Cricket is a bat-and-ball game that is played between two teams of eleven players on a field, at the centre of which is a 22-yard 20 metre; 66-foot pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails small sticks balanced on three stumps. Two players from the batting team, the striker and nonstriker, stand in front of either wicket holding bats, while one player from the fielding team, the bowler, bowls the ball toward the striker's wicket from the opposite end of the pitch. The striker's goal is to hit the bowled ball with the bat and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one run for each of these swaps. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches the boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled illegally.

The fielding team aims to prevent runs by dismissing batters so they are "out". Dismissal can occur in various ways, including being bowled when the ball hits the striker's wicket and dislodges the bails, and by the fielding side either catching the ball after it is hit by the bat but before it hits the ground, or hitting a wicket with the ball before a batter can cross the crease line in front of the wicket. When ten batters have been dismissed, the innings playing phase ends and the teams swap roles. Forms of cricket range from traditional Test matches played over five days to the newer Twenty20 format also known as T20, in which each team bats for a single innings of 20 overs each "over" being a set of 6 fair opportunities for the batting team to score and the game generally lasts three to four hours.

Cricket Traditionally, cricketers play in all-white kit, but in limited overs cricket, they wear club or team colours. In addition to the basic kit, some players wear protective gear to prevent injury caused by the ball, which is a hard, solid spheroid made of compressed leather with a slightly raised sewn seam enclosing a cork core layered with tightly wound string.

The earliest known definite reference to cricket is to it being played in South East England in the mid 16th century. It spread globally with the expansion of the British Empire, with the first international matches in the second half of the 19th century. The game's governing body is the International Cricket Council ICC, which has over 100 members, twelve of which are full members who play Test matches. The game's rules, the Laws of Cricket, are maintained by Marylebone Cricket Club MCC in London. The sport is primarily played in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa and the West Indies.

While cricket has traditionally been played largely by men, women's cricket has experienced significant growth in the 21st century.

The most successful side playing international cricket is Australia, which has won eight One Day International trophies, including six World Cups, more than any other country, and has been the top-rated Test side more than any other country

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball approximately 9.4 inches 24 cm in diameter through the defender's hoop a basket 18 inches 46 cm in diameter mounted 10 feet 3.05 m high to a backboard at each end of the court. Teams alternate between offense, when they attempt to score, and defense, when they try to prevent the opposing side from scoring. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play overtime is mandated. However, if the additional period still results in a tied score, yet another additional period is mandated. This goes on until the score is not tied anymore.

Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running dribbling or by passing it to a teammate, both of which require considerable skill. On offense, players may use a variety of shots – the layup, the jump shot, or a dunk; on defense, they may steal the ball from a dribbler, intercept passes, or block shots; either offense or defense may collect a rebound, that is, a missed shot that bounces from rim or backboard. It is a violation to lift or drag one's pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling.

The five players on each side fall into five playing positions. The tallest player is usually the center, the second-tallest and strongest is the power forward, a slightly shorter but more agile player is the small forward, and the shortest players or the best ball handlers are the shooting guard and the point guard, who implement the coach's game plan by managing the execution of offensive and defensive plays player positioning. Informally, players may play three-on-three, two-on-two, and one-on-one.

Invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the United States, basketball has evolved to become one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports. 1 2 The National Basketball Association NBA is the most significant professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition 3 4 drawing most of its talent from U.S. college basketball. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the EuroLeague and the Basketball Champions League Americas. The FIBA Basketball World Cup and Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament are the major international events of the sport and attract top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for national teams, like EuroBasket and FIBA AmeriCup.

The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and women's Olympic basketball tournament feature top national teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship is also popular, whereas the strongest European clubs participate in the EuroLeague Women.

History of basketball

Early history

A game similar to basketball is mentioned in a 1591 book published in Frankfurt am Main that reports on the lifestyles and customs of coastal North American residents, Wahrhafftige Abconterfaytung der Wilden German; translates as Truthful Depictions of the Savages:5 "Among other things, a game of skill is described in which balls must be thrown against a target woven from twigs, mounted high on a pole. There's a small reward for the player if the target is being hit."6

Creation

James Naismith c. 1920

In December 1891, James Naismith, a Canadian American professor of physical education and instructor at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School now Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts,7 was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day.8 He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he invented a new game in which players would pass a ball to teammates and try to score points by tossing the ball into a basket mounted on a wall.

The first basketball court at Springfield College

Naismith wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto an elevated track. Naismith initially set up the peach basket with its bottom intact, which meant that the ball had to be retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored. This quickly proved tedious, so Naismith removed the bottom of the basket to allow the balls to be poked out with a long dowel after each scored basket.

Shortly after, Senda Berenson, instructor of physical culture at the nearby Smith College, went to Naismith to learn more about the game.9 Fascinated by the new sport and the values it could teach, she started to organize games with her pupils, following adjusted rules.10 The first official women's interinstitutional game was played barely 11 months later, between the University of California and Miss Head's School.11 In 1899, a committee was established at the Conference of Physical Training in Springfield to draw up general rules for women's basketball. Thus, the sport quickly spread throughout America's schools, colleges and universities with uniform rules for both sexes.12

The first basketballs used were association footballs

Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. These round balls from "association football" were made, at the time, with a set of laces to close off the hole needed for inserting the inflatable bladder after the other sewn-together segments of the ball's cover had been flipped outside-in.13 14These laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable.15 Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith whereas in American football, the lace construction proved to be advantageous for gripping and remains to this day. The first balls made specifically for basketball were brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use. Dribbling was not part of the original game except for the "bounce pass" to teammates. Passing the ball was the primary means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the asymmetric shape of early balls.dubious discuss Dribbling was common by 1896, with a rule against the double dribble by 1898.16

The peach baskets were used until 1906 when they were finally replaced by metal hoops with backboards. A further change was soon made, so the ball merely passed through. Whenever a person got the ball in the basket, their team would gain a point. Whichever team got the most points won the game.17 The baskets were originally nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing court, but this proved impractical when spectators in the balcony began to interfere with shots. The backboard was introduced to prevent this interference; it had the additional effect of allowing rebound shots. 8 Naismith's handwritten diaries, discovered by his granddaughter in early 2006, indicate that he was nervous about the new game he had invented, which incorporated rules from a children's game called duck on a rock, as many had failed before it.19

Frank Mahan, one of the players from the original first game, approached Naismith after the Christmas break, in early 1892, asking him what he intended to call his new game. Naismith replied that he had not thought of it because he had been focused on just getting the game started. Mahan suggested that it be called "Naismith ball", at which he laughed, saying that a name like that would kill any game. Mahan then said, "Why not call it basketball?" Naismith replied, "We have a basket and a ball, and it seems to me that would be a good name for it."20 21 The first official game was played in the YMCA gymnasium in Albany, New York, on January 20, 1892, with nine players. The game ended at 1 0; the shot was made from 25 feet 7.6 m, on a court just half the size of a present day Streetball or National Basketball Association NBA court.

At the time, soccer was being played with 10 to a team which was increased to 11. When winter weather got too icy to play soccer, teams were taken indoors, and it was convenient to have them split in half and play basketball with five on each side. By 1897 98, teams of five became standard.

Football

The attacking player 10 attempts to kick the ball into the net behind the opposing team's goalkeeper here wearing red and yellow to score a goal.

Highest governing body FIFA

Nicknames

The beautiful game The Worlds Game 1 2

 

First played Mid-19th century England 3 4

Characteristics

Contact Yes

Team members 11 per side

Goalkeeper

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

Mixed sex No separate competitions

Type

Team sport ball game

Equipment Football or soccer ball

Football boots

Shin guards

Kits

Gloves for goalkeepers

Venue Football pitch also known as football field football ground soccer field soccer pitch or pitch

Glossary Glossary of association football

Presence

Country or region Worldwide

Olympic Men's since the 1900 Olympics and women's since the 1996 Olympics

Paralympic 5 a side since 2004 and 7 a side from 1984 to 2016

Association football more commonly known as football or soccer a is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch.

The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular framed goal defended by the opponent. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.

Association football is played in accordance with the Laws of the Game a set of rules that has been in effect since 1863 and maintained by the IFAB since 1886. The game is played with a football that is 68 70 cm 27 28 in in circumference. The two teams compete to score goals by getting the ball into the other team's goal between the posts, under the bar and fully across the goal line  When the ball is in play the players mainly use their feet, but may also use any other part of their body, except for their hands or arms, to control, strike, or pass the ball; the head, chest, and thighs are commonly used. Only the goalkeepers may use their hands and arms, but only within their own penalty area. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner. Depending on the format of the competition, an equal number of goals scored may result in a draw being declared with 1 point awarded to each team or the game may go into extra time or a penalty shootout5

Internationally, association football is governed by FIFA. Under FIFA there are six continental confederations: AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC and UEFA. National associations e g the FA in England, U.S. Soccer in the United States etc are responsible for managing the game in their own countries both professionally and at an amateur level, and coordinating competitions in accordance with the Laws of the Game. The most prestigious senior international competition is the FIFA World Cup. The men's World Cup is the most-viewed sporting event in the world, surpassing the Olympic Games.6 The most prestigious competition in European club football is the UEFA Champions League, which attracts an extensive television audience worldwide. The final of the men's Champions League is the most-watched annual sporting event in the world.

Sports

Sport includes all forms of competitive physical activity or games which,through casual or organized participation, at least in part aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants, and in some cases, entertainment for spectators.Sports can bring positive results to one's physical health. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, simultaneously or consecutively, with one winner; in others, the contest (a match) is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a "tie" or "draw", in which there is no single winner; others provide tie-breaking methods to ensure one winner and one loser. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion. Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases by playoffs.

Sport is generally recognised as system of activities which are based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity, with the largest major competitions such as the Olympic Games admitting only sports meeting this definition,and other organisations such as the Council of Europe using definitions precluding activities without a physical element from classification as sports.However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The International Olympic Committee (through ARISF) recognises both chess and bridge as bona fide sports, and SportAccord, the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports: bridge, chess, draughts (checkers), Go and xiangqi,and limits the number of mind games which can be admitted as sports.

Sport is usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, and allow consistent adjudication of the winner. Winning can be determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first. It can also be determined by judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, including objective or subjective measures such as technical performance or artistic impression.

Records of performance are often kept, and for popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported in sport news. Sport is also a major source of entertainment for non-participants, with spectator sport drawing large crowds to sport venues, and reaching wider audiences through broadcasting. Sport betting is in some cases severely regulated, and in some cases is central to the sport.

According to A.T. Kearney, a consultancy, the global sporting industry is worth up to $620 billion as of 2013.The world's most accessible and practised sport is running, while association football is the most popular spectator sport.