How Game of Bat & Ball becomes "Gentleman's" Game.
In general, if we ever came across the word Gentleman,then we may end up noticing Chivalrous, Courteous, Honourable character of Men. But when we comes across Gentleman in sports we may end up scratching our head. Rightly so, as in every sports that are being played are very competitive in nature. e may find hustle, tussle, sledging, and many things, which never ever comes near of being called as Gentleman Sports.
Surprisingly, Cricket is the only sports which considered to be a Gentleman Game. Not because it is played in courteous or full of honour, but because of a different reason. The theory has its roots to England, where the game originally originated in the 17th century.
Being called as Gentleman, it has two different meanings, while in India it means, courteous, well behaved and honourable nature of human especially to Men.
But in England Gentleman refers to a class of society, which were considered to belongs from upper section of the society like a lord or count or viscount. These section of society doesnt prefer to work, but have great amount of wealth in legacy. (similar to Zamindars of India). Other section of society consisting of laborers, craftsmen etc were referred as Commoners.
The Gentleman Game of Cricket comes from history.. In England, when it was originated the game of Cricket was initially played by the elite people of the society, and hence started to be referred as a gentleman's game. Only the rich and the privileged, who were considered Gentlemen could play cricket.
To play cricket, in those days was akin to owning an IPL team today. Having originated in south-east England, it became the country's national sport in the 18th century and has developed globally in the 19th and 20th centuries. The charm of the game has spread such that, many nation started to be distinguished themselves as a Cricket crazy nation, like, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh WestIndies, Zimbabwe etc. This sports gave identity to many nation and brought them among the reckoning.
The Older & Newer Version
Look at European/ American football today and back in the mid 1900’s, they’re not similar at all. Similarly, the game of Cricket has become much more serious nowadays.
Cricket was almost like a completely different sport back in the day compared to what it is today. Mainly because when cricket was first originated, it was not a legitimate sport and it was played for fun and pleasure, but in todays time, Cricket is highly competitive sport that is played throughout many countries, with much vigour and enthusiasm.
One of the major changes that has taken place over the generations of Cricket is the differrnt equipment that were developed and used in the game. From a wooden piece of stick to defined Bat, The Cork Ball, The LED wickets, Helmets, Pads, Gloves, Thigh Guard, L- Guard and many things that has made this sport very glamorous and interesting.
There are different set of Cricket Rules framed, and every game is played as per the Rulebook. Any breach of Rule may call for strict punishment, which may prohibit the players from playing Cricket, to heavy penalties.
Golden Age of Cricket
From being a Shepard's children sports to a Gentleman game, there are many Cricket saga that truly make this sport very entertaining and interesting. As the game of Cricket getting popularity, there is a period of time, when, the sports is considered as “Golden Age of Cricket”.
The evolution and progress of Cricket were halted during the two World Wars. During the First World War, the period between 1890 and 1914 is referred as the “Golden Age of Cricket”. It was period when many of the elite first-class players in England and other nations lost their lives due to war. On the spirit of the Gentlemans sport and sadness of loss. Also, some of great cricketers were produced during this time, who gather lots of accolades later year, and making the period Golden Age.
Interesting facts:
You know, If you ever visit India, you might end up watching some of the golden glimpses of Cricket. Kids who cant afford Cricket bats, still make out their own with price of wood and make balls by rolling out news paper.
May be it happening in other parts of the world too. Something, which still reminds us of so many of the interesting Cricket History stories.
Peace
Namaste @steemflow
Check out my other interesting Cricketing Posts:
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https://twitter.com/steemflow/status/1311900553010581504
I played a pickup game of cricket a few years ago at some sort of sport expo in Chicago. Turns out I was a pretty good bowler for a newcomer, but a terrible batsman. This is because I used to play baseball and I just couldn't bring myself to hold the bat the way you need to in order to excel at that.
Wow...u could become a good hitter considering u hv strong baseball exp....just swat the ball out the park...but thanks u get some good hidden talent of bowling....
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Good One.
Gentlemen's game has lost some shine due to some recent events like match fixing, ball tampering events, but still, it has retained it's tagline.
IPL's success made other countries start their own T20 leagues and that shows the influence of this game.
Happy to follow your Cricket especially IPL blogs :)
IPL is money making project of Cricket...its a great way for entertainment while its generate good revenue for the cricketing board....so it's not a game of Cricket but a money making project.