Cricket captivates hundreds of millions of people worldwide and confidently ranks second in the world after football and confidently outnumbers all other team sports – from baseball to hockey – in terms of devoted fans. In this article, we will look at ten cricket myths. Let’s get started.
#1. Croquet and cricket are the same game
This is wrong. Croquet is mostly played by retirees in their spare time, with wooden mallets driving balls into goals. As in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, on the Queen’s lawn. And cricket is played by teams in front of tens of thousands of spectators in stadiums.
A cricket bat is 1.5 times heavier than a baseball bat. A professional’s ball travels at 150 km/h, and a world-class player can hit it from 100 meters away. This is a serious sport that necessitates protective equipment, excellent refereeing, and extensive training.
#2. Cricket is played for 6 hours per day
Yes. A classic series of five test matches lasts up to a month and a half, with the games lasting six hours a day with a 40-minute lunch break and two 20-minute teas.
#3. Artificial lighting and ball color: new rules
Yes. Unlike Tests, which end at dusk and resume the next morning, one-day matches must be completed. One of the major cricket taboos, artificial lighting, was lifted in order to accomplish this.
The traditional white uniforms are worn for multi-day tests. There’s also a red ball. However, one-day matches are already played in national or club colors, with the ball being white. The red ball was abandoned due to the fact that the white ball is visible better than the red ball under the light of spotlights and against the background of the night sky.
#4. When it rains, the game is paused
Yes. The field is covered, and special machines pump water from the lawn and the pitch.
#5. Cricket is a little-known sport
Absolutely wrong. Cricket is a popular sport in India, Australia, South Africa, and a few other countries. There are numerous television channels that broadcast games around the clock.
Besides, how can a game that draws hundreds of thousands of spectators be unpopular? IPL betting cricket is available from the world’s largest betting companies.
#6. The urn containing the ashes is revered as the cricket shrine
Yes. The most famous trophy in world cricket is a small urn containing ashes. Two long-standing rivals are vying for it: the national teams of England and Australia.
In 1882, Australia defeated England for the first time at their stadium in a Test match, and the British press declared the “death of English cricket”, followed by cremation and the return of the ashes to Australia. The England team quickly followed, vowing to return the ashes to England. The Test series between Australia and England has been dubbed “The Ashes” ever since.
The winner is considered the owner of the “Ashes,” though the urn itself is always kept in the Lord’s Museum in London, the temple of cricket.
#7. The game’s rules are extremely complicated
Yes. Despite the fact that the basic rules are straightforward, there are several nuances and exceptions. Even after a month and a half of almost daily World Cup matches, it’s difficult to grasp all of the nuances. But this only adds to the game’s intrigue; almost every meeting sparks heated debate.
#8. Cricket necessitates excellent physical condition
Yes, serious physical training is required for cricket. But this isn’t hockey or football, and in general, just being in shape is sufficient. This makes cricket a sport for people who aren’t into strict diets and strenuous workouts.
#9. A large number of people bet on cricket
Cricket has the second-highest volume of bets in the world, trailing only football. There is such a thing as a cricket betting line, and it is constantly expanding as this sport has grown in popularity over the years, including outside of the countries where it originated.
#10. The longest cricket match in history lasted 14 days
Yes, this occurred in 1939. This was when the longest cricket match between England and South Africa was held. It sounds unbelievable, but the match concluded in a draw after the 14th day since the English ship had to sail home and the match had to get canceled.
Conclusion
Cricket is riddled with myths, as is any other sport. There are many stories on the Internet whose veracity is questionable, and it is up to you to decide what to believe and what not.