Cricket is Australia’s most popular participation sport. In very brief summation, there are eleven players on each team that alternates between being at bat and on the field. At the pitch, there is a wicket (a set of three stumps). Players individually take turns on the pitch while a player from the field team bowls balls to them. If the batting player hits a ball, he will run between the wickets and try to score while players in the field try to get the batter out.
History
Historians believe Cricket originated sometime during the Dark Ages (476–800) in Europe when someone simply picked up an object and struck it with a piece of wood. How the game and rules actually evolved into its current form is unknown.
Australians have been playing Cricket for over two hundred years. The first documented match occurred in December 1803 in Sydney. By then, it was already a well-established game.
Cricket is popular, too, with girls and women in Australia. In fact, more than 25% of those who play are female. Lily Poulett-Harris founded the first women’s league in 1894.
Queensland Cricket
Cricket’s first documented game in Queensland dates back to 1857. Queensland Cricket formed in 1876. It governs games in Queensland and strives to support players of all levels.
There are three major Queensland Cricket teams:
- MyFootDr Queensland Bulls. This is Queensland’s highest performing, leading male team. It sponsors twelve clubs from southeast Queensland that play in six levels: 1) First-Grade; 2) Alan Pettigrew Shield; 3) Norm McMahon Shield; 4) Bob Spence Shield; 5) Roy Tanner Shield; and, 6) Wep Harris Shield. The clubs are:
o Gold Coast Dolphins
o Northern Suburbs
o Ipswich/Logan
o Redlands
o Sandgate-Redcliffe
o Toombul
o South Brisbane
o University of Queensland
o Sunshine Coast Scorchers
o Valley
o Western Suburbs
o Wynnum-Manly
The MyFootDr Queensland Bulls have won seven titles, including three in row, from 1999 to 2002. The team has also won ten One-Day championships.
Players come from a large base of participants and honorably represent Queensland’s Cricketing fans.
- Konica Minolta Queensland Fire. This is Queensland’s highest performing, leading female team.
The Fire “smolders” with talent and made the finals during the 2016-2017 season.
- Brisbane Heat. Both a women’s and men’s team compete under the team name. The men’s team won the Big Bash League in their second season, which then qualified them for the Champions League Twenty20. The women’s team competes in the Twenty20 Women’s Big Bash League.
The Heat aims to encourage and entertain Queensland’s citizens with their original and zealous playing style.