Association football: a competitive sport in which two groups of eleven players try to obtain a round ball into another team’s goal by kicking it with their feet. Also called football in Canada, United States, Australia, and New Zealand. When the ball is kicked, each team has to score three points. Points are scored through scoring goals, taking extra point when the teams are tied, using fouls, sending the opponent’s ball into the goal post, or winning a penalty kick.
Rugby: a game where two teams try to prevent each other from gaining a point by touching the ball used for soccer. Also known as rugby in America, England, Scotland, and Wales. The game is played with fifteen players on each side. Two referees are allowed to officiate the game.
Cricket: A game played between two rival teams with the aim of winning points. In cricket, one team wears the jerseys of the losing side while the winning team wears the jerseys of the winning team. Cricket is played in indoor and outdoor arenas. Cricket is the only sport that is played in all four corners of the world on flat ground. Cricket is the most popular sport in Asia and its all-time leading income earner.
Tennis: A game played between two competitors by throwing a racquet. The racquet is propelled by powerful “strokes” of the hand. Tennis is played in singles and doubles. Each stage of the competition progresses through an eight stage process. The winner of each stage advances to the next stage.
Batting Cage: A cage in which a player is protected by a ball from balls hit by other players. Batsmen protected their body from injury by wearing spiked boots. In the late eighteen hundreds, batting cages began being used with the intention of stopping the long hours of cricket on the court, but they were too dangerous to be used at first.
Fielding: A game played in which a team of players competes against each other with the aim of scoring more points than the other team. Both sides must bat, bowl, fielding, and run out the last ball in a match. Cricket and football are the two most popular sports in India. Cricket matches in the UK use “hand-balling”, where each player carries a small ball in their hands. England have won the Cricket World Cup five times, the most by any country.
Political football: A game played between two nations when neither side wants to win. Politeness is always rewarded. Two nations play each other with political football until someone wins. When the game is over, everyone leaves with an “ox” (used to be coins), and the winner gets the coin. Politeness is rewarded in this game.
The popularity of cricket in America is partly a result of American football. The popularity of football in the USA is comparable to that of baseball in the United States. Cricket is also a billion fans sport in the UK. Cricket has the most number of professional players in the world, second only to football. Cricket and football have been compared, and the comparison is not very flattering to cricket.
Cricket versus American football is like comparing a peanut butter sandwich against a steak cooked on hot coal. The former is a healthy treat, while the latter is very rich and contains all kinds of unhealthy fats. If you take into account that the American football game involves only eleven players, then you can see why the peanuts are the healthier choice. Cricket is a game played by thousands of people, while football involves dozens of men, all of whom are busy moving around.
Another way in which cricket and football differ is in their effect on the fitness of players. Cricket allows for plenty of rest, so players do not get tired quickly like football players do. When a player is tired, their accuracy and bat speed drops considerably.
Cricket is a ball game; in other words, cricket is not soccer. However, football nouns are still used in the game, as the names of the teams and players do incorporate the word “football”. Just because the game is not soccer does not mean it cannot be enjoyed. Just set up a net, some footballs, and have at it!