page_title: Sport in the United Kingdom
section_title: Cricket
hierarchical_section_title: Sport in the United Kingdom / History / Cricket
caption_attribution_description: English: The Ashes Urn
context_page_description: Sport in the United Kingdom plays an important role in British culture. The United Kingdom has given birth to a range of major international sports including association football, badminton, billiards, bowls, boxing, cricket, croquet, curling, darts, golf, fives, hockey, netball, rugby, tennis, table tennis, snooker, squash, and water polo. The standardisation of various sports, such as in rowing, dancesports and motorsports occurred in the United Kingdom.
  This has meant that in the infancy of many sports, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland formed among the earliest separate governing bodies, national teams and domestic league competitions. After 1922 some sports formed separate bodies for Northern Ireland though some continued to be organised on an all-Ireland basis.
  In a small number of sports, these teams are supplemented by high-profile events featuring a combined team representing one or more nations.
  For information on sports in a British home nation you may wish, therefore, to consider reading the Sport in England, Sport in Scotland, Sport in Wales or Sport in Northern Ireland articles, or the Sport in Ireland article where appropriate.
context_section_description: Cricket had become well-established among the English upper class in the 18th century, and was a major factor in sports competition among the public schools. Army units around the Empire had time on their hands, and encouraged the locals to learn cricket so they could have some entertaining competition. Most of the Empire embraced cricket, with the exception of Canada.  Cricket test matches (international) began by the 1870s; the first and most famous rivalry is that between Australia and England for "The Ashes."
caption: The Ashes urn, competed for between Australia and England in cricket
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