ball, the umpire keeps silent, as it is the fielder's responsibility to know where the runners are and to make an appeal. When a fielder pretends not to know where the ball is (the "hidden ball trick"), the umpire keeps silent, as it is the runner's responsibility to know where the ball is. In baseball, celebrating an out, stealing bases when well ahead, or smiling on the field when well ahead are considered serious breaches of sportsmanship. Possibly the most serious breach of sportsmanship is the pitcher's throwing behind the batter, since batters often react to a pitch that may hit them by backing up. Comparison of concepts and terms Analogous concepts and similar terms Words used in both sports History Early history in the United States The history of baseball's formation and rise in popularity took place in the originally more cricket-supporting societies of England and America. Predecessors of baseball were brought to America during the colonial era by immigrants from England who played games similar to rounders; at the time, cricket was significantly more popular in the United States, since it was one of the sports played by the British colonizers. At the time, the main format of cricket was first-class cricket, in which games lasted multiple days; baseball by comparison was a game that lasted less than two hours. Because of the vast difference in the duration of the two sports and for other reasons, such as Americans' desire to have some type of national game distinct from England's games, baseball began to grow in America, especially among some of the non-English sections of society, such as among the Irish and German immigrants. Some attempts were made to nativize cricket in a way that would reduce its length and other perceived disadvantages relative to baseball; one example of this was wicket, an American variation of cricket which could be played in an afternoon, and which George Washington is known to have played with his troops during the Revolutionary War. By the time of the Civil War, baseball had begun to overtake cricket in popularity; one reason for this was that troops during the Civil War preferred to play baseball, as it did not require a specialized playing surface like the cricket pitch. However, cricket had still been popular enough that President Abraham Lincoln had watched two American cities play each other in the sport in the years