on the idea of religious community.

Q.12. Which changes were introduced in the game of cricket during the 19th century? [2011 (T-2)]

Ans. Many important changes occurred during the nineteenth century :
(i) The rule about wide balls was applied.
(ii) The exact circumference of the ball was specified.
(iii) Protective equipment like pads and gloves became available.
(iv) Boundaries were introduced where previously all shots had to be run.
(v) Overarm bowling became legal.

Q.13. "MCC revision of laws brought in a series of changes in cricket in the second half of the eighteenth century." Justify the statement giving three points. [2011 (T-2)]

Ans. In 1788, the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) published its first revision of the laws and
became the guardian of cricket's regulations.
(i) During the 1760s and 1770s it became common to pitch the ball through the air, rather than roll it along the ground.
(ii) The earlier curved bat was replaced with the straight one.
(iii) The weight of the ball was limited to between 5½ to 5¾ ounces, and the width of the bat to four inches.
(iv) In 1774, the first leg-before law was published.
(v) Around this time, a third stump became common.
(vi) By 1780, three days had become the length of a major match. This year also saw the creation of the first six-seam cricket ball.

Q.14. Why did Mahatma Gandhi condemn the pentangular tournament? [2011 (T-2)]

Ans. The pentangular tournament was based on religious communities. The five teams were : the Europeans, the Parsis, the Hindus, the Muslims and the Rest. India's most popular and respected politician, Mahatma Gandhi, condemned the pentangular tournament as a communally divisive competition. This was out of place in a time when nationalists were trying to unite India's diverse population. This tournament would have negative effect on the national movement.

Q.15. How the centre of gravity in cricket has shifted from the old Anglo-Australian axis? Explain. [2011 (T-2)]

Ans. The technology of satellite television and the worldwide reach of multi-national television companies created a global market for cricket. This simple fact was brought to its logical conclusion by globalisation. Since India had the largest viewership for the game among the cricket-playing nations and the largest market in the cricketing world, the game's centre of gravity shifted to South Asia. This shift was symbolised by the shifting of the ICC headquarters from London to tax-free Dubai.

Q.16. Describe three main differences between amateurs and professionals. [2011 (T-2)]

Ans. (i) The rich who could afford to play cricket for pleasure were called Amateurs and the poor who played it for a living were called Professionals.
(ii) The wages of Professionals were paid by patronage or subscription or gate money. The Amateurs were not paid at all.
(iii) Amateurs were called Gentlemen while Professionals were described as players.
(iv) Amateurs tended to be batsmen whereas Professionals tended to be bowlers.

Q.17. 'The organisation of the cricket in Victorian England reflected the nature of English Society.' Justify in three points. [2011 (T-2)]

Ans. This is true. The rich who played only for the sake of pleasure were called Amateurs; and the poor who played for money were called Professionals. The rich or amateurs considered sport a kind of leisure. To play for the pleasure of playing and not for money was an aristocratic value. These was not enought money in cricket for the rich to be interested. Most Professionals worked as miners or in other forms of working class employment in off-season. The social superiority of Amateurs was built into the customs of cricket. Amateurs were called Gentlemen whereas Professionals were called players. Both the groups even entered the ground from different entrances. Amateurs were generally batsmen whereas the hardworking aspect of the game, like fast bowling was left for Professionals. That is partly why the laws of cricket always gave the benefit of doubt to the batsman. The rules of cricket were made to favour 'Gentlemen', who did most of the batting. The social superiority of the amateur also reflected in the fact that the captain of a cricket team was generally a batsman. Captains of teams, whether club teams or national sides, were always Amateurs.

Q.18. When were the 'laws of cricket' drawn up? What was stated in the written laws of cricket? [2011 (T-2)]

Ans. The first written 'laws of cricket' were drawn up in 1744. They stated, 'the principals shall choose from amongst the gentlemen present two umpires who shall absolutely decide all disputes. The stumps must be 22 inches high and the bail across them six inches. The ball must be between 5 and 6 ounces, and the two sets of stumps 22 yards apart.' There were no limits on the shapes or size of the bat.