Cricket in New Zealand - activities - social studies Levels 4 and 5

The place of sport in New Zealand culture

Case study: cricket in New Zealand

Related link on NZHistory.net.nz

Runs on the board: cricket in New Zealand 

Topics include:

• the World Cup
• why cricket?
• playing England
• playing Australia.

Cricket is New Zealand's major organised summer sport and enjoys the fourth-highest playing numbers. Cricket is not, however, a sport of great worldwide significance. Like rugby, its popularity is largely confined to present and former members of the British Commonwealth and, like rugby, the game originated in England. It reflects our colonial past. Sport is an important part of the New Zealand way of life.

This feature can provide students at various levels with a context to explore the following strands:

• Culture and heritage – by considering cultural practices and how they are developed and maintained, cultural interaction, and the development of national identity
• Place and environment – by considering the consequences of the movement of people and ideas, and the significance of places to people and their interactions with those places, e.g., sporting venues
• Time, continuity and change – by considering the events that have shaped the lives of individuals and groups, and the relationships between groups that have been influenced by events, e.g., the reaction to the incident of underarm bowling.

A range of activities to explore these strands can be found in the navigation to the immediate right.