Cricket invented by the British flourishes in almost all major allies of Britain but Cricket is surprisingly missing in the United States

With its popularity, it is an obvious question why a sport-loving country like America never adopted or popularised the sport

While there is a deep-rooted political history for this reason, Americans were clear to disassociate themselves from British Sports as part of their resistance against the Empire and have an independent American sports identity.

The popularity of Baseball in America Overshadowed the need for English sports which were polls apart from the colonial reaction to the imperial sport

Except for Soccer, Cricket is the most international sport as compared to Baseball and is played by many countries today while Baseball is predominately an American sport. A handful of other countries also play Baseball.

While Inspired by the game of Cricket, Baseball does have lot of similarities to the game of Cricket.

Submitted By: Raghunath Nair

Date: 10/07/2023

Introduction

Baseball, a sport made by the Americans for the American people is culturally more suited for the American way by having American heroes, historic feats by Americans, records held by the Americans etc make it a sport to be loved by Americans and a symbol of nationalism.

While Baseball and Cricket are century-old sports, Baseball has evolved and changed with time as compared to the traditional game of Cricket which has hardly changed and is still played since the start.

In India, the situation was different and the game of Cricket was a way to compete with the British. This was the main reason that the sport kept growing in popularity even after the British Rule as it became a part of life in this part of the world.

In the pre-independence days, the British players used the privileges of the stadium club, while the Indians had to sit outside, beneath the trees during breaks. But the hunger of defeating the sahebs at their own game was bigger than any other comfort then.

Cricket vs Baseball

How different is Cricket and Baseball?

Cricket is played all across the globe while Baseball is restricted to the US, Japan and China

While both games are played with a bat and ball, the game itself has been very differently played in comparison.

• The field or the playground is designed differently. The usage of the perimeter of the grounds has different orientations.
• Bat is of different Sizes and Shape, While the Ball used is different
• Baseball batters score by running around the bases or hitting the ball beyond the marked field area while Batsmen run between the wickets to score runs or hit the ball beyond the boundary line.
• Scoring System is also different
• Baseball grounds are triangular while Cricket grounds are circular or oval.
• Cricket is played using the entire perimeter of the circular boundary while the batter plays in the front of the pitch from the apex of the triangular field.
• Cricket has a maximum of 2 innings and a batter can bat once in each inning while Baseball is made up of 9 innings and batters can bat up to 9 times per game. Each time, the pitching team must make three strikes to dismiss the batter.
• Both the games are outdoor sports and are affected by weather conditions

Why Cricket is a More Difficult Sport to Play Than Baseball

Protective Gear

The batsman has leg pads, thigh guard, helmet, arm guard, gloves, and abdominal guard. He has to run between the wickets to score with all these heavy gears along with his Cricket bat

While in Baseball, the batter abandons his bat and does a mad dash for the first base. Unlike the Cricket gear, batters in Baseball just wears the abdominal guard and a helmet

While Baseball batter has to only run for a maximum of four times totalling to home plate to home plate , batsman in Cricket continues to bat till he is dismissed.

Getting out

Baseball has 5 ways to get out for the batsman while batter in Cricket has multiple ways to get out so he has to be cautious about it.

Baseball – A strikeout, groundout (running a batter out), force out (when a batter is attempting to steal base), flyout (getting caught), and tagout (tagging a batter between bases).

Cricket– Getting bowled, caught, Leg before the Wicket, stumped by the wicket-keeper, hit wicket, hitting the ball twice, obstructing the path of a fielder, handling the ball, or being timed out

Playing Conditions

Cricket is played in multiple weather conditions which helps the ball behave differently in different weather conditions. Pitches play a part by being fast, slow, spinning, bouncy or low bounce pitches.

Moreover, the players play the entire day and can take a toll on the Cricketer if the conditions are hot and humid

Except for rain, other conditions do not play a part in Baseball.

Catching

Mitts are used in Baseball to catch a ball while Cricket fielders do not use protective gear except the wicketkeeper to catch a ball

Batting

 Like in Cricket, Batters in Baseball bat once per innings. They do not however bat as long as a Cricket batter and can also be switched at any time

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Bowling

Pitchers in Baseball pitch the ball from one spot while bowlers in Cricket have the luxury to run and hurl rockets @90 mph pitched at the batsman

Bowling is far more physical than pitching from a static position.

Cross-Cultural Aspects: Baseball vs Cricket

Baseball is an exclusive American sport while Cricket is played around the globe. The game of Baseball is shorter than a Cricket game.

While American sports like American football, Basketball and Baseball are of short duration. This goes in line with American culture in sport which can help engage the audience into the game. Cricket is longer compared to Baseball and retaining the attention span of the audience becomes a difficult task.

Cricket is more popular than Baseball. It boasts over 2 billion fans worldwide, while its competitor has only 500 million fans. However, both games enjoy great popularity worldwide.

The debate of which sport is better out of the two is an ongoing one and both have fan bases to make the sport popular in their own right.

Despite Cricket’s worldwide acceptance and popularity, Baseball is gaining ground and becoming a favourite.  Female teams in both sports are equally popular and this inclusivity helps spread the game and make it popular