Comparison of baseball and cricket

Baseball and cricket are two similar sports. They are both considered bat-and-ball games and are played by both men and women. But they also have many differences. They have different rules, terms and organization. Their histories are both similar yet different.

Baseball is often thought to have descended from cricket.^[1] They both can be traced back to England. They have common terms such as inning(s), umpires, runs and out. So the connection seems very logical.^[1] Even some baseball historians think cricket is the ancestor of baseball.^[1] Both games do have a link, but it is not a parent-child link. It is more on the order of cousins.^[1]

Both may have been influenced by people from Flanders who settled in different parts of England, where each game developed separately.^[1] Cricket developed in the southeast of England, while baseball was played in the western counties. Both are believed to have started as children's games that were later adopted by adults.^[1] Both games came to America with English immigrants. By the 1840s, cricket had a following along the East Coast, particularly in Philadelphia and New York. About the same time, baseball began being organized into clubs. Up until the American Civil War cricket was more popular.^[1] After that war baseball became widely popular. Cricket is still played in places like Philadelphia.

Both sports are outdoor bat-and-ball games.^[2] Both have batters, and either a pitcher (baseball) or a bowler (cricket). The pitcher or bowler delivers the ball to the batter who tries to hit it with his bat. Players in the field try to catch the ball, or to prevent the batter from scoring runs. Both games have two umpires on the field.^[2]

The bat in cricket is flat while the bat in baseball is round.^[3] Cricket has eleven players while baseball has nine. Cricket batters usually hold the bat down, baseball batters always hold it up. The playing fields are different sizes and shapes. The balls, while similar in construction, are slightly different in weight. The leather cover in baseball is white, while cricket balls can have a red or white leather cover.^[3]