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One of the most recognisable games of sport in the world, cricket originated in England. While prototype versions of the sport may well have taken place for many years prior, the first recorded game of cricket was played in 1646. Since many people living in the countryside in England in the 17th century used to raise sheep, the grass would often be so short that it was possible to roll a lump of wool on it which they used as a ball. Over time, the game developed into the recognisable modern form we all know and love.

Naturally, like any other big-time sport, a thriving and flourishing cricket betting industry has developed around it. If you feel like doing some cricket betting, take a look at NetBet’s fantastic sports page and look at all of the cricket odds for upcoming matches and games. We’re proud to feature a variety of cricket odds for various games, and we’re always adding more! Take a look at what we have to offer and enjoy some cricket betting today!

Who plays cricket?

The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. This tournament pits eighteen cricket clubs, representing historic counties of England (and one from Wales), against each other. The County Championship One first took place in 1890 and initially only involved eight different cricket clubs. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a game that was developed in the gloomy British Isles, rain and bad light are the two most common reasons for halting or abandoning a cricket game – despite the popular image of people playing on sun-drenched fields! But while England is popularly associated with cricket, India and Pakistan are equally well-known as proficient players of the game – in fact, India is the only nation so far to win three different world cups.

What are the rules of cricket?

Cricket is played with a bat and a ball on a specialised playing field. A typical cricket field is oval shaped and marked clearly by a boundary. Two teams, both consisting of 11 players, take it in turns to bat (hitting the ball) and bowl (throwing the ball). The team that is batting must try and score “runs” by hitting the ball as far as they can so that the player who hit the ball (the “striker”) can make it around the pitch before the other team can retrieve the ball. If the other team can return the ball to the wicket (three stumps in the ground) then the striker will be run out (meaning that their strike is invalid). The other team will attempt to run out the striker by bowling the ball overarm at the wicket. In professional games, if a player scores 100 runs, this is known as a century and is held to be a high achievement.

Cricket bats typically weigh 2 to 3 pounds and are made from wood (typically English willow, a light but tough type of wood, but sometimes other kinds). The bat is straight, much like a paddle, with one flat side and the other flared with a deep v-shaped protrusion called a blade. Initially, early cricket bats were shaped like hockey sticks, as players would throw cricket balls underarm. This changed in later years. Cricket balls are typically made of cork.

Cricket records, cricket odds, and cricket statistics

Cricket has a long and interesting history. When the game was first beginning to become more well-known, it apparently was so popular that people would receive fines for skipping church to play! While, as mentioned, games of cricket have been suspended for poor weather, a game of cricket was once infamously paused because a pig ran across the field! It’s now an official rule that a game can be stopped due to an animal entering the playing area.

As with any long-running sport, there are all sorts of impressive records to note. The longest cricket match took place in 1939 between England and South Africa in Durban and went on for an astonishing nine days. Loughborough University’s staff cricket club held a cricket marathon in 2012 as part of a charity initiative, but this only lasted a mere six days – amateurs! But good on them for hanging in there for so long.

There are only two cricketers who have won 3 world cups – Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting – while Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only bowler in cricket history to get his first wicket in all three formats of the game as bowled. Shivnarine Chanderpaul is another famous name in cricket, holding the record of most unbeaten centuries in test cricket – he achieved 18 unbeaten centuries out of 30 in matches throughout his career. Only four players have ever played all ten batting positions for their team: Lance Klusener, Abdur Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, and Hashan Tillakaratne. The fastest recorded delivery of a ball in history was made by Shoaib Akhtar from Pakistan in the World Cup in 2003. His throw was recorded as being 100.23 miles per hour. That’s quite some power!

Perhaps the best cricket record is this: British cricketer Alec Stewart was born on the 8th April 1963. He went on to score 8463 test runs – the same number as his birthday! Almost like fate.

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