NCERT Solutions for 9th Class History : Chapter- 7 The Story of Cricket
Page No: 157
Questions
1. Test cricket is unique game in many ways. Discuss some of the ways in which it is different from other team games. How are the peculiarities of Test cricket shaped by its historical beginnings as a village game?
Answer
Test cricket is a unique game in many ways. It was the first modern team game to give itself rules and regulations. Unlike other team games, it can go on for five days and still end in a draw. No other modern team sport takes even half as much time to complete. While most team games (such as hockey and football) specify the dimensions of the playing area, the laws of cricket do not state the specific dimensions of the playing field.
The peculiarities of Test cricket are :
→ A match can go on for five days and still end in a draw. No other modern day team sport takes even half as much time to complete. Baseball completes nine innings in less than half the time that it takes to play a limited overs match.
→ The length of the pitch is specified (22 yards) but the size or shape of the ground is not. No dimensions of the playing area are mentioned for cricket.
2. Describe one way in which in the nineteenth century, technology brought about a change in equipment and give one example where no change in equipment took place.
Answer
Witht the changing times technology brought about a change in Cricket equipment but it remained true to its origins:
→ Introduction of pads and protective gloves. These protective equipments came forth as a result of the invention of vulcanised rubber.
→ Cricketing most important tools are made from natural and pre-industrial materials. The bats, even today, are made of wood. Also, they are not factory manufactured, but made by hand.
3. Explain why cricket became popular in India and the West Indies. Can you give reasons why it did not become popular in countries in South America?
Answer
Cricket became popular in India and the West Indies because of its colonial background. British imperial officials used it as a symbol of racial and social superiority. They did not popularise the game for the masses. For the colonised, playing cricket implied being the racial equals of the British. Success at cricket came to imply a measure of racial equality and political progress. On the other hand, the game was not so popular in countries like those of South America since they were not dominated by imperial England.
4. Give brief explanations for the following:
(i) The Parsis were the first Indian community to set up a cricket club in India.
(ii) Mahatma Gandhi condemned the Pentangular tournament.
(iii) The name of the ICC was changed from the Imperial Cricket Conference to theInternational Cricket Conference.
(iv) The shift of the ICC headquarters from London to Dubai.
Answer
(i) The Parsis were a small trading community in close contact with the British, and hence, they were the first ones to westernise. During this process of westernisation, they founded the first Indian cricket club, in Bombay, in 1848, called the Oriental Cricket Club.
(ii) Mahatma Gandhi condemned the Pentangular tournament as he felt that it was a divisive competition that went against the need of the hour. At a time when the nationalists were trying to unite India’s diverse population, the Pentangular tournament divided them on communal lines and the colonial government encouraged these divisions.
(iii) The name was changed because of decolonisation. This was a process by which the British influence in many areas, one of them sports, declined. Cricket was no longer the monopoly of the imperial powers. Cricket was becoming international. In time, it came to be accepted that the laws of cricket could not continue to be framed for British or Australian conditions of play and they became part of the technique of all bowlers, everywhere in the world.
(iv) The shift of the ICC headquarters from London to Dubai happened on account of India's location in South Asia. Since India has the largest viewership and market for cricket, the balance of power in cricket has shifted from the colonial domain to the decolonised domain. The shifting of headquarters symbolised and formally marked the end of English or imperialist domination over the game.
5. How have advances in technology, especially television technology, affected the development of contemporary cricket?
Answer
Advances in technology, especially television technology, have affected the development of contemporary cricket by making it marketable game:→ Cricket boards sold television rights to television companies and reaped profits.
→ Television channels sold television spots to companies. They aired their commercials and advertised their commodities to a large number of audience. They made huge profits.
→ Continuous television coverage made cricketers celebrities.They became rich. They were paid by cricket boards and also by companies whose commercials they endorsed.
→ Cricket audience expanded. Cricket was taken to the smaller towns. People could watch and learn by imitating their heroes.
→ Coloured uniforms, protective equipments, field regulations, and day-night, limited-overs matches have all helped this pre-industrial, rural game to adapt to the changing modern world.
→ Balance of power shifted to South Asia as most viewership was from here. ICC headquarters shifted from London to tax-free Dubai.
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