Cricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being played overseas and by the mid-19th century the first international matches were being held. Today, the game's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), has 104 member countries.This international tournament dates back to the year 1975 (when it was played for the first time in England) and is regarded as the leading international championship of men's One Day International (ODI) cricket.
The participating teams include each one of the ten Test-playing. Apart from that, the nations that qualify through the World Cup Qualifier are also included as the contenders.Till date, ICC World Cup has been organized nine times (with the last tournament being held in West Indies in the year 2007 and won by Australia). Out of these nine tournaments, the Australian team has won the most times i.e.
four, followed by the West Indies team with two wins in its hand. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, each of the teams has won the World Cup only once up till now.ICC Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held in the year 2011, with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh playing as the hosts. Cricket fans all over the world are now just waiting for the game to begin!.
..ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International (ODI) cricket . The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four yearsThe Laws of Cricket. These are maintained by the ICC and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
* A cricket match is played on a cricket field at the centre of which is a pitch. * The match is contested between two teams of eleven players each.[3] * One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible without being dismissed ("out") while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the other team’s batsmen and limit the runs being scored.When the batting team has used all its available overs or has no remaining batsmen, the roles become reversed and it is now the fielding team’s turn to bat and try to outscore the opposition.
There are several variations in the length of a game of cricket. In professional cricket this ranges from a limit of 20 overs per side (Twenty20) to a game played over 5 days (Test cricket). Depending on the form of the match being played, there are different rules that govern how a game is won, lost, drawn or tied.A cricket match is played between two teams of eleven players each on a field of variable size and shape. The ground is grassy and is prepared by groundsmen whose jobs include fertilising, mowing, rolling and levelling the surface.The perimeter of the field is known as the boundary and this is sometimes painted and sometimes marked by a rope that encircles the outer edge of the field.
The field may be round, square or oval. The objective of each team is to score more runs than the other team and to completely dismiss the other team.
