Cricket Facts for Kids
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Cricket is a popular sport played all over the world, especially in England, Australia, India, and Pakistan. It is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players each. The game is played on a circular field with a rectangular 22-yard long pitch in the middle. Here are some interesting cricket facts for kids:
1. The origins of cricket are uncertain, but it is believed to have been first played in 16th-century England, with the first recorded game being played in 1646.
2. There are many different formats of cricket, but the most common are Test cricket, One Day International (ODI) cricket, and T20 cricket. Test matches are played over five days, while ODIs are played over 50 overs per team and T20 matches are played over 20 overs per team.
3. The highest individual score in Test cricket is 400 not out by Brian Lara of West Indies. In ODI cricket, the highest individual score is 264 by Rohit Sharma of India.
4. The fastest recorded ball by a bowler in cricket was bowled by Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan at a speed of 161.3 km/hour (100.23 mph).
5. The cricket ball is made of cork and leather and is usually red or white in color. The cricket bat is made of willow and has a flat face and a curved blade.
6. The wicketkeeper is the player who stands behind the stumps and catches the ball when the batsman misses it. The wicketkeeper is an important part of the team, as they are responsible for catching the ball and stumping the batsman out.
7. The umpire is the person who makes the decisions in the game, such as whether a batsman is out or not. The umpire also keeps track of the score and enforces the rules of the game.
8. The Ashes is a famous cricket series played between England and Australia. The series is named after a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper in 1882, which declared that English cricket had died and the ashes would be taken to Australia. Since then, the two countries have played a series of matches, with the winner taking home a small urn containing the ashes of a burnt cricket ball.