Cricket

Cricket is believed to have originated in the early medieval period in England. The earliest recorded game of cricket took place in the 16th century, and by the 18th century, it had become an established sport in England. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), founded in 1787, played a pivotal role in standardizing the rules of the game.

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams, usually consisting of eleven players each. The game is played on an oval-shaped field with a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch in the center. The primary objective is to score runs and dismiss the opposing team for as few runs as possible.

Cricket is immensely popular in countries like India, Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa, and the West Indies, among others. The sport's pinnacle event is the Cricket World Cup, held every four years and watched by millions worldwide. Over the years, cricket has seen many legendary players, including Sir Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Sir Vivian Richards, Wasim Akram, and Shane Warne, Virat Kohli to name a few.

In June 2024, BOOM fact-checked a viral claim about former Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad extending a controversial invite to the Indian team.

BOOM found that the quote attributed to Miandad was not recent, originating from April 2023, debunking the misleading narrative.