The Sport Called Cricket

When people talk about British sports, the first thing that would probably come to mind (vem em mente) would be soccer, or footsie (giria pra  futebol) as enthusiasts like to call it.

However (entretanto), there are other sports that originated in England and one of them is cricket.

This sport has been around for centuries (séculos)and can actually be traced back (vem dos tempos)to the Tudor times in the 16th century.

Who played the first game of cricket? It really is not clear (não é bem preciso)but some historians think that the game of cricket was invented by the children of workers (filhos de trabalhadores) in the farming and metalworking industries. (empresas metalúrgicas).

Another theory is that cricket could have been played by (poderia ter sido praticado por) Prince Edward in the 1300s. The former is actually the more accepted explanation.

Today, cricket is played by countless people ( praticado por inúmeras pessoas) in various countries. It has gone a long way from its humble origins centuries ago. 

Although (entretando)cricket may not have reached the heights (atigindo a mesma altura; popularidade) that football is currently enjoying, it really does have its own huge following (tenha seus próprios seguidores).

How do you play cricket? It is played on a green field          (campo de grama) – much like many other sports. In the middle of the field, there is a flat strip of bare ground (linha demarcando os lados do campo) 20 meters long. It is called the cricket pitch. At each end of the cricket pitch, a wooden device is placed (uma madeira é colocada).

This is called the wicket (espécie de gol; trave de 3 pinos) and it is used as the target (como a trave de gol). 

The cricket ball, weighing (pesando)in at 160 grams and made of hard leather, (couro bem duro) is bowled by a player towards a wicket. The opposing team has a batsman who guards the wicket to avoid (defender a portilhola; no caso o gol)  the ball hitting the target. 

These are the basics of the game which has captured the hearts of many people (atrai o coração de multidões) around the world.

You should try watching a game just to see what it’s like.