About Cricket

The first official international cricket match was played between the United States and Canada in New York in 1844. The popularity of cricket in North America has reduced dramatically since then, even though cricket's focus on statistics, runs and catches has drawn a comparison to baseball. Although cricket can be daunting to understand for the newcomer, a little perseverance can bring the enjoyment felt by the millions of fans across the rest of the world.

Laws of Cricket

The "Laws of Cricket," created by London's Marylebone Cricket Club in 1787, covers all the instructions needed to understand the game. The International Cricket Council now governs and has control over changes to the game, leaving the MCC to "write and interpret the Laws of Cricket, which are applicable from the village green to the Test arena," according to "An Introduction to the Laws of Cricket" by the MCC. In the book "The Art and Science of Cricket," Bob Woolmer, the former South Africa head coach, claims that "because of the centuries of tradition that accompany cricket," the laws of the game have to be "dragged into the future kicking and screaming."

Cricket Terminology

Cricket has a number of words that can be confusing. The stumps are the three wooden sticks the batsman needs to protect. A wicket is what the fielding side calls a batsman when he is put out -- this is sometimes also referred to as a dismissal. Ten wickets taken by a fielding team constitute an "innings." Leg Before Wicket is a dismissal that involves a batsman being hit by the ball in front of the stumps. The the umpire is the final judge of whether a batsman is out LBW or not. The complexity of this law requires further investigation if you're to fully understand all the little quirks and conditions.

Scoring Runs

Cricket is measured by runs scored by the batsmen. Only two batsmen are on the field at any one time. When this is no longer possible because the batting team has lost 10 wickets, the teams swap places. Each time a team bats it is referred to as an "innings." Some matches have two innings per side and are played over four or five days, while others have only one innings per side and last one day. A batsman scores six runs if he hits the ball over the boundary rope without bouncing, or four runs if the ball bounces before crossing the boundary. Batsmen also score runs by hitting the ball anywhere on the field -- unless it's caught in the air -- and running between the stumps before the fielders return the ball to the wicketkeeper.

Taking Wickets

There are 10 ways a fielding side can take a wicket. The vast majority of dismissals involve the batsman being caught out, the bowler hitting the stumps with the ball or the batsman being given out by the umpire Leg Before Wicket. Bowlers run in and deliver six balls every "over." One over is six individual balls bowled from one end. Another bowler must then run in from the other end of the pitch and bowl another over. Each individual match lasts a predetermined number of overs.

Different Forms of Cricket

There are three different forms of cricket. A 20/20 match, involving one innings of 20 overs per side, lasts approximately three hours. A one-day match, involving one innings of 50 overs per side, lasts eight hours. The most traditional and longest form of the game is test match cricket. A test match, involving two innings per side, has 90 overs per day and lasts five days. Each test match always is played as part of a home or away series consisting of three or five matches.