The true sport for the Great White North

As most of us will already be aware, the modern game of ice hockey was originally developed in Canada. The basis of this fledgling sport had evolved from field hockey, with that team sport having travelled across the Atlantic with colonists arriving from Europe. The key difference was the new sport making the most of the chilly climate, both in Canada and the frosty reaches of the northern United States.

While there are some references to “hockey” being played on ice early in the 1800s, contemporary ice hockey as an organized sport was established in Montreal, Canada, with a game held at the Victoria Skating Rink between two nine-player teams. Archives recount a “flat circular piece of wood” being used as the puck in that innovative encounter.

By 1876 games were being played more frequently between teams, initially under English Hockey Association rules that were meant for field hockey on grass pitches. Over the next decade, as more clubs and teams were formed, new rules and guidelines for ice hockey were also established, along with the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada by 1886.

Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, attended the 1888 Montreal Winter Carnival tournament, played between ice hockey teams from the surrounding region. He was so impressed, he commissioned the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, first played in 1892 and subsequently named in his honor. The Stanley Cup is still going strong today, as we all know.

When cricket was a North American favorite

Believe it or not, the very first cricket bats used were “crooked sticks” that were more akin to field hockey sticks. From the early 1700’s as the game itself began to evolve in southern England, those sticks gradually evolved to become the cricket bats we recognize today. Like many bat-and-ball sports, the game arrived on North American shores with British colonists.

Interestingly, during the early 1800’s cricket was one of the most popular summer sports played in Canada and the United States, with organized games and competitions dating back to 1834. Ten years later in 1844, the first official international cricket match was held and over $120,000 was wagered by attending fans, as Canada beat the United States by 23 runs.

Cricket would eventually be dwarfed in popularity by the major sports we know today in America: basketball, baseball, ice hockey, and American football. However, the USA and Canada still have international cricket teams, both of which compete regularly in competitions against teams from around the globe. Likewise, cricket remains hugely popular elsewhere around the world and with plenty of wagering surrounding matches, just like at that very first international encounter.

One of the most popular locations for cricket these days is India, where fans are fanatical about the sport, betting billions of dollars (or rupees) with online bookies each year. If you're eager to read more about different ways to bet on cricket matches, the Indian Premier League is typically the competition which attracts the most wagering, along with the biggest stadium attendances. There are lots of different markets available to satisfy the strong interest in this area, including outright markets, in-play betting and accumulators.

The curious sporting link, answered

While you might think we’ve already mentioned the link between cricket and ice hockey, with reference to the earliest cricket bats emulating those used in field hockey, that still doesn’t account for any common ground between modern cricket and modern ice hockey. Well, it’s actually quite obscure and something only the keenest sport historians might know.

During the very same year the Stanley Cup was introduced in 1893, principally to decide which team was the best in Canada, the goaltender for a team from Winnipeg came up with a novel way to protect his knees and shins. Goalies had rarely sported any protection before then, which obviously left them easily exposed to some nasty leg injuries.

Well, the goalie from Winnipeg decided to protect himself by wearing cricket pads on his legs, which quickly became considered a great idea amongst his contemporaries. So popular was that original idea, it actually went on to spark an evolution in goaltender protective gear, which obviously became tailored to better suit the needs of ice hockey.

Considering the amount of protection worn by goaltenders today, it’s remarkable to think that the evolution of their kit was inspired by something so simple, which came from an entirely different sport. Next time you want to impress friends with something obscure about ice hockey history, don’t forget this little-known cricket connection.