By: JESLIN JOHN & CRICKET TEAM

No one knows when or where cricket began but there is a body of evidence, much of it circumstantial, that strongly suggests the game was devised during Saxon or Norman times by children living in the Weald, an area of dense woodlands and clearings in south-east England that lies across Kent and Sussex. In medieval times, the Weald was populated by small farming and metal-working communities. It is generally believed that cricket survived as a children's game for many centuries before it was increasingly taken up by adults around the beginning of the 17th century.SaxonNormanWeald

A number of words are thought to be possible sources for the term "cricket". In the earliest known reference to the sport in 1598 (see below), it is called creckett. The name may have been derived from the Middle Dutch krick(-e), meaning a stick; or the Old English cricc or cryce meaning a crutch or staff. Another possible source is the Middle Dutch word krickstoel, meaning a long low stool used for kneeling in church and which resembled the long low wicket with two stumps used in early cricket.Middle DutchOld Englishchurchwicket stumps

According to Heiner Gillmeister, a European language expert of Bonn University, "cricket" derives from the Middle Dutch met de (krik ket)sen (i.e., "with the stick chase"), which also suggests a Dutch connection in the game's origin. It is more likely that the terminology of cricket was based on words in use in south east England at the time and, given trade connections with the County of Flanders, especially in the 15th century when it belonged to the Duchy of Burgundy, many Middle Dutch words found their way into southern English dialects.County of FlandersDuchy of Burgundy

The entire history of cricket in India and the sub-continent as a whole is based on the existence and development of the British Raj via the East India Company.British RajEast India Company On Wednesday 31 December 1600, Queen Elizabeth I granted a Royal Charter to the East India Company, often colloquially referred to as "John Company". It was initially a joint-stock company that sought trading privileges in India and the East Indies, but the Royal Charter effectively gave it a 21 year monopoly on all trade in the region. In time, the East India Company transformed from a commercial trading venture to one which virtually ruled India as it acquired auxiliary governmental and military functions, until its dissolution in 1858 following the Indian Mutiny. The East India Company was the means by which cricket was introduced into India.Elizabeth IRoyal Charter In 1639, the Company effectively founded the city of Madras and in 1661 acquired Portuguese territory on the west coast of India that included Bombay. In 1690, an Anglo-Moghul treaty allowed English merchants to establish a trading settlement on the Hooghly River, which became Calcutta. All of these places became major cricket centres as the popularity of the game grew among the native population.MadrasBombayCalcutta

Beginning of first-class cricket In 1864, a Madras v. Calcutta match was arguably the start of first-class cricket in India.first-class cricket The most important fixture in the 19th century was the Bombay Presidency Match which evolved, first, into the Bombay Triangular and then into the Bombay Quadrangular. The match was first played in 1877 and then intermittently for several seasons until finally being given first-class status in Bombay Quadrangular An English team led by George Vernon in was the first foreign team to tour India but none of the matches that it played are considered first-class.George Vernon First-class cricket definitely began in the season with two Europeans v Parsees matches at Bombay (match drawn) and Poona (Parsees won by 3 wickets). In the same season, Lord Hawke captained an English team that played four first-class matches including a game against "All India" on 26–28 January EuropeansParseesBombayPoonaLord Hawke

The first Indian ventures into international cricket were by the Parsees cricket team which toured England twice in the 1880s. See: Parsee cricket team in England in 1886 and Parsee cricket team in England in Parsees cricket teamParsee cricket team in England in 1886 Parsee cricket team in England in 1888

The 2nd Women's Test match between Australia and England in Sydney in 1935.Women's Test matchAustralia England The history of women's cricket can be traced back to a report in The Reading Mercury on 26 July 1745 and a match that took place between the villages of Bramley and Hambledon near Guildford in Surrey.BramleyHambledonGuildfordSurrey

The Indian women's cricket team played their first Test match in 1976/1977, when they drew with the West Indies in a six-match series. They performed better than expected in the last Women's Cricket World Cup, reaching the finals but then losing to Australia. In 2005 they won their second Women's Asia Cup, played in Pakistan. That tournament featured the first-ever match between the Indian and Pakistani women's teams.Test matchWest IndiesWomen's Cricket World CupAustralia Women's Asia CupPakistan They toured England in 2006, winning the Test series 1-0, winning the Twenty20 international, but losing the ODI series 4-0. The captain of the team is Jhulan Goswami.Jhulan Goswami

Captain Jhulan Goswami First recorded match 31 October 1976 v West Indies at Bangalore, IndiaWest IndiesBangalore India World Cup Appearances 6 (First in 1978) Best result Runners up, 2005 Test matches Test matches played 34 Test wins/losses 3/6 ODI matches ODI matches played 169 ODIs wins/losses 47/77