Solutions 7. History and sport: The Story of Cricket - page 1 | Class 9 History - Toppers Study

Q.1: How did the National Movement affect cricket in India?

Ans:
(i) A scheduled tour of MCC in 1930 was cancelled due to Gandhi’s Dandi March and the Civil Disobedience.
(ii) The first Indian team toured England in 1932. Due to World War II in 1939, various tournaments wereaffected. By now Congress and Muslim League had taken opposite stands. Communal feelings had crept into sports.
(iii) In 1940, a Pentangular was played in Brabourne stadium, Bombay. Seats were allotted on communal basis, 2000 to Hindus, 1250 each to Muslim and Parsis.
Q.2: ‘The MCC’s revision of the laws brought in a series of changes in the game that occurred in the second half of the eighteenth century.’ Discuss the revision of the laws.
Ans:
1. The MCC’s revisions of the laws have brought in a series of changes in the game that occurred in the second half of the eighteenth century.
2 During the 1760s and 1770s it became common to pitch the ball through the air, rather than roll it along the ground.
3. This change gave the bowlers the options of length, deception through the air, plus increased pace. It also opened new possibilities for spin and swing. In response, the batsmen had to master timing and shot selection.
Q.3: Why did cricket remain a colonial game till the 1930s?
Ans:
1. Cricket remained a colonial game. The reason was that it had a preindustrial oddness which made it very difficult to export.
2. It was played only in countries that the British conquered and ruled. Though the game was brought into the colonies by the masters, they did nothing to make it popular.
3. The Afro Caribbean population was discouraged from participating in organised club cricket.
Q.4: How did television coverage change cricket?
Ans:
(i) Television coverage made the players celebrities. It expanded the audience for the game by bringing cricket into small towns and villages.
2. Children became great fans. People could now watch and learn how to play cricket by imitating their heroes.
Q.5: Which changes were introduced in the game of cricket during the 19th century?
Ans: Many important changes occurred during the nineteenth century:
(i) The rule about wide balls was applied.
(ii)The exact circumference of the ball was specified.
(iii) Protective equipment like pads and gloves became available.
(iv) Boundaries were introduced where previously all shots had to be run.
(v) Overarm bowling became legal.
Q.6: Why did Mahatma Gandhi condemn the pentangular tournament?
Ans: The pentangular tournament was based on religious communities. The five teams were: the Europeans, the Parsis, the Hindus, the Muslims and the Rest. India's most popular and respected politician, Mahatma Gandhi, condemned the pentangular tournament as a communally divisive competition. This was out of place in a time when
nationalists were trying to unite India's diverse population. This tournament would have negative effect on the national movement.
Q.7: How the centre of gravity in cricket has shifted from the old AngloAustralian axis? Explain.
Ans:
(i) The technology of satellite television and the worldwide reach of multinational television companies created a global market for cricket.
(ii) This simple fact was brought to its logical conclusion by globalisation. Since India had the largest viewership for the game among the cricketplaying nations and the largest market in the cricketing world, the game's centre of gravity shifted to South Asia.
(iii) This shift was symbolised by the shifting of the ICC headquarters from London to taxfree Dubai. 

Q.8: Describe three main differences between amateurs and professionals.

Ans.
(i) The rich who could afford to play cricket for pleasure were called Amateurs and the poor
who played it for a living were called Professionals.
(ii) The wages of Professionals were paid by patronage or subscription or gate
money. The Amateurs were not paid at all.
(iii) Amateurs were called Gentlemen while Professionals were described as players.
(iv) Amateurs tended to be batsmen whereas Professionals tended to be bowlers.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIOMARKS
Q.1. What role did religion and politics play in the development of cricket in
India? Ans.
1. The origin of Indian cricket is to be found in Bombay and the first community to
start playing it were the Zoroastrians, the Parsis. Other religious communities soon
followed.
2. By the 1890s, Hindus and Muslims were busy raising funds for a Hindu and a Muslim
gymkhana. The British did not consider colonial India as a nation. They saw it as a
collection of castes, races and religions.
3. The history of gymkhana cricket led to firstclass
cricket being organised on
communal and racial lines.
4. These teams did not represent regions (as teams in today’s Ranji Trophy do) but
religious communities.
5. The tournament was initially called the Quadrangular because it was played by four
teams: the Europeans, the Parsis, the Hindus and the Muslims. Later it became
Pentangular when a fifth team “The Rest’’ was added. It comprised all the
communities leftover such as the Indian Christians.
Q.2. What part does nationalism play in the presentday
cricket? Ans.
1. The teams that play cricket at national and International level today do not represent
religions and races but regions and nationalities like in today’s Ranji Trophy the
Pentangular in colonial
India was replaced by a rival tournament, the ‘National Cricket Championship’ later named
the
2. Ranji Trophy. Cricket fans know that watching a match involves taking sides. In a
Ranji Trophy match when Delhi plays Mumbai, the loyalty of spectators watching the
match depends on which city they came from or support.
3. Earlier teams were not organised on geographical principles. It was not till 1932 that
a national team was given the right to represent India in Test match.
Q.3. Give your own reasons for the popularity of cricket in the world and
specially India. Ans.
1. Television coverage changed cricket. It expanded the audience for the game by
beaming cricket into small towns and villages. It also broadened the cricket’s social base.

2. The technology of satellite television and the worldwide reach of multinational
television companies created a global market for cricket.
3. India has the largest viewership among the cricketplaying
nations and the largest
market in the cricketing world. The game’s centre of gravity has shifted to South Asia,
symbolised by shifting of ICC headquarters from London to taxfree
Dubai.
4. Innovations in cricket technique in recent years have mainly come from sub
continental teams in countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan pioneered
two great advances in bowling: the doosra, and the “reverse swing”.
Q.4. ‘It’s often said that the Battle of Waterloo was on won the playing fields of
Eton.’Explain Ans.
1. This saying is based on the argument that the values taught to schoolboys in its
public schools resulted in Britain’s military success. Eton was the most famous of
these schools.
2. These schools trained English boys for careers in the Military, the Civil Service and
the Church — the three great institutions of Imperial England.
3. In actual fact the Napoleonic wars were won because of the economic contribution of
the iron works of Scotland and Wales, the mills of Lancashire and the financial houses
of the city of London.
Q.5. ‘Despite the exclusiveness of the White cricket elite in the West Indies, the
game became hugely popular in the Caribbean.’ Explain how and why?
Ans.
1. Despite the exclusiveness of the White cricket elite in the West Indies, the game
became hugely popular in the Caribbean. Success at cricket became a measure of
racial equality and political progress.
2. At the time of their independence, many of the political leaders of Caribbean
countries like Forbes Burnham and Eric William saw in the game a chance for selfrespect
and international standing.
3. When the West Indies won its first Test series against England in 1950, it was
celebrated as a national achievement, as a way of demonstrating that West Indians
were the equals of white Englishmen.

Q.1. How is cricket played in our subcontinent, West Indies and Africa, different
from the wayit is played in England?
Ans.
1. The cricket played in our subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh),
West Indies and South
Africa is hugely different from the way it is played in England.
2. All these countries were colonies of England and cricket was spread by our colonial masters. The game is very popular and is played with a lot of passion and enthusiasm
not seen anywhere in the world.
3. Cricket in these countries is synonymous with nationalism and patriotism. As these
countries were under colonialism, there is a passion to show national supremacy via
the game of cricket.
4. The aggressiveness shown in these countries is not to be seen in English game which
exhibits professionalism and indifference.
Q.2. Describe how cricket’s connection with a rural past can be seen in the length
of a Test match and vagueness about the size of a cricket ground.
Ans.
1. Cricketsconnection
with a rural past can be seen in the length of a Test match.
Originally, cricket matches had no time limit.
2. The game went on for as long as it took to bowl out a side twice. The rhythm of
village life was slower and cricket’s rules were made before the Industrial Revolution.
3. In the same way, vagueness about the size of a cricket ground is a result of its
village origin.Cricket was originally played on country commons, unfenced land that
was public property.
4. The size of the commons varied from one village to another, so there were no
designated boundaries or boundary hits. When the ball went into the crowd, the crowd
cleared a way for the fieldsman to retrieve it.

Q.3. ‘It’s often said that the Battle of Waterloo was on won the playing fields of
Eton.’Explain Ans.
1. This saying is based on the argument that the values taught to schoolboys in its
public schools resulted in Britain’s military success.
2. Eton was the most famous of these schools. These schools trained English boys for
careers in the Military, the Civil Service and the Church — the three great institutions
of Imperial England.
3. In actual fact the Napoleonic wars were won because of the economic contribution of
the iron works of Scotland and Wales, the mills of Lancashire and the financial houses
of the city of London.
4. It was the English lead in trade and industry that made Britain the world’s greatest
power.