cricket

England's national sport is cricket, but it does not have a team of its own; instead, it fields a joint team with Wales.

  Cricket is believed to have begun possibly as early as the 13th century as a game in which country boys bowled at a tree stump or the hurdle gate into a sheep pen. 

The first Test match was played between Australia and England in Melbourne in 1877, with Australia winning. When Australia again won at the Oval at Kennington, London, in 1882, the Sporting Times printed an obituary notice announcing that English cricket would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia, thus creating the “play for the Ashes.”

Cricket is played with a bat and ball and involves two competing sides (teams) of 11 players. As there are 11 players on a team and 2 of them must be the bowler and wicketkeeper, only 9 other positions can be occupied at any one time.

The International Women’s Cricket Council was formed in 1958 by Australia, England, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and South Africa, and later included India, Denmark, and several West Indian islands.

Watch:   https://www.britannica.com/video/Cricket-worlds-most-popular-sport-the-Timeless-Test-how-to-play-scoring-modernization/-244976