NCERT Class 7 English Honeycomb Book Chapter 10 The Story of Cricket Summary

Summary of "The Story of Cricket" The stick and ball game known as cricket was first played in England 500 years ago. The term "bat" comes from a word in English that simply meaning "stick" or "club." After many years, cricket had established itself as a distinct sport by the 17th century. The design of the bat in the middle of the eighteenth century was similar to a hockey stick, giving the batsman the best chance to make contact with the ball. One of the quirks of this sport is that a cricket match might last for five days and yet result in a draw. 

The rest of the sports take up less than half of the time. Another peculiarity of this sport is that the length of the pitch is specified but the size and the shape of the field is not. So the size of the field may vary from big to small and the shape may vary from round to oval. However these oddities are not meaningless, they have a historical reason behind them. Cricket was the first modern team sport to be given rules and regulations. The first rules and regulations, which are also known as “Laws of Cricket” were set up in the year 1744. In that, the number of umpires and the power they had, was mentioned. In addition to that, the height of the stumps, the width of the bail, the measurement of the ball and the distance between two sets of stumps was also given. 

In the 1700s, Hambledon saw the formation of the first cricket club in history. After upon, The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), a new club, was established in the year 1787. Then, in the 1760s and 1770s, there was a change in how to pitch. Instead of rolling the ball along the ground, it became to be more usual to pitch the ball through the air. This gave the cricket players a wider range of options. New options for movements like spin and swing resulted from this. As a result, batters had to perfect their timing and stroke choice. Straight bats developed as a result of the cricket players' need for a special kind of bat for this.

In addition to that, the weight of the ball was also changed and the width of the bat was also standardised. In 1774, a new law was also published which was the first leg-before law. Around this time, a third stump became common as well. By 1780, three days had become the length of a major match, and this year also saw the creation of the first six-seam cricket ball. Cricket’s game equipment has greatly evolved over time, yet it has stayed fundamentally true to its history. The most important tools of cricket are made of natural, pre-industrial material. The material of the bat has had a different evolution, as earlier, it was cut out of a single piece of wood but now, it consists of two pieces, the blade which is made out of the wood of the willow tree and the handle. This handle is made out of the cane that became available as European colonialists and trading companies established themselves in Asia. Cricket, unlike other sports, has refused to let the equipment be industrially manufactured by harmful materials like plastic. However, the protective equipment has been greatly influenced by technology. The invention of vulcanised rubber led to the introduction of pads in 1848, and with the help of many other technological changes, protective gloves, helmet and other things have been invented, which are made out of synthetic and light material. Without these changes, the modern game would have been much different and difficult.