Nobody really knows where the game of cricket originated, but
there is a strong body of circumstantial evidence suggesting that the
game was devised in the Saxon or Norman times, in an area of South East
England, across Kent and Sussex.
Originally devised as a
children's game, but slowly gathering momentum with adult players, the
game of cricket has, in the last few hundred years, gained incredible
worldwide popularity and become known as the game of gentlemen. Every
cricket fan, and even most people who do not regularly play or watch
cricket, are familiar with the look and feel of the cricket bat that is
universally used today, but evidence suggests that this humble piece of
cricket equipment has undergone a rather radical change over the years.
Today's cricket bats, to be found in any sports shop or cricket store, is traditionally made of willow wood, and is separated into 2 parts, namely the blade and the handle. The blade is a wooden block that is generally flat on the striking surface, with a ridge on the back. Just by looking at it, you can see the sense and logic in its design. It is made to hit a ball and to absorb the shock and last a lifetime. But this was not always the case.
A collection of some of the oldest cricket bats in history, dating from as far back as 1729, shows that the earliest bats seemed designed to make the game practically impossible. The first bats strongly resemble hockey sticks, with a long, slender handle and a flattened blade at the end. It is theorized that the earliest games of cricket were originally plated with shepherds' crooks. As this vital piece of cricket equipment evolved, it began to resemble a short rowing oar with an asymmetrical blade. From there on the bats become more recognizable, with only small variations that today, in the 21st Century, can be bought at any cricket equipment shop or even an online cricket store.
This evolution is a demonstration of just how long the game has been around, longer than almost any other sport still played today, and how it has become literally a national obsession for many sports fans across the world and in the commonwealth countries of the former British Empire particularly. Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Australia, South Africa and of course, the UK are all cricket mad, and a great deal of money and time are dedicated to the development of the sport and the international competition that accompanies it.
Originally devised as a
children's game, but slowly gathering momentum with adult players, the
game of cricket has, in the last few hundred years, gained incredible
worldwide popularity and become known as the game of gentlemen. Every
cricket fan, and even most people who do not regularly play or watch
cricket, are familiar with the look and feel of the cricket bat that is
universally used today, but evidence suggests that this humble piece of
cricket equipment has undergone a rather radical change over the years.Today's cricket bats, to be found in any sports shop or cricket store, is traditionally made of willow wood, and is separated into 2 parts, namely the blade and the handle. The blade is a wooden block that is generally flat on the striking surface, with a ridge on the back. Just by looking at it, you can see the sense and logic in its design. It is made to hit a ball and to absorb the shock and last a lifetime. But this was not always the case.
A collection of some of the oldest cricket bats in history, dating from as far back as 1729, shows that the earliest bats seemed designed to make the game practically impossible. The first bats strongly resemble hockey sticks, with a long, slender handle and a flattened blade at the end. It is theorized that the earliest games of cricket were originally plated with shepherds' crooks. As this vital piece of cricket equipment evolved, it began to resemble a short rowing oar with an asymmetrical blade. From there on the bats become more recognizable, with only small variations that today, in the 21st Century, can be bought at any cricket equipment shop or even an online cricket store.
This evolution is a demonstration of just how long the game has been around, longer than almost any other sport still played today, and how it has become literally a national obsession for many sports fans across the world and in the commonwealth countries of the former British Empire particularly. Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Australia, South Africa and of course, the UK are all cricket mad, and a great deal of money and time are dedicated to the development of the sport and the international competition that accompanies it.
Internet Marketer living in Johannesburg South Africa, passionate
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