::: Star Weekend Magazine :::

Education

Bat and ball games trace back well into the 13th century and from such games evolved the game of cricket. The first official rules were written down in 1744. The home of cricket is the famous Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which was founded in 1787 and is based at Lord's Cricket Ground in St. John's Wood, London.

Cricket was taken to the colonies of the British Empire during the 19th century, and the fist 'Test' match was played in 1877 between England and Australia. Although cricket is a summer game, test and one day international matches (ODI) take place all year round as the Test level countries tour each other. The Test match nations are England, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Zimbabwe. Some other countries compete at one day international level, and at the World Cup (played every 4 years). These include Holland, Scotland, Kenya and Canada. The MCC is responsible for the laws of the game, but the ICC (the International Cricket Conference) is the effective international ruling body.

There is no place other than the sub-continent, at the moment, where cricket is so successful in terms of the number of admirers as well as in commercial terms. India, Bangladesh and Pakistan are the leading cricketing rivals in the Sub-Continent. Bangladesh's greatest victories were in world cup in 1999 where they beat Pakistan and more recently in December 2004 they beat India.

Comprehension Check
Read the text and answer the following questions
1. When were the rules of cricket written down?
2. When was the first test match played?
3. Which countries competed in the first test match?
4. How often do test matches and one day international matches take place?
5. How often is the World Cup played?
6. Who is responsible for the laws of cricket?
7. Who is the ruling international body?

Activity Three: Read the Grammar Focus. Find 3 more examples of past simple passive in the text.
Activity Four: Complete the sentences using one of the verbs in the correct form.

1. The roof of the building ……………. in a storm a few days ago.
2. The letter ……………… a week ago.
3. While I was on holiday, my camera ……………….. from my hotel room.
4. Why ………. Jack……….. from his job?
5. All flights …………………..because of the fog.
6. We …………………… not to go out alone.
7. Originally the book ………… in Bangla, but a few years ago it …………. into English.