Exploring cricket's history through the 'yellow brick' road

The 150th edition of the Wisden Almanack was published last week, with many publications taking the time to write an ode to its significance in cricket's annals. B.R. from the Economist explores what the latest edition will cover, along with its insight into how the game evolved over time.

Sir John Major, a former British prime minister and cricket historian, noted in "More Than a Game", "money was to be the root of all progress". With so much cash riding on the outcome of games, so came the need for more tightly defined rules. Several matches had already ended in riots--and lawsuits--after perceived underhandedness by patrons. The first recorded attempt at settling on some basic rules was made for a match in 1727. Formal laws, however, were not drawn up until 1744, making cricket the first game to be codified. These laid out, among other things, the dimensions of the pitch, the height of the wicket, the weight of the ball, the length of overs and the various ways of being out.