In addition to the basic kit, some players wear protective gear to prevent injury caused by the ball, which is a hard, solid spheroid made of compressed leather with a slightly raised sewn seam enclosing a cork core layered with tightly wound string.

The case concerned ownership of a certain plot of land, and the court heard the testimony of a 59-year-old coroner, John Derrick, who gave witness that:[10][11][12] Being a scholler in the ffree schoole of Guldeford hee and diverse of his fellows did runne and play there at creckett and other plaies.Given Derrick's age, it was about half a century earlier when he was at school, and so it is certain that cricket was being played c. 1550 by boys in Surrey.

[16] According to Heiner Gillmeister, a European language expert of Bonn University, "cricket" derives from the Middle Dutch phrase for hockey, "met de (krik ket)sen" ("with the stick chase").

[19][20][21] In 1611, the year Cotgrave's dictionary was published, ecclesiastical court records at Sidlesham in Sussex state that two parishioners, Bartholomew Wyatt and Richard Latter, failed to attend church on Easter Sunday because they were playing cricket.

[34][35] The patrons and other players from the gentry began to classify themselves as "amateurs"[fn 1] to establish a clear distinction from the professionals, who were invariably members of the working class, even to the point of having separate changing and dining facilities.

[36] The gentry, including such high-ranking nobles as the Dukes of Richmond, exerted their honour code of noblesse oblige to claim rights of leadership in any sporting contests they took part in, especially as it was necessary for them to play alongside their "social inferiors" if they were to win their bets.

[42] Cricket was prominent in London as early as 1707 and, in the middle years of the century, large crowds flocked to matches on the Artillery Ground in Finsbury.

[citation needed] The single wicket form of the sport attracted huge crowds and wagers to match, its popularity peaking in the 1748 season.

It is a nostalgic name prompted by the collective sense of loss resulting from the war, but the period did produce some great players and memorable matches, especially as organised competition at county and Test level developed.

[55] In 1876–77, an England team took part in what was retrospectively recognised as the first-ever Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Australia.

This series moved cricket from a game to a matter of national importance, with diplomatic cables being passed between the two countries over the incident.

A wide variety of shots are played, the batter's repertoire including strokes named according to the style of swing and the direction aimed: e.g., "cut", "drive", "hook", and "pull".

[100] Additional runs can be gained by the batting team as extras (called "sundries" in Australia) due to errors made by the fielding side.

These specialists bowl "spells" that are generally 4 to 8 overs long in order not to physically exhaust the bowler, cause muscle strain and stress the skeleton.

Additionally, while the bowler is not required to pitch (bounce) the ball, a full toss (non-bouncing) delivery that reaches the striker above waist height is penalised as a no-ball.

This type of delivery can deceive a batter into miscuing their shot, for example, so that the ball just touches the edge of the bat and can then be "caught behind" by the wicket-keeper or a slip fielder.

A spinner will often "buy their wicket" by "tossing one up" (in a slower, steeper parabolic path) to lure the batter into making a poor shot.

[117] In between the pacemen and the spinners are the medium-paced seamers, who rely on persistent accuracy to try to contain the rate of scoring and wear down the batter's concentration.

The wicket-keeper is the only member of the fielding side who can effect a stumping and is the only one permitted to wear gloves and external leg guards.

[119][120] There are a number of ways that a cricket match can end and its result be described, depending on whether the team batting first or last wins as well as the format of the game.

If this kind of match is temporarily interrupted by bad weather, then a complex mathematical formula, known as the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method after its developers, is often used to recalculate a new target score.

A one-day match can also be declared a "no-result" if fewer than a previously agreed number of overs have been bowled by either team, in circumstances that make normal resumption of play impossible, for example, wet weather.

The umpires are authorised to interrupt or even abandon a match due to circumstances likely to endanger the players, such as a damp pitch or deterioration of the light.

The scorers are required by the Laws to record all runs scored, wickets taken, and overs bowled; in practice, they also note significant amounts of additional data relating to the game.

[129] Its second line states that, "the major responsibility for ensuring fair play rests with the captains, but extends to all players, match officials and, especially in junior cricket, teachers, coaches and parents".

The terse expression of the Spirit of Cricket now avoids trying to enumerate the diverse cultural conventions that exist in the detail of sportsmanship, or its absence.

In addition, a few full-member cricket boards have decided to start leagues that are played in the T10 format,[139][140][141][142] in which games are intended to last approximately 90 minutes.

[155] Although there can be variations in game format, compared with professional cricket, the Laws are always observed and club/school matches are therefore formal and competitive events.

It has, for example, influenced the lexicon of these nations, especially the English language, with various phrases such as "that's not cricket" (that's unfair), "had a good innings" (lived a long life), and "sticky wicket".

[173] The statistical record is so central to the game's "historical essence" that Chadwick is sometimes referred to as "the Father of Baseball" because he facilitated the popularity of the sport in its early days.