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edit   The Sports and Games Portal A sport is a physical activity or skill carried out under a publicly agreed set of rules, and with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of skill, or some combination of these. The difference of purpose is what characterises sport, combined with the notion of individual (or team) skill or prowess. In essence, a sport is a competitive game. A game is a structured or semi-structured activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes also used as an educational tool, and generally distinct from work or duty. Key components of games, including sports, are goals, rules, challenge, and interactivity. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, social, simulational or psychological role. More about sports and games edit   Selected article The India national cricket team is an international cricket team representing India. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the cricket governing body in India. The Indian Cricket Team is currently the highest paid national sports team in the world (in terms of sponsorship). Though the first match in India was recorded in 1721, when a group of sailors gathered to play in Western India, India's national cricket team didn't play their first Test match until 25 June 1932 at Lord's. They became the sixth team to play Test cricket. Traditionally much stronger at home than abroad, India proved weaker than Australia and England, winning only 35 of the 196 matches they played in their first fifty years. The team gained strength near the end of the 50-year period with the emergence of players such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev and the Indian spin quartet. The Indian team has continued to be highly ranked since then in Test cricket and One Day Internationals. The team won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and was runners-up in 2003. It also won the first World Twenty20 in 2007. As of October 2007, the Indian team has played 408 Test matches, winning 22.30%, losing 32.10% and drawing 45.34% of its games. The team is also ranked fourth in both the ICC Test Championship and ICC ODI Championship. edit   Selected picture Underwater hockey players going for strike. edit   Selected biography William Harold Ponsford MBE (19 October 1900 – 6 April 1991) was an Australian cricketer, the only player to twice break the world record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket. Predominantly playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain. Aside from Brian Lara, he is the only man to score 400 runs in an innings on two occasions. Ponsford holds the Australian record for a partnership in Test cricket, set in 1934 in combination with Don Bradman—the man who broke many of Ponsford's other individual records. Despite being heavily built, Ponsford was quick on his feet and renowned as one of the finest ever players of spin bowling. His bat, much heavier than the norm and nicknamed "Big Bertha", allowed him to drive powerfully and he possessed a strong cut shot. However, critics questioned his ability against fast bowling, and the hostile short-pitched English bowling in the Bodyline series of 1932–33 was a contributing factor in his early retirement from cricket a year and a half later. Ponsford also represented his state and country in baseball, and credited the sport with improving his cricketing skills. Ponsford was a shy and taciturn man. After retiring from cricket, he went to some lengths to avoid interaction with the public. He spent over three decades working for the Melbourne Cricket Club, where he had some responsibility for the operations of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the scene of many of his great performances with the bat. In 1981 the Northern Stand at the MCG was renamed the WH Ponsford Stand in his honour, and in 2005 a statue of him was installed outside the pavilion gates. In recognition of his contributions as a player, Ponsford was one of the ten initial inductees into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. edit   Did you know ... ...that the layback spin (pictured) was invented by 1936 Winter Olympics silver medalist Cecilia Colledge? ...that modern billiard chalk, which is not actually chalk but a compound of silica and corundum, was invented by player William A. Spinks and a chemist friend in 1897? ...that even though Denis Potvin retired in 1988, fans of the New York Rangers still practice a tradition aimed at insulting him? ...that tug of war was included in the Olympic Games from 1900 until 1920? edit   Subportals American football Association football Australian rules Badminton Baseball Basketball Chess Canadian football College football Cycling Cricket Figure skating Fishing Formula One Golf Gymnastics Ice hockey Olympics Paralympics Rugby league football Rugby union Swimming Tennis Snooker Women's sport Video games edit   News   Associated Wikimedia What are portals? List of portals Featured portals