Tracing Cricket's origins in 5 non Test playing countries

The Masaai Warriors from Kenya; apparently tribes such as theirs were involved Britishers brought cricket thereCricket has evolved by leaps and bounds over the last couple of centuries. From the first test match in 1877 to having hundreds of tourneys across the globe, the game has truly become a global phenomenon. The development though hasn't been restricted to the Test playing countries. As we know the ICC now has more than a 100 members and some of them, if not all have had a fascinating history, pertaining to the initiation of the game in their homeland. Thus in this anthology, we chronicle the history of the game in 5 of ICC’s non test playing members.

#1 Kenya

The national team reached semi finals of 2003 World Cup

Cricket in Kenya can be traced back to the early 1900s. The famous port of Mombasa served as a seedbed for the development of cricket in this country. Cricket flourished at this port mainly because of the ships that docked there or due to the cooperation of the Zanzibar Island. In Nairobi, cricket matches continued to be played from 1910 to 1964 between the officials and the immigrants. Another link that was added to this competition was the cricket between the Europeans and the Asians. Prime among the organizers was CB Bembridge, who was a surgeon, and devoted himself to cricket for 34 long years. Sir Godfery Rhodes, KE Crowley and GJ Antrobus made efforts to popularize the game in Kenya before the Second World War. Besides them, players from England and other African countries helped the game develop there.

#2 Canada

John Davison has been Canada’s most illustrated cricketer

The tradition of cricket in Canada goes back to more than two hundred years. There is a mention of the first match played in Montreal in 1785.

The area around York town is the hub of all cricketing activities in Canada which is now known as Toronto. In the 1820s, George A. Barber popularized cricket in York. He also established the Toronto Cricket Club in 1827.

The first match in Canada was played between Toronto and Guelph teams at Hamilton in 1834.

In 1844, the first match was played between Canada and the United States of America. Historians believe it was the first international cricket match ever.

#3 USA

The current national team

William Stephens of Georgia, in 1737, mentioned the time when people gathered to play cricket. This is the oldest reference about the game in America. The newspaper New York Weekly Post mentions a cricket match played in 1751 between London Eleven and New York Eleven. Another leading daily, mentioned a match in Baltimore in 1754 and the 19 April 1786 issue of the journal New York mentions an advertisement on cricket equipment.

Apart from the match against Canada, America played its 1st international match against England from 3rd to 5th October 1859 at Hoboken in New Jersey. This tour by the England eleven helped the game develop and gain popularity in American states such as Philadelphia.

In 1872, a strong English team toured America which included the great WG Grace. This was the only time he played in America.

#4 Malaysia

The Malaysians have been doing really well at the junior levels

Cricket came to Malaysia with the help of Europeans. Among others who promoted this game were people of Chinese and Indian origin. A team from Malaysia had gone on a tour of Burma, Bangkok and Bataria in 1870 and in 1893, Sir Henry MacMillan had led a team from Malaysia to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

Besides inter provincial cricket in Malaysia, there was also a tradition of three day matches and the match played between Malaya State and Crown Colony remained the most important match in the country for years.

Over the years there was a great development in the standards of the game due to the Sinhalese and the Indians who were based there. The best period in Malaysian cricket was around 1930 when Malaysian states defeated Singapore which had players like Captain GH Brown, DV Hill, GE Livock and PH Stuart Brown who played county cricket in England.

#5 Singapore

One of Austrlia’s greatest cricketers, Bill Woodfull toured Male to promote the game

In Singapore, cricket has been played for over a century. A match played in 1837 has been mentioned in the old documents which was being played on a Sunday and had to be stopped because of protests. Then there is also mention of the match played between Singapore and Dido. Also, there is complete description of the match played between Picked Eleven and Singapore Cricket Club in 1852.

In 1890s, inter provincial tournament was started here. In 1909, on their way back from England, five Australian test players visited Singapore and they formed a team by including local players and defeated a combined team of Singapore and Malaya. In 1927, a star studded Australian team comprising Oldfield, Woodful, Maine, Bradsley, Andrews and Everett came to Male and played nine matches.

Even after the war, several international sides kept touring Singapore. This created interest among the locals and helped cricket develop there.