Cricket

Where can I find information and statistics about cricket?

Senior Primary

(Years 5-8)

Colour photo of a cricket match showing a batter running from the wickets on one end of the pitch with the ball in mid-air.

Image: Cricket at Lord's by Dun.can on Flickr.

Entry last updated: 26/05/22

Introduction

Cricket was an important summer sport in Britain, as far back as the 13th century. The British then introduced this game to the colonies. Cricket is popular in countries such as the West Indies, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Test Cricket, One Day International (ODIs) and Twenty20 (T20) are three of the most popular forms of the cricket played.

History of cricket

The websites below will help you understand where cricket began and how it spread throughout the world, along with statistical information collected over the years.

Britannica School

Britannica School is part of EPIC, which is a collection of reliable databases covering lots of different topics. It’s put together especially for New Zealand school students and helps to answer questions like this.

  • Type in the search words 'cricket history' in the search box.

  • Go to the article cricket (sport) for a brief introduction to the history of the game and how the game is played.

Tips: To get to the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian first. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians between 1 and 6 pm Monday to Friday and they will help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.

Tips: Search words, or keywords, are the most important words in our question. Usually it’s better to leave out small words like ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘of’ and just choose the main ones, e.g [cricket history]. We can always change our keywords or add more if we need to.

International Cricket Council (ICC)

The ICC is the international organisation that promotes cricket, makes rules and holds the events such as the Cricket World Cup, Champions Trophy, World Twenty20 and other international cricketing events.

  • Go to the tab called More and select About ICC from the drop down menu. Then find the link History of Cricket.

  • The home page has a link to Cricket Hall of Fame which is a short introduction to famous cricket's history.

  • The tab Rankingholds statistical information on team (men and women) and player performance over the years like highest innings, averages, records made and more.

Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About us link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the company’s mission and values are.

Cricket in New Zealand

Cricket became a familiar sport around the 1830s in New Zealand. The New Zealand Cricket Council was formed in December 1894. The websites below have more about the history of cricket in New Zealand.

Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all questions about New Zealand Aotearoa. If we scroll down to the bottom of the page we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

  • Scroll down the page to Sections then select Daily Life, Sport and Recreation.

  • Under Sports you will find a link to Cricket which is about early cricket in New Zealand including the development of test cricket, one-day cricket and women's cricket.

Te Ara also has a section called Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.

  • Use the search box to search for biographies of famous cricketers in the past like Charles Stewart Dempster and Ina Mabel Lamason.

  • For information about New Zealand cricketers who are still alive, try the websites below.

Tips: A website’s address (URL) can give you a hint about how reliable it is. Look for addresses in the results that include .govt or .edu in the URL. These are quality sites from overseas government or educational organisations.

New Zealand Cricket NZC

NZC promotes and supports cricket in New Zealand. You will find here up-to-date information about matches played by the Black Caps and White Ferns internationally and community matches played with the country.

Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About us link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the company’s mission and values are.

NZHistory

NZHistory is a great website for information about New Zealand Aotearoa. If we go all the way down the page we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

Tips: Many web pages have links to further information or to other recommended sites. Following these links is a great way to find out more. This searching method is called “pearl growing” because you are picking up pieces of sand to make a beautiful pearl!

Cricket World Cup

The International Cricket Council holds the Cricket World Cup every four years with ten of the best cricket teams in the world.

Cricket World Cup

This is the official website of the Cricket World Cup with current news, videos and photos about the Cricket World Cup matches, teams, and statistics like scores, results and more.

  • The tab called Fixtures has the schedule of matches to be played.

  • The tab Results has information like scores and highlights of matches that have been played.

  • The tab Standings has information about matches played, won, lost or tied and points gained.

  • Scroll down the page to All time stats and select View all stats for batting stats and bowling stats.

Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About us link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the company’s mission and values are.

Books

Your school library or public library will have lots of books on cricket.

Here are some suggested titles:

SCIS no: 1923661

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