7. Explanation of Part I, Paragraph 5 and 6

Explanation:

 

Guha gives another example of how cricket has evolved through the years. He talks about the equipment used by the cricketers and how it has undergone certain changes. Although there have been many changes as the years went by, it stayed true to the spirit of the game. Cricket originated in England, and even today, it still has not altered the essence of the game from the times it began. In the beginning stages, it was played only for the sake of entertainment among young boys. But even then, the equipment and the method of the game was the same as the present times. There were alterations only in the shape and the size. The materials with which it was made were natural and pre-industrial ones.

 

 

Pre-industrial materials refer to those that were used or manufactured before the industrial revolution. Cricket was existent even before the \(19th\) century, when the Industrial Revolution began. Initially, people played with sticks, stumps, twine balls etc, which remains the same even today. There were no factories or machines that produced the equipment in bulk quantities. Most localities had a shop where a craftsman who had expertise in the area would make handmade bats and balls from trees and other small wooden things.

 

A cricket bat is made of stuff like leather, twine and cork. But as time progressed, the material of the bat changed as it had to be more flexible to overcome a ball that is pitched in the air. So the cricket bat is now made out of the wood of a willow tree. Initially, the bat was made out of a single piece of wood cut from the same tree. But as years progressed, the handle was made out of cane, which is the hollow jointed stem of tall grass like bamboo or sugarcane. The hollow cane is moulded to make the handle of the bat to provide more grip. The rest of the batting portion is made out of the wood of a willow tree. The production of cane became significant in the colonising agenda of European traders, as millions of African slaves were brought and made to toil in sugarcane plantations, thereby earning profit. Other games like golf and tennis have made use of man made materials like fibreglass or plastic, which is a trend that cricket has refused to adhere to. But when it comes to the parts of the equipment like pads, guards, helmets etc, cricket has made good use of technological advancements as they are required to be safe. The pads and gloves that were introduced in \(1848\) are made up of vulcanised rubber, and the helmets are made up of metals and other lightweight synthetic materials.

 

 

Meaning of difficult words: