cricket Definition, Origin, History, Equipment, Rules, & Facts

Suryakumar Yadav had scored 69 off 36 balls and put on 104 runs with Virat Kohli off 62 deliveries as India reached the target in 19.5 overs. The photo was taken during an international match between Australia and Sri Lanka; Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka is bowling to Australian batter Adam Gilchrist. Cricket has had a broad impact on popular culture, both in the Commonwealth of Nations and elsewhere. 

It has, for example, influenced the lexicon of these nations, especially the English language, with various phrases such as "that's not cricket" (that's unfair), "had a good innings" and "sticky wicket". "On a sticky wicket" (aka "sticky dog" or "glue pot") is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance.

For example, the umpire raises a forefinger to signal that the batter is out ; he raises both arms above his head if the batter has hit the ball for six runs. 

The scorers are required by the Laws to record all runs scored, wickets taken and overs bowled; in practice, they also note significant amounts of additional data relating to the game. Although the main object of the game has always been to score the most runs, the early form of cricket differed from the modern game in certain key technical aspects; the North American variant of cricket known as wicket retained many of these aspects. 

The earliest reference to cricket is in South East England in the mid-16th century. It spread globally with the expansion of the British Empire, with the first international matches in the second half of the 19th century. The game's governing body is the International Cricket Council , which has over 100 members, twelve of which are full members who play Test matches.