Talk:Bail (cricket)
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I removed the following anonymous, unsourced addition, which seems dubious. If someone can supply a reference, it can be restored.
Origin
Bails were named as such as they were used as deposits to allow players to get out of gaol. The gaol-keeper kept them as security, this meant that the player would be punished for his misdemeanours not by being locked up, but by being unable to participate in cricket matches - no 'bails' meant no game.
Bails were originally manufactured in windmills, where a special attachment was fitted to the sails, and the rotary motion was transmitted through a series of ropes and pullies, to a piece of wood, which was whittled using a corn-sheaf. The is also the origin of the word 'wicket', these too were turned in the windmill, and the sound of the sails going round ('wi-kitt-tay, wi-kitt-tay, wi-kitt-tay') gave rise to the name of the 'stumps' of wood which were used.