The Wide World of

Sports
 Cricket
 Foot Tennis The Wide World
of Sports
 Hurling
 Jai Alai
 Kite-Fighting
 Octopush
 Petanque
 Rugby
 Snow-Snake
 Cricket

It started in England, but now cricket is popular in many of its

former colonies, especially in the West Indies and India. Like
baseball, a batsman must hit a ball tossed by a pitcher (called a
bowler)—except the ball must be hit on a bounce. There are usually
four innings in a game. An inning ends when 10 batsmen make an
out; then the fielding team gets to bat. Hundreds of runs are often
scored, and games can take days to complete.
 Foot Tennis

In Malaysia, this game is often played between two teams of two

players each. A net is stretched at no particular height across the
middle of a playing area, and a wicker ball about the size of a soccer
ball is used. Players try to pass the ball back and forth over the net
using only their feet, knees, and thighs. Each time the ball drops, the
other team gets a point.
This rough game is played mainly in
Ireland. Players use their hands, Hurling
feet, and a curved wooden stick
called a hurley to advance a ball.
Points are scored when the ball is
either swatted between goalposts or
past the goalkeeper and under the
crossbar.
 Jai Alai

First played in the Basque region of Spain, it

has spread to Mexico, France, and Italy. In jai
alai, an incredibly fast-moving game, players
use a two-foot-long curved basket to catch and
throw a small hard ball against a 40-foot-high
wall. The court, called a fronton, has three
sides. Players must catch the ball on the fly or
on one bounce as it caroms off any of the three
walls. The ball moves up to 188 miles per hour!
 Kite-Fighting
Kite-fighting is a highly
competitive sport played in
India, Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Thailand, and South America.
Each player hopes to get his or
her kite to fly highest. The
players try to cut their
opponents' kite strings with
sharp objects imbedded in their
kites. The kite that flies highest
and longest, wins.
 Octopush

This underwater hockey game was first played in South Africa in the
1960s. The players wear skin-diving equipment, such as masks,
flippers, and snorkels, in a swimming pool. With miniature hockey
sticks and an ice hockey puck, the players follow all the rules of ice
hockey—on the floor of the pool.
 Petanque

This French game is similar to bocce, an

Italian game. To start, a player throws a small
wooden ball, called a jack, toward the
opposite end of a long narrow rectangular-
shaped court. Each team takes turns throwing
a metal ball as close to the jack as possible.
Points are awarded to each ball closer to the
jack than the closest ball of an opponent.
Strategy tip: Toss your ball in the air so it
lands on an opponent's ball, knocking it far
away from the jack. Games can be set up on
almost any flat stretch of ground.
 Rugby

The rugby ball looks like an American football and the object
is to cross the goal line with the ball or kick it between
goalposts. Popular in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand,
France, and South Africa, this brutal sport is actually a lot
different from our brand of football. Rugby players can kick
the ball forward or run with it, but they can only pass it to
teammates sideways or backwards. Tackling is a big part of
the game, but rugby players wear almost no protective
equipment.
 Snow-Snake

This age-old Native American sport is still

played today. The “snake” is a polished
wooden rod whose front end is shaped
like a snake's head. It slides at speeds of
up to 100 mph down a long, curved trail in
the snow. Each team gets four chances to
throw the snake. The team whose snake
goes the farthest, wins.