Cricket Equipment
Children’s cricket equipment is a must-have item for any home, school and holiday house. There is nothing quite like a good game of cricket to keep children occupied and out of trouble in a healthy, competitive environment. As a sport, cricket is enjoyed around the globe and much loved by millions of spectators and players - professionals and amateurs alike.
The exact origin of the game we know as ‘cricket’ today has been obscured by the ebb and flow of time, but the earliest record that any historian could find is that of a game played in Kent around 1300s which was documented by King Edward in his household accounts. From there things become a bit more complicated. Some historians postulate that the game developed in the South East of England, where the grass was short due to sheep farming - effectively creating a natural cricket pitch. These same historians go on to say that the game originally consisted of rolling a ball towards a target (normally the wicket-gate of the sheep paddock), which in turn was defended by a player with a shepherd’s staff.
However, it turns out that at the the time hitting a ball with a stick was quite a popular pastime the world over, and in reality no single country can actually claim to be the birthplace of cricket. What we do have, however, is pictorial evidence of both Edward II and Oliver Cromwell wielding a bat in play. The next stop along the timeline is the first recorded cricket match that took place in 1646 in Kent, after which the game became so popular that parishioners were fined if they missed church in order to play!
The initial rules of cricket were documented in 1744, but have since changed a great deal. For instance, during the 1770s it became popular to throw the ball, rather than to roll it along the ground. This meant that bowlers had a greater arsenal of tricks that included spinning, swerving and increased speed. Furthermore, the curved bat was replaced with the straight one in order to be more effective. From that day onward cricket became ever more a gentleman’s game, placing more emphasis on skill and finesse than on brute force and physical strength.
Interested in purchasing a
kids’ cricket set? No problem - we have already done the legwork for you. All you have to do is sit back, peruse our comprehensive selection of children’s cricket equipment, select, click and purchase! Aside from
kids’ cricket equipment; we also stock a range of
sports bibs and
kids’ playtime accessories that you may wish to view.