The sport of cricket has a known history beginning in the late 16th
century. Having originated in south-east England, it became
the country's national sport in the 18th century and has developed
globally in the 19th and 20th centuries. International matches have
been played since 1844 and Test cricket began, retrospectively
recognized, in 1877. Cricket is the world's second most popular
spectator sport after association football (soccer). Governance is
by the International Cricket Council (ICC) which has over one
hundred countries and territories in membership although only
twelve play Test cricket.


Patronage and players

Gambling introduced the first patrons because some of the gamblers decided to strengthen their bets by forming their own teams and it is believed the first "county teams" were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration in 1660, especially as members of the nobility were employing "local experts" from village cricket as the earliest professionals. The first known game in which the teams use county names is in 1709 but there can be little doubt that these sort of fixtures were being arranged long before that. The match in 1697 was probably Sussex versus another county.
The most notable of the early patrons were a group of aristocrats and businessmen who were active from about 1725, which is the time that press coverage became more regular, perhaps as a result of the patrons' influence. These men included the 2nd Duke of Richmond, Sir William Gage, Alan Brodrick and Edwin Stead. For the first time, the press mentions individual players like Thomas Waymark.