Cricket has been in the world for many years now and is one of the popular team sport in the world. It has an interesting history, and this game has many formats. You can get the idea of popularity by seeing the cricket match in a crowded stadium. The game you know now has been through many challenges and struggles to achieve new heights in the world.
Cricket is such a game that it is fun and thrilling to watch and play. It is played across 150 countries throughout the world. The game is now controlled and regulated by the central body called ICC or the international cricket council.
You should be wondering who is the Father of cricket and how it got so popular. So do not worry, you will get to know more about cricket in a bit. Below is the cricket explained in a good and brief manner.
Who Is the Father Of Cricket?
William Gilbert Grace is called the Father of cricket. He was a man who loved playing cricket and sacrificed a lot for cricket. So cricket was not always famous or did not have a huge fan base back then in ancient times. But the William Gilbert Grace did grow the popularity of cricket in his time. He was born on 18 August 1848 near Bristol.
Earlier the cricket has only one format known as test matches. Test match is generally played between two teams for five days. He was a very great player who later on became one of the legends of cricket. He started his career against the country Australia in 1880.
Many people would not know about him and what he has done to make cricket a famous sport around the world. In Current times, Sachin Tendulkar, or the sir Donald Bradman, is considered the Father of cricket by the youth. But very few know the fact that the real Father of cricket is said to be William Grace Gilbert.
Why Is WG Grace Known As Father Of Cricket?
So everybody knows that the craze of cricket was not the same back then. The individual did not have a lot of opportunities to play cricket back then in old times. Very few people knew about this game, and so it was not taken as a serious competitive sport.
But in the 1880s, when WG Grace started playing cricket, cricket started to become famous day by day. The game got more recognization in the world with the help of WG Grace efforts and his skills and gameplay.
He played 22 test cricket matches in his whole career from the England side. Back then, there was only a major league of cricket called first class in England. WG Grace showed his class by playing the most number of games in a season has scored so many runs.
Thus, his efforts and energy made it possible to reach the scale or the heights as it is now. However, the sole reason for a major gain of popularity in the 1880s was the WG Grace, which is renowned as the Father of cricket.
How Cricket Became Famous?
The reason for the increase in the fame of cricket is both its thrilling gameplay and modernization. So as the tech got advanced, and the invention of new technologies made cricket reach a larger section of audiences at once. So, for all the fans, seeing the match live in the stadium was not possible.
The stadium can hold a limited number of people but now, with the services such as live streaming of cricket throughout the world boomed the popularity of cricket. People now are able to watch cricket matches from sitting any part of the world. This proved the advantage for cricket.
Another main factor why cricket is so famous in the world is its gameplay and formats. Cricket is played in three main formats ODIs, Test and T-20s. Among them, the t-20 format of cricket is very famous in the world. As an int-20 game, the team can win the game until the last over. It is the matter of one good over which can change the table upside down for any of the two teams.
Thus, cricket is a very competitive team game where every team plays the match for their country’s pride. Also, playing cricket on an international level is not as easy as it seems. You need to learn the specific techniques and skills required to play cricket professionally.