🏏 Cricket hits Brazil for six

Ask an average Brazilian about cricket and you’re likely to be met with a blank expression. And those who have heard of the sport will likely conjure up the stereotypical image of test-match cricket, with games lasting for days, with stipulated breaks for tea and lunch. But ask the average Brazilian about the childhood game of “taco” and you’re likely to get a positive response — and many of them will have played it at least once in their lives.

Also going by the names bete, bete-ombro, tacobol or pau na lata, this kids’ pastime is a direct descendant of cricket, brought to the Southeast of Brazil by British railway workers in the 19th century, and spread around the country. In that respect, perhaps Brazil is a lot more of a cricket nation than it realizes.

Meanwhile, professional cricket does exist in Brazil — and it is undergoing something of a renaissance since the sport’s induction into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games…

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