5 facts about English cricket history that you probably didn't know

England, to use a cliché, is the cradle of cricket and it was where the game flourished from the 17th century onwards.

The modern form of the game emerged in England in the 19th century and even the rules of the game were written by the Marylebone Cricket Club in the same century.

As a result, the history of the English game is diverse and far-reaching. On the other hand, a lot about it has been discussed at length by cricket historians and much of it is very well known.

However, there are certain facts that might not be as widely known as others and here are 5 that might fall into that category.

#5 English cricket played 8-ball overs at one point

Now, the history of one over in cricket is quite interesting and in fact, an over in cricket did not always consist of 6 legal deliveries.

When international cricket first started, an over consisted of 4 deliveries per over and this stayed in effect in England from 1880-1888. From 1888 to 1899, an over consisted of 5 deliveries but from 1900 through to 1938, English cricket adopted the 6-ball over and that is how cricket is played everywhere to this day.

However, there was the period from 1939 to 1945, that is during the Second World War when international cricket had been halted that an over in any cricket game in England consisted on 8 balls per over.

It is indeed a little-known fact since England reverted to 6-ball overs and the little dalliance with 8-ball overs was soon forgotten.

#4 Denis Compton won league title and FA Cup medals for Arsenal

Denis Compton in action against Chelsea

Back in the day, it was quite common for professional sportspersons to play more than one sports and in fact, many cricketers played either football or rugby when the cricket season wasn't on.

However, not many of them quite managed to play at the very highest level of first-class cricket and the 'old' first division (the equivalent of the English Premier League) in football.

However, in this regard, one of England's greatest batsmen, Denis Compton was a notable exception. Compton was one of England's greatest ever middle-order batsmen and averaged 56.40 in Test cricket over the course of a career that lasted twenty years. On the other hand, he remained a stalwart for Middlesex in the County Championships for close to three decades.

However, his gifts as a footballer are not to be sniffed at, at all. In fact, he played for one of the biggest clubs in English football, Arsenal and at a time when the club was the most dominant club in England.

Compton played as a winger and while he made his first appearance for the club in 1936, it was not till 1948 that he won honours. Compton was part the league and FA Cup winning 'Double' squad. He made 54 appearances in total stretched over 14 years (1936-1950) and scored 15 goals.

#3 W.G. Grace was the first cricketer to endorse a product

W G Grace became an ambassador for Colman's Mustard.

The legendary exploits of W.G. Grace are quite well known and he is regarded as the father of the modern batting technique. He was a pioneer of all sorts of things, including sledging and the refusal to accept his dismissal, which is politely termed as 'gamesmanship'.

He represents England and English cricket like nobody else. Hence, a fact about him is as much about W.G. Grace as it is about English cricket.

Grace's reputation as a pioneer, however, stretches beyond the field. He was the first ever cricketer to have endorsed a popular product when in 1895, he became an ambassador for Colman's Mustard.

The advertisement was in the form of a poster (obviously) and contained a photograph of Grace walking down the pavilion. The poster also consisted of the tagline 'Colman's Mustard Heads the Field'. Colman's Mustard is a product that is still sold in England and is now owned by Unilever.

#2 The England team was actually known as the MCC team till 1996 on tours

Alec Stewart in an MCC jumper circa 1995.

As everyone knows, England is a country which has certain traditions that are probably best understood by natives and one of those is that the when the national cricket team toured other nations, they were not officially known as the 'England cricket team'.

The Marylebone Cricket Club, which governs Lord's was the ultimate power of English cricket when the team started playing cricket and as everyone knows, the laws of the game have also been written by them.

The MCC was charged with the organisation of cricket tours to the rest of the world and they performed the role from 1903 through to 1976, when England toured India. The team was, hence, known as the MCC team when on tour and those administrative duties lay with the club, until the Test and County Cricket Board took up the responsibilities in 1993.

However, the touring team was known as the MCC and also wore the club's distinct red and yellow colours on its jumpers on tours till as recently as the 1996-97 visit to New Zealand. After that, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) took over and now the team is referred to as England everywhere.

#1 Lord's wasn't the first ground to host a Test match

A Test match at progress at Lord's

Now, Lord's is known as the 'Home of Cricket' and houses the offices of the historic Marylebone Cricket Club, which controlled English cricket for more than a century. So, anyone would think that it must be the ground to have been the first ground in England to have hosted a Test match and in fact, it is a popular perception.

However, the truth is completely different.

The first cricket ground to have ever hosted a Test match is actually the other ground in London, the Oval. It was the venue of England's first ever Test match when England played Australia in September 1880.

The second stadium to have hosted a Test match was Old Trafford, where an Ashes Test took place in 1884 and it was in that very season, that Lord's hosted its first ever Test match.

The game was played between England and Australia from 21st to 23rd of July 1884 as Lord's became the third international venue in England. England thrashed Australia by an innings and 5 runs in that game.