Cricket and baseball are closely related and share many similar elements. Baseball fans may find it difficult to understand cricket, however, simply because of the strange twist the sport puts on familiar baseball rules. Learning the key differences between baseball and cricket can help you follow this sport more easily.
Basics
Cricket requires two teams of 11 players each, rather than nine as in baseball. Cricket teams compete on an elliptical field in which the rectangular pitch, the equivalent to the area between the pitching mound and the home plate in baseball, sits at the center of the field rather than at one end. Fielders can stand anywhere around the pitch. Like baseball games, cricket matches have no time limit. They simply continue until both teams have finished the agreed upon number of innings, typically one or two. As in baseball, the batting team attempts to score as many runs as possible while the fielding team attempts to get batters out and end the inning. To complete an inning, or an "innings" as cricketers call it, the fielding team must get ten batsmen out. Innings in cricket can last much longer than baseball innings. Cricket matches often last multiple days.
Pitching and Batting
The pitch in the center of the cricket field measures about 57.9 feet long and 12 feet wide. Each end of the pitch has a wicket made up of three wooden stumps topped by a pair of bails. A batter, known in cricket as a batsman, stands on each end of the pitch, each one defending a wicket. The wicket resembles the strike zone that the baseball batter must defend. In baseball, if a pitcher pitches to the batter's strike zone and the batter does not hit the ball, the batter earns a strike. In cricket, if a pitcher hits the wicket behind the batsman, the batsman is out. As in baseball, the batsman must attempt to hit the ball both to avoid getting out and to earn runs.
The cricket bowler stands on one end of the pitch and bowls to the batsman at the other end. The other batsman simply stands near his wicket, ready to run if necessary. A wicket-keeper squats behind the wicket opposite the bowler, much like the catcher in baseball. Only the wicket-keeper can wear gloves designed for catching the ball. Each inning in cricket can contain an infinite number of "overs." In an over, one bowler must complete six bowls from one side of the pitch. After six balls, another member of the fielding team replaces the bowler and bowls from the other side of the pitch. Unlike in baseball, any fielder can bowl.
Runs
If a batsman hits the ball bowled by the bowler, the batsmen can attempt to score runs. To score a run, both batsmen must run across the pitch to the opposite end. Their team earns one run for each time they can run across the pitch safely. In baseball, fielders can get a runner out by throwing the ball to a base before the runner reaches it. Similarly, if a fielder in cricket hits a wicket with the ball while no batsman is inside that wicket's zone, known as the popping crease, they can get the batsman out. Unlike in baseball, batsmen do not have to run if they think it will put them at risk of getting out. Cricket batsmen can achieve what baseball players refer to as "home runs." If a batsman hits a ball all the way to the field's boundary fence, he scores four runs without actually having to run. If a batsman hits the ball over the boundary, he scores six runs.
Outs
Fielders can get a batsman out by catching a batsman's hit in the air or by hitting a wicket while the batsman is running between the wickets. The bowler can get the batsman out by hitting the wicket behind the batsman with a bowled ball. The bowler can also get the batsman out if the batsman lets the bowled ball hit his body before the wicket. A new batsman must come on the field to replace an out batsman. Once the fielding team gets ten batsmen out, the inning ends and the teams swap roles.
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