NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English - The Story of Cricket

Comprehension Check - 

Q1 : Cricket is originally a/an 

(i) Indian game.
 (ii) British game.
 (iii) international game.
 Mark the right answer.

Answer :

Cricket is originally a British game.

Q2 : “There is a historical reason behind both these oddities.” In the preceding two paragraphs, find two words/phrases that mean the same as 'oddities'.

Answer :

Two words/phrases that mean the same as oddities are 'peculiarities' and 'curious characteristic'.

Q3 : How is a cricket bat different from a hockey stick?

Answer :

Till the middle of the eighteenth century, bats were roughly the same shape as hockey sticks, curving outwards at the bottom. However, later the curved bat was replaced with the straight one. A hockey stick is thin and curves at the bottom while a cricket bat is thicker, wider, and straight. Earlier it was cut out of a single piece of wood. Now it consists of two pieces - the blade and the handle.

Q4 : Write True or False against each of the following sentences.

(i) India joined the world of Test cricket before Independence.
 (ii) The colonisers did nothing to encourage the Parsis in playing cricket.
 (iii) Palwankar Baloo was India's first Test captain.
 (iv) Australia played its first Test against England as a sovereign nation. 

Answer :

(i) True
(ii) True
(iii) False
(iv) False

Q5 : A 'professional' cricket player is one who makes a living by playing cricket. Find the opposite of 'professional' in the last paragraph.

Answer :

The opposite of 'professional' is 'amateur'.

Q6 : In "the triumph of the one-day game", 'triumph' means the one-day game's 

(i) superiority to Test cricket.
 (ii) inferiority to Test cricket.
 (iii) achievement and success over Test cricket.
 (iv) popularity among viewers.

Mark the right answer.

Answer :

Here, 'triumph' means the one-day game's popularity among viewers.

Q7 : "...the men for whom the world is a stage".
 (i) It refers to the famous cricket fields in the world.
 (ii) It means that there are many cricket playing countries in the world.
 (iii) It implies that cricketers are like actors and every cricket ground is like a stage on which the drama of cricket is enacted the world over.

Mark the right answer.

Answer :

It implies that cricketers are like actors and every cricket ground is like a stage on which the drama of cricket is enacted the world over.

Working with the Text - 

Q1 : Name some stick-and-ball games that you have witnessed or heard of.

Answer :

Cricket, hockey, baseball, and polo are a few stick-and-ball games.

Q2 : The Parsis were the first Indian community to take to cricket. Why?

Answer :

The Parsis were brought into close contact with the British because of their interest in trade. Also, they were the first Indian community to westernise. Hence, they were the first Indian community to take to cricket.

Q3 : The rivalry between the Parsis and the Bombay Gymkhana had a happy ending for the former. What does 'a happy ending' refer to?

Answer :

The 'happy ending' refers to the victory of a Parsi team over the Bombay Gymkhana in a game of cricket in 1889, just four years after the foundation of the Indian National Congress in 1885.

Q4 : Do you think cricket owes its present popularity to television? Justify your answer.

Answer :

Yes, cricket owes its present popularity to television. Television expanded the audience for the game by bringing cricket into small towns and villages. It also broadened cricket's social base. Children, who had never previously had the chance to watch international cricket because they lived outside the big cities, could watch and learn by imitating their heroes. Matches in Sydney could be watched live in Surat. Cricket, as a result, became available to everyone and thus, gained a lot of popularity.

Q5 : Why has cricket a large viewership in India, not in China or Russia?

Answer :

Cricket is not a popular team sport in many countries, e.g., China, Russia. Due to the lack of popularity, its viewership in these countries is also very little. It is the same case with games like rugby and baseball, which do not enjoy a large viewership in India. However, games like cricket, soccer and hockey are different. These games are hugely popular in India because they are played at the grass root level. The greater part of the Indian population has grown up playing these games, and therefore, has a good amount of knowledge about them.

Q6 : What do you understand by the game's (cricket) 'equipment'?

Answer :

The game's 'equipment' refers to the tools used in cricket such as the bat, ball, stumps, gloves, pads, etc. The bat consists of two pieces, the blade which is made out of the wood of the willow tree and the handle which is made out of cane. Cricket had refused to remake its tools with industrial or man-made materials such as plastic, fibreglass and metal. But in the matter of protective equipment, cricket has been influenced by technological change. The invention of vulcanised rubber led to the introduction of pads in 1848 and protective gloves soon afterwards. Now, cricket is unimaginable without helmets made out of metal and synthetic lightweight materials.

Q7 : How is Test cricket a unique game in many ways?

Answer :

Test cricket is a unique game as 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.

Q8 : How is cricket different from other team games?

Answer :

Cricket is different from other team games as one form of it i.e. Test cricket takes five days to complete and can still end in a draw. No other modern team game takes even half as much time to complete. A football match is generally over in one and a half hours. Even baseball completes nine innings in less than half the time that it takes to play a limited-overs match. Also, the length of the pitch is specified as 22 yards, but the size or shape of the ground is not. Most other team sports such as hockey and football lay down the dimensions of the playing area whereas cricket does not. Grounds can be oval like the Adelaide Oval or nearly circular like Chepauk in Chennai. A six at the Melbourne Cricket Ground needs to clear much more ground than it does at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. Also, unlike golf or tennis, some of the cricket's equipments such as bat and ball are still made of natural materials, and not from industrial or man-made materials.

Q9 : How have advances in technology affected the game of cricket?

Answer :

The advances in technology have affected the game of cricket in the matter of protective equipment. The invention of vulcanised rubber led to the introduction of pads in 1848 and protective gloves soon afterwards. The modern game would be unimaginable without helmets made out of metal and synthetic lightweight materials.

Q10 : Explain how cricket changed with changing times and yet remained unchanged in some ways.

Answer :

In terms of the rules of the game, cricket has undergone lots of changes with changing times. From hockey-like bats to the straight bats that we know today; from bowling underarm to bowling through the air; from being an elite sport to becoming a game of the masses, cricket has changed a lot. Yet, in many ways it has also remained unchanged. This can be clearly seen by looking at cricketing equipment. Cricket's most important tools are still made of natural, pre-industrial materials. The bat is made with leather, twine and cork. Even today, both bat and ball are handmade, not industrially manufactured. Unlike golf and tennis, cricket has refused to remake its tools with industrial or man-made materials such as plastic, fibreglass and metal. However, in the matter of protective equipment, cricket has been influenced by technological change. The invention of vulcanised rubber led to the introduction of pads in 1848 and protective gloves soon afterwards. The modern game is unimaginable without helmets made out of metal and synthetic lightweight materials.

Working with Language-
 Q1 :

Wordsearch

• Twelve words associated with cricket are hidden in this grid.
• Six can be found horizontally and the remaining six vertically.
• Two words have been found for you.
Clues to the hidden words are given below.
Horizontal : six deliveries, four runs, attacked while out of arena, no result, stumps, fielder to the off side of the wicketkeeper
Vertical : stumps flying, back to the pavilion, a lofty one, mid-air mishap, not even one out of six, goes with bat

Answer :

Q2 : Add -ly to the italicised word in each sentence. Rewrite the sentence using the new word. 

See the examples first.
 • He runs between wickets as if his legs were stiff.
 He runs between wickets stiffly.
 • Why did the batsman swing the bat in such a violent manner?
 Why did the batsman swing the bat so violently?
 (i) It is obvious that the work has not been done in a proper way.
 (ii) He made the statement in a firm manner.
 (iii) The job can be completed within a week in an easy way.
 (iv) You did not play in a serious manner, or else you would have won the match.
 (v) She recited the poem in a cheerful manner.

Answer :
(i) It is obvious that the work has not been done properly.
(ii) He made the statement firmly.
(iii) The job can be completed within a week easily.
(iv) You did not play seriously, or else you would have won the match.
(v) She recited the poem cheerfully.

Q3 : Use the following phrases appropriately in place of the italicised words in the sentences given below.

as a matter of fact we had better 

see to it by accident as we well

(i) Actually, I didn't intend to come to your place. I reached here without planning.
 (ii) Sunil, there's a letter for you in today's post. There's one for me also.
 (iii) Everybody thought I had composed the poem. The truth is my younger sister did it.
 (iv) The doctor told the patient to make sure that he took his pills on time.
 (v) It will be better for us to plan our trip before setting out.

Answer :

(i) Actually, I didn't intend to come to your place. I reached here by accident.
(ii) Sunil, there's a letter for you in today's post. There's one for me as well.
(iii) Everybody thought I had composed the poem. As a matter of fact, my younger sister did it.
(iv) The doctor told the patient to see to it that he took his pills on time.
(v) We had better plan our trip before setting out.