Cricket is a team sport. The game, sometimes referred to as the "gentleman's game," originated in its formal form in England, and is popular mainly in the countries of the Commonwealth. In the countries of South Asia, including India and Pakistan, cricket is by far the most popular participatory and spectator sport. It is also the national sport of Australia, and it is the major summer sport in New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. The rich jargon of cricket can often leave those unfamiliar with the game confused; the rules are of similar complexity to those of its cousin baseball. Cricket fosters die-hard aficionados, for whom matches provide passionate entertainment. Occasionally, rival nations have lampooned each other over cricket matches, provoking diplomatic outrage.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket

Today's selected anniversaries:

1356 - Despite a shortage of arrows, English forces led by Edward the Black Prince decisively won the Battle of Poitiers and took King Jean II of France as captive back to England. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Poitiers)

1692 - Giles Corey, who had refused to enter a plea, was pressed to his death during the Salem witch trials. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials)

1893 - Women's suffrage: Women in New Zealand gained the right to vote, as the country became the first to introduce universal suffrage. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage)

1982 - Scott Fahlman proposed the use of the ASCII emoticons ":-)" and ":-(". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticon)

1995 - The Unabomber's Manifesto was published in The Washington Post and The New York Times, almost three months after it was submitted. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Kaczynski)

Wikiquote of the day:

"The cardinal doctrine of a fanatic's creed is that his enemies are the enemies of God." ~ Andrew Dickson White (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrew_Dickson_White)