Difference between Baseball and Cricket
Sports have always been a favorite for all of mankind. Fans take pride in living vicariously through the players and teams they like best. Even though baseball and cricket claim some of the most enthusiast fans in the world, baseball is not played in every country and cricket is more known around the world but less so in the U.S. Let’s take a closer look at the warmer weather games of baseball and cricket.
Team and Game Composition
In a baseball game there will be two teams of nine players each. On the other hand, each cricket team consists of 11 players and 1 extra player.
The mechanism of play is also quite different in both the games. Baseball involves scoring runs by aiming for a thrown ball with a bat. Then the player who has hit the ball is supposed to cover all the four bases arranged in a square shaped field.
In cricket, the player is supposed to hit the ball with a bat too. But he is only supposed to run towards the other end of the pitch and back to his position for scoring a run. The diamond of a baseball measures ninety foot. On the other hand, a cricket pitch has the measurement of 22 yards.
Inning
An average baseball innings ends when the fielding team is able to record three player outs. But, in cricket there is a single innings which constitute the turn of each team. However, in baseball, there are nine innings that complete a game. Every team gets nine chances at batting, each involving a single player.
Participation of Women
Cricket is not only a gentlemen’s’ game, but girls can also participate in it. Although its true that girls and boys can’t participate in the same cricket match, separate competitions are held for girls. Baseball also allows female participation, but it does not have any such specific professional participation. Females take part in baseball games in many countries although on an amateur level.
Summary
The game of baseball does not have any variations whereas cricket has many variations in the form of T20 and 5 day (test cricket) matches.
Origin
-Cricket has an older origin as compared to baseball. The game of baseball developed in England in the mid-eighteenth century. Although the first cricket match was played in southern England in 16 century, but it acquired the status of the national sport of this country at the close of 18th century.Popularity
-Baseball is a more popular sport than cricket. Today, 104 countries are registered with ICC (International Cricket Council) that prepared all the laws that regulate this game. However, the IBAF (International Baseball Federation) has 117 countries registered as its members. Baseball is played in some parts of North, South and Central America, Caribbean and East Asia.Inclusion in Olympics
-However in-spite of the lower popularity of this game, baseball has a place in summer Olympics. It was a part of them from the year 1992 to 2008. However, baseball will no longer be a part of the Olympics to be held in Vancouver in 2012. On the other hand, cricket was only allowed once in Olympics and that was in the summer Olympics held in 1900.
