An outdoor team sport traced back to England in the 13th century, cricket is a game of growing global popularity. Now played in more than 100 countries worldwide, the sport's high-profile matches and World Cup tournament are drawing an increasingly larger audience, according to author Andy Smith in the book "Essential Sports: Cricket." But whether you're a spectator or simply interested in the sport, you'll need to know the basics to appreciate the game.
The Game
Cricket is a game involving two teams of 11 players each that use a ball and bat to score runs on an oval-shaped field. The aim of cricket is to score more runs or points than the opposing team by hitting the ball and running between two sets of three sticks known as "wickets."
The Players
In cricket, two players known as "batsmen" are positioned on a rectangular area of the field called the "pitch." One batsman, similar to a batter in baseball, tries to hit the ball away from the wicket to score runs or prevents the "bowler" from hitting the wicket using his bat. A bowler, like a pitcher in baseball, throws the ball toward the batsmen to put him out by breaking the wicket, one of many ways to dismiss the batsmen. Another batsman takes position at a second wicket across the pitch to help score runs when the ball is hit.
Players, called "wicketkeepers" also stand behind the batsman to try to catch the ball when it comes toward the batsman or to catch the ball when it is thrown in from the fielders. Fielders are players positioned throughout the field to catch balls and put out the batsmen.
How It's Played
During a game of cricket, a bowler from one team throws or pitches the ball to a batsman from the opposing team. He pitches six balls, also called an "over," before a new bowler moves to the opposite wicket to pitch. If the batsman prevents the bowler from breaking the wicket but does not have time to run, he stays put without penalty and the bowler throws another ball. If the batsman hits the ball and has time to run, he changes spots with the batsman positioned at the other wicket. The batsmen score one run each time they reach opposite wickets. Play is divided into innings, with one turn at bat for each side. When the bowlers put out all 10 batsmen by catching the ball or hitting the wickets, the inning is over and teams switch positions. A full match is at least one inning per side. The team that scores the most runs wins the game.
The Rules
A ball that hits the ground and reaches to or beyond the field's boundary earns four points. If it's hit into the air and reaches the boundary, the batting team earns six points. An inning is over when 10 batsmen are out, when the captain of the batting side decides to end the inning if he's worried the game could be a draw, or if a team reaches the number of allotted overs in a one-day match, Julian Knight notes in "Cricket For Dummies." Matches can last days or hours, with what's known as "test matches" lasting up to five days. The oldest test series is the England-Australia series called the Ashes, according to Smith in "Essential Sports: Cricket."
References
- "Essential Sports: Cricket"; Andy Smith; 2008
- "Cricket For Dummies"; Julian Knight; 2006
- "Encyclopaedia Britannica Online"; Rex Alston and Marcus K. Williams; 2011
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