Games As The Medium Of Stress Relief - Essay Example

Game Studies Introduction Collective involvement in the entertaining activities of the civilized human community had formed the idea of games centuries ago. Games and related knowledge acquired by the people gradually reflected their cultural approach to standardized social life. The elevation of games from entertainment sources to a large branch of study was experienced by the end of the 20th century with the literature from different disciplines being compiled for the association of games. Thus the transformation of the gaming aspects to a professionally qualified field of excellence has added value to the entire position of games in entertainment. Consideration of games as the most socially acceptable medium of stress relief and fitness regulation came with the progressive trend of human culture in every aspect. As a result of the extended support from the populations of different countries across the world, games became a visible form of exchange medium of culture in course of time. When such a single game has to be identified as a reformer of the cultural and socio-economic facets of the human community over a large proportion of the world population, cricket claims its emphatic position across England and other Common Wealth nations. The Cricket Culture Cricket evolved as a game from unknown time in the history, but with the enthusiasm of more and more people to pursue this game, the popularity and the cricketing culture formed part of the world’s English dominance. The influence of literature in popularizing this game was a major contributor of the development of a new culture that promoted the expansion of cricket across various countries. More importantly, cricket evolved as a mentor of the sports culture with greater consideration for the beautification of the game by eliminating possible rivalries that sustained during the ancient sports history. As many more people entered the game with expectations of prestige-over-entertainment, the aesthetic approach to the game evolved and as a result, cricket itself had forced on people, a class-difference of involvement based on their wealth and social status. As Bateman (2009, p. 7) opines, in the early stage, cricket used to be a stage where the players classified themselves as amateurs or professionals; in which the former class opted batting as their favourite element of the game while the latter had to chose the more laborious and less glamorous area of bowling. Though this separatist views about the cosmetic image of cricket continued for a long time, it was really a synopsis of the upcoming trend of cricket growing as a professional entertainment and a largely attractive game with rules and regulations steering the matches. The contributions from different forms of the game as well as the rules and laws that were designed for the regulation of the activities and decisions involved in match eventually made cricket a game of absolute honour and extreme dignity. Therefore, one can easily say that the institutional addition of literature and law to the game perfectly turned it a gentleman’s game. The Imperial Appeal Cricket as a game had the imperial attention from the colonial British administration through the Victorian era. During this period, the development of county cricket in the revived version of first class matches was widely experienced. By the final quarter of the 19th century, the game had evolved as a social entertainment and a hugely popular professional game in the English regions. According to certain findings (Stoddart & Sandiford 1998, p. 10), the contribution of the Victorian era had absolutely helped cricket change its dimensions and receive higher level audience support by rendering more amount of quality time for the improvement of the total outlook of the game. Cricket, in real sense, was growing during this period. A comprehensive revival of the game influenced by the Victorian period eventually changed the patterns of the game and made it more viewer-friendly by assuring the expansion of cricket from the clutches of social barriers and biased views. This period is also very prominent in the history of cricket as it contributed enormously to the promotion of institutional standard to the game with further guidance and support from the imperial family. Such influential presence of royal identities and the monarchial support in the overall development of the game constituted a collective attraction to cricket. Formats of the Game The growth of cricket in its highest magnitude was witnessed during the 20th century with many organized formats of matches coming into existence. Cricket observers believe that this period has contributed effectively to the glory of cricket in which many legendary names occupied the historical references of the game. World Series one-day matches and introduction of test cricket were another important significance of this era. The likes of Bradman and Sobers were the outstanding examples of cricketing greats of their time. From the end of the 9th century, organized agencies of cricket designed a new face of the game with more emphasise for the perfection of the performance of the players than that was given on the exhibitory prospect of the game. As a result, test cricket – a real test of the capabilities of both competing sides, evolved with first of such a match between England and Australia. Later on, the status of test cricket format became the benchmark for nations to participate in world-class cricketing events. As such, test cricket started occupying the decisive role in allocating a country to play in larger tournaments in the world level. Test cricket is the ultimate provider of enthusiasm to both players and spectators with more are more players of the new generation showing their excellence in performance and intensive interest to join this version (The Indian Express, 2009). From the point of view of reduced time consumption and increased entertainment, cricket governors have introduced the narrowest format of the game – the twenty20 match, in which either side finishes the competitive innings in a twenty-over span. This English county origin version has brought in a revolutionary change in the appreciation of the game with incredible performance of several players. Such developments in the event management of competitive cricket with the experiment of innovative ideas and play formats are the prime factors that work behind the sustainable growth of cricket as a popular game. Cricketing Business Presently, the game played across the globe in every format is monitored by the officials of the International Cricket Council (ICC), a body that regulates cricket and sets standards for each game with its business value. The scope of business in cricket matches is so large that the cricket governing bodies in countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and Australia make huge profit from the marketing of cricketing events. Decentralized system of club cricket and the allocation of franchises of different teams have liberalized the promotion of cricket as a business. As a result, many new investors came with a virtual patronage of the game. Independent bodies of the game-controls indifferent countries thus became able to survive their teams from the sponsorship of large corporate business owners. The marketing system of the matches played at international levels took a boom with higher amounts of endorsements and time-bound advertisement on telecast of the event coming into reality. Excessive money flow and the vigorous competition among teams for attaining the top positions cost the morality and ethics of the game in some incidents in which players initiated unlawful activities. For most of them corporate sponsorship and stardom became the primary focus, and as a result, a few players from almost all the countries entered controversies ranging from match-fixing, betting and other scandals. During this defamation process, several new words like ‘spot fixing’, ‘bookies’, etc entered the cricket literature and the cricket fans across the world suffered emotional injuries from the accumulating suspicion about the loyalty of their favourite players. Also, for a considerably longer period, different nations allowed the advertisements of all sort of companies irrespective of their social impact. However, in the recent times, apart from the profit-making motive, the ICC shows its social responsibility by restricting the advertisements and sponsorship endorsements of alcoholic and tobacco products and renewed the penal system for the active involvement of players against the ethics of the game. Thus the organized business framework of international cricket oversees the profitability of the events for the continuous progress of the game with equal preference for its social commitment. Conclusion While interpreting the social relevance of games in the civilized world, it can be seen that they play a pivotal role in the comprehensive development of human community. The importance of cricket as a popular game in the present generation is highly significant as the studies reveal that this game had taken a long route through the cultural and political transformation stages in various countries. Also, every angle of cricket focuses on the gentleness of all stakeholders in the organized events for upholding the dignity of the game. Since cricket is played in almost every part of the world now, it is necessary to see that the ethical elements of the conservative cricket is duly considered and essential revisions of the rules of the games are timely made. More importantly, cricket had its original growth as a royal medium of entertainment; therefore, it is needless to say that the governing authorities are responsible to maintain its superiority over other games with perfect attention for the elimination of all possible blames in any format of the game. References Bateman, A., 2009. Cricket, Literature and Culture: Symbolising the Nation, Destabilizing Empire, England: Ashgate Publishing. The Indian Express., 05 May 2009. Wisden defends importance of test cricket, [Online] Available at: [Accessed 10 April 2012]. Stoddart, B & Sandiford, KAP., 1998. The Imperial Game, UK: Manchester University Press. Read More