American Cricket? Really! Trivia Quiz

Answer: All of these

The exact origins of cricket are lost in the dark ages, but the game is believed to have originated in Europe even before William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066. There is evidence of cricket being played in merry old England in Guildford, Surrey as early as 1550.

By the 1700s, results of an inter-county cricket match were recorded, the game was being played at Cambridge University and cricket clubs were being founded in America as well as England. References to American cricket contests date to 1709. One could maintain that in the Americas, cricket was and remains an immigrant sport.

Answer: John Adams

Despite Adams' wry (and if I may say, uncalled for) comment, if we judge based on the tastes of our founding fathers, then perhaps cricket should be considered to be America's "founding sport". Many American leaders took an avid interest in the sport. Among the precious books Benjamin Franklin is reported to have brought back from Europe in 1754 was an up-to-date copy of cricket rules.

Answer: A Canada versus USA cricket match

Before there was a modern Olympic flame, before the first pitch of a World Series was thrown, even before fanatic fans began packing the stadiums of Europe to witness international football (soccer) - Americans of finer sensibilities politely applauded the efforts of the elite cricketers of Canada and the USA.

International cricket - who'd have thought it was born in the USA! Sadly, this annual competition lapsed as American interest in cricket waned. But happily, the annual competition has been revived, re-igniting the flame of a sporting rivalry the predated the modern Olympics by over 50 years.

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Did the American civil war contribute to the decline of cricket in America? Some have speculated that this is the case. However, as we shall see, there were other more important factors at work. I do think that if the history of the sport were better known, if it were more commonly appreciated that interest and involvement in cricket preceded that in American football, baseball and basketball, at least some Americans would more readily consider cultivating an interest in the sport.

Answer: All can be held and have been held to have contributed

How, you may well wonder, could the American Revolution have contributed to the demise of American cricket? In the late 1800s the Imperial Cricket Conference came into being, limiting its members to teams residing within the British Commonwealth. Little did our forefathers realize that the cost of their rebellion would include our country's exclusion from the most important emerging international professional cricket organization. If this were not enough, the well-heeled practitioners and spectators that most supported the sport became increasingly alienated from the urban masses, the latter becoming increasing enamored with baseball.

As the popularity of the latter skyrocketed and Americans remained effectively excluded from the international game, American cricket began its grim and inglorious downward slide. Is it possible we are becoming ready to reclaim our heritage with respect to this noble game?

Answer: 3

Effectively barred from professional involvement in the Commonwealth's cricket league, athletes with the requisite skills in both cricket and baseball were left with no real option. George and Harry Wright became professional baseball players despite their legendary skills as cricket players. Ironically, also included in baseballs Hall of Fame is Henry Chadwick, a cricketer credited with writing the first Rules of Baseball.

Answer: 1924

According to an article aptly appearing in a publication named "The Hard News Café", by 1924, cricket had died its inglorious death in America. Cricket, despite its early American roots, had become the property of the British Empire. Being excluded from international soccer as punishment for the American rebellion, Americans knowledge of the noble sport faded from the American consciousness while Americans of baser nature took to making derisive comments. Who can forgive or forget Robin William's likening cricket to "baseball played on Valium ".

But lest you be tempted to draw a kindly veil over this quiz and go on to another, I will tell you that the final three questions of this until now sad tale deal with the revival of cricket in the land of the free.

Answer: Immigration

Just as immigrant Englishmen transplanted their interest in cricket to America, so now immigrants from lands formerly part of the British Empire are rekindling that interest. Of course, for the foreseeable future, cricket will have to operate without lucrative television contracts or advertising campaigns while living in the shadow of baseball.

Answer: First

OK, so the US team won this tournament by a mere net run rate of 0.028 of a run. It is probably even more significant that US teams are again appearing in international competitions. The United States of America Cricket Association actively supports not only international efforts but also a variety of programs within the United States including programs to involve increasing numbers of youth.

Answer: All of them

Two prevalent myths have long impeded the progress of cricket in the USA: the game is too slow, and cricket is too complicated. I personally resent both the assertion that Americans are somehow unable to appreciate the subtleties that account for the games spectator appeal and the allegation that Americans are not intellectually equipped to understand even the basics of the game.

The fact of there being a cricket ground at the University of Texas in Dallas underscores the pervasiveness of cricket at American universities.

Although the numbers involved in the sport remain comparatively small, this was once equally true of football (soccer). With American interest in cricket on the rise at both the professional and college level, the continued expansion of this sport can be expected to accelerate as was the case with football (soccer) in the late 20th century. Perhaps the day will come when American presidents are once again attending American cricket matches instead of making jokes about them.