dbo:abstract
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- The earliest definite mention of cricket is dated Monday, 17 January 1597 (i.e., a Julian date which is 1598 by modern reckoning under the Gregorian calendar). The reference is in the records of a legal case at Guildford re the use of a parcel of land c.1550 and John Derrick, a coroner, testified that he had at that time played cricket on the land when he was a boy. Cricket may have been a children's game in the 16th century but, about 1610, the earliest known organised match was played and references from that time indicate adult participation. From then to 1725, less than thirty matches are known to have been organised between recognised teams. Similarly, a limited number of players, teams and venues of the period have been recorded. Having originated in England sometime before c.1550, cricket's introduction to other lands began in the seventeenth century, reaching India for example by the early eighteenth century. The earliest matches played by English parish teams are examples of village cricket. Although village matches are now considered minor in status, the early matches are significant in cricket's history simply because they are known. There were no newspaper reports of matches until the end of the seventeenth century and so the primary sources are court records and private diaries, hence games were rarely recorded. In the course of the seventeenth century, cricket in London and the south-eastern counties of England evolved into a popular sport, staging lucrative eleven-a-side matches featuring the earliest professional players. The information is subject to change in the light of ongoing research. (en)
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rdfs:comment
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- The earliest definite mention of cricket is dated Monday, 17 January 1597 (i.e., a Julian date which is 1598 by modern reckoning under the Gregorian calendar). The reference is in the records of a legal case at Guildford re the use of a parcel of land c.1550 and John Derrick, a coroner, testified that he had at that time played cricket on the land when he was a boy. Cricket may have been a children's game in the 16th century but, about 1610, the earliest known organised match was played and references from that time indicate adult participation. From then to 1725, less than thirty matches are known to have been organised between recognised teams. Similarly, a limited number of players, teams and venues of the period have been recorded. (en)
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