Of the many bat and ball games, cricket has been the most popular in the genre. The origins of the sport can be traced back to 16th century. But there are many theories that challenge this popular belief with linguistics swinging the pendulum against the masses. Owing to the name of the sport that is homonymous to an insect and a footstool, it is indeed queer why and how the sport drew this name for itself. Many theories exist and a chronological explanation would be worthy.
Craic/Creag – 1300
English royalty King Edward I had a ticket to enable his son Prince Edward to play “creag and other games”. This incident dates back to 1300 and many believe creag could have been an early form of modern-day cricket. Creag is also considered an earlier form of the Irish word ‘craic’, meaning fun and entertainment. However, there is a paucity of concrete evidence to support this theory.
Criquet – 1478
Liettres is a commune in northern France. In 1478, King Louis XI received a letter that mentioned a commotion between two groups over a game of “boules” and “criquet”. These French wordings are supposed to be the basis of the words cricket and croquet.
Bowen’s dictionary’s 1970 edition states that the word ‘krickstoel’ is a wooden stool that resembles the two stumps. This source yet again raises eyebrows on the possible linguistic derivation to the word cricket.
Crekettes – 1533
16th century poet John Skelton described in one of the verses that Flemish weavers were the “kings of crekettes”. It is supposed that Skelton might be referring to a certain sport.
A few years after Skelton penned these lines, a legal dispute over a piece of land in Surrey saw the defense (John Derrick, a coroner) mention the word creckett. He used this word in his testimony to stake his claim on the piece of land as he used to play the sport in those perimeters. The year was 1597.
Cricket – 1598
Giovanni Florio, a lexicographer and an author in the court of James I was the first person to use the word cricket to describe the sport and the insect. Florio’s documented this in an Italian-English dictionary.
Cryce – 1755
The latest primitive theory came in the year 1755 when an English dictionary stated that cricket is derived from the word ‘cryce’ which means a stick.
A contested terminology, cricket’s origins are a challenge to be traced, let alone its nomenclature.
