Cricket

  Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, only behind soccer, with over 2.5 billion followers. Cricket was invented in England and is now played around the world, predominently by historically commonwealth countries. Cricket is played on either circular or oval shaped grounds. There is a rectangular area in the middle of the ground, called the pitch, which is the most important part of the field. On the pitch, all the bowling and batting takes place. A set of wooden sticks, called stumps and bails, is placed on both ends of the pitch. A cricket ball; made of wood and leather, and a wooden bat are required to play the sport. The batsmen wear a full set of protective gear.