STL All Sports

English historians, while insisting that cricket originated and developed in England, do not know the approximate date when it first was played, where it was played, or how it gained its name. One authority thought that it came from "crice" (or cryce), which was a word in old English meaning "staff" (or stick). This appears to be far fetched because staff is used to describe a marker used in lawn bowls. R. Cotgraves' "Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues" of 1611 translates the French word "crosse" as follows: "A cricket, staffe, or crooked staffe, where-with bois (boys) play at cricket."

The man who compiled that dictionary knew that cricket was played in England in 1611-and sooner-but sheds no light on whether it also was played in France. He merely states that "crosse in French means a cricket stick.

The origin of cricket, which once seemed destined to become the national game of the United States, is still in dispute. According to Strutt, and authority, cricket was a development of "club ball," but details as to "club ball" are not available.

A drawing in the Kings Library in London, dated 1344, establishes cricket as a well organized and commanding sport at that time. Historians are inclined to agree that the game began in either the 12th or 13th Century. The drawing shows a cricket bowler with a batter facing him. The batter has his bat upside down, resting on the ground, as if in a waiting position.

Edward IV decided that play at "Hands In and Hands Out," apparently the name of the game in 1477, interfered with compulsory practice at archery. He forbade its continuance and fixed a fine and two years imprisonment for players and a fine and three years in jail foranyone who permitted the game to be played on his property. The ban endured for generations. Later rulers became tolerant toward cricket and play eventually was resumed openly, without incurring royal penalty.

What is believed to be the oldest book containing the earliest reference to the playing of cricket is in the possession of the Guildford Corporation of Surrey, England.
It is the record of the Quarter Sessions. In it are minutes for an inquiry held in the year 1597-98 concerning the wrongful enclosure of a piece of land.