See also: The result in cricket
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CRICKET
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Cricket is a team sport played between two groups of eleven players each. It originated in its modern form in England, and is popular mainly in the countries of the Commonwealth. In some countries in South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, cricket is by far the most popular sport. Cricket is also a major sport in England and Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the English-speaking Caribbean (called the West Indies).
The length of the game — a game can last six or more hours a day, for up to five days (and occasionally more) — the numerous intervals for lunch and tea, and the rich terminology are notable aspects which can confuse those not familiar with the sport. For its fans, the sport and the intense rivalries between the top cricketing nations provide passionate entertainment that has occasionally given rise to diplomatic outrage, especially the infamous Bodyline series played between England and Australia.
Objective and summary
Cricket is a bat and ball sport. The objective of the game is to score more runs (points) than the opposing team.
A match is divided into innings, during which one team bats while the other team bowls and fields.
In each innings, the bowling team tries to limit the runs scored by the batting team and to get the opposition players out, an event which is described as 'taking a wicket'.
The batting team keeps two batsmen on the field. Each player bats until he is out, and then is replaced and does not bat again in that innings. Once ten of the eleven players of the batting team have been dismissed (i.e., ten wickets have been taken) the team is said to be 'All Out' and their innings comes to an end. A team's innings may also be declared closed by the batting team's captain.
Matches may be played over one or two innings – that is, one or two turns at bat for each team, so that a "two innings match" contains four innings in total. For most one innings matches such as one-day matches, each team's innings is limited to a set number of overs. An over is a set of six legal (fair) deliveries or balls. This type of match is often called limited-overs cricket.
Conclusion of the match
The first team to bat sets a target score for the second team, which chases the target when it comes to bat. (In a two innings match, the target is the sum of the first- and second-innings scores.) Matches usually end in one of these ways:
If, in a two-innings match, the first team to bat are dismissed in their second innings with a combined first- and second-innings score less than the first-innings score of their opponents (a rare occurrence), the match is concluded and they are said to have lost by an innings and n runs, where n is the difference in score between the teams. If the team batting last is dismissed with the scores exactly equal, i.e. they are one run short of their target (an extremely rare occurrence) the match is a tie. If the match has only a single innings per side, with a set number of deliveries, and the match is temporarily interrupted by bad weather, then a mathematical formula known as the Duckworth-Lewis method is used to recalculate a new target score. If such a match is abandoned without completion due to an impossibility of continuing the play, because of an extended period of bad weather, unruly crowd or any such unlikely event or situation, the result is declared as No-Result if less than a previously agreed number of overs has been bowled by either team.
Laws of cricket The game is played in accordance with 42 laws of cricket, which have been developed by the Marylebone Cricket Club in discussion with the main cricketing nations. Teams may agree to alter some of the rules for particular games. Other rules supplement the main laws and change them to deal with particular circumstances. In particular, there are a number of modifications to the playing structure and fielding position rules that apply to one innings games that are restricted to a set number of fair deliveries.
Players and officials
Each team consists of eleven players. Depending on his primary skills, a player may be classified as a specialist batsman or bowler. A balanced team usually has five or six specialist batsmen and four or five specialist bowlers. A player who excels in both fields is known as an all-rounder. One player of the team that is currently bowling takes up the role of a wicket-keeper, which is a highly specialised fielding position. Two on-field umpires preside over a match. One umpire will stand behind the wicket at the end from which the ball is bowled, and adjudicate on most decisions. The other will stand near the fielding position called square leg, which offers a side view of the batsman, and assist on decisions for which he has a better view. In some professional matches, they may refer a decision to an off-field 'third' umpire, who has the assistance of television replays. In international matches an off-field match referee ensures that play is within the laws of cricket and the spirit of the game.
The playing field
The cricket field consists of a large circular or oval-shaped grassy ground. There are no fixed dimensions for the field but its diameter usually varies between 450 feet (137 m) to 500 feet (150 m). In most stadiums, a rope demarcates the perimeter of the field and is known as the boundary.
A standard cricket ground, showing the cricket pitch (brown), close-infield (light green) within 15 yards (13.7 m) of the striking batsman, infield (medium green) inside the white 30 yard (27.4 m) circle, and outfield (dark green), with sight screens beyond the boundary at either end.
The pitch
Most of the action takes place in the centre of this ground, on a rectangular clay strip usually with short grass called the pitch. The pitch measures 10 × 66 feet (3.05 × 20.12 m).
The Cricket pitch dimensions
At each end of the pitch three upright wooden poles, called the stumps, are hammered into the ground. Two wooden crosspieces, known as the bails, sit in grooves atop the stumps, linking each to its neighbour.
Cricket wickets
Each set of three stumps and two bails is collectively known as a wicket. One end of the pitch is designated the batting end where the batsman stands and the other is designated the bowling end where the bowler runs in to bowl.
Lines drawn or painted on the pitch are known as creases. Creases are used to adjudicate the dismissals of batsmen and to determine whether a delivery is fair.
Parts of the field
For a one-innings match played over a set number of fair deliveries, there are two additional field markings. A painted oval is made by drawing a semicircle of 30 yards (27.4 m) radius from the centre of each wicket with respect to the breadth of the pitch and joining them with lines parallel, 30 yards (27.4 m) to the length of the pitch. This line, commonly known as the circle, divides the field into an infield and outfield. Two circles of radius 15 yards (13.7 m), centred on each wicket and often marked by dots, define the close-infield. The infield, outfield, and the close-infield are used to enforce fielding restrictions.
Placements of players
The captain of the fielding team spreads his remaining nine players — the fielders — around the ground to cover most of the area. Their placement may vary dramatically depending on strategy. Each position on the field has a unique label.
Match structure
The toss
Overs
Each innings is subdivided into overs. Each over consists of six consecutive deliveries bowled by the same bowler. No bowler is allowed to bowl consecutive overs. After the completion of an over, the bowler takes up a fielding position, while another player takes over the bowling.
After every over, the batting and bowling ends are swapped, and the field positions are adjusted. The umpires swap so the umpire at the bowler's end moves to square leg, and the umpire at square leg moves to the new bowler's end.
End of an innings
Playing time
The game is only played in dry weather. Additionally, as in professional cricket it is common for balls to be bowled at over 90 mph (144 km/h), the game needs to be played in daylight that is good enough for a batsman to be able to see the ball. Play is therefore halted when it rains (but not usually when it drizzles) and when there is bad light. Some one-day games are now played under floodlights, but, apart from few experimental games in Australia, floodlights are not used in longer games.
Professional cricket is generally played outdoors. These requirements mean that in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe the game is usually played in the summer. In the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh games are played in the winter. In these countries the hurricane and cyclone season coincides with their summers.
Batting and scoring runs
Various cricketing shots Batting
Batsmen stand waiting for the ball at the batting crease. The wooden bat that a batsman uses consists of a long handle and a flat surface on one side. If the batsman hits the ball with his bat, it is called a shot (or stroke). If the ball brushes the side of the bat it is called an edge or snick. Shots are named according to the style of swing and the direction in the field to which the batsman desires to hit the ball. Depending on the team's strategy, he may be required to bat defensively in an effort to not get out, or to bat aggressively to score runs quickly.
Batsmen come in to bat in a batting order, which is determined by the team captain. The first two positions, known as "openers", are generally a specialised position, as they face the most hostile bowling (the opposing team's fast bowlers are at their freshest and the ball is new). After that, the team typically bats in descending order of batting skill, the first five or six batsmen usually being the best in the team. After them the all-rounders follow and finally the bowlers (who are usually not known for their batting abilities). This order may be changed at any time during the course of the game for strategic reasons.
Run scoring
Extras
A cricket ball
Bowling
A bowler delivers the ball toward the batsmen, using what is known as a bowling action: his arm must not straighten at the elbow during the delivery. If he straightens his arm in any manner, it is an illegal throw and the delivery is called a no-ball. Usually the bowler pitches the ball so that it bounces before reaching the batsman. When bowling, bowlers must release the ball with their entire back foot inside the area bounded by the creases, and so too some part of the front foot inside this area, to prevent it from being called a no-ball. The ball must also be delivered so it is within the batsman's reach, otherwise it is termed a wide. Note: A wide cannot be called if the ball is hit by the batsmen.
The bowler's primary goal is to take wickets; that is, to get a batsman out or dismissed. If a bowler can dismiss the more accomplished batsmen on the opposing team he reduces the opportunity for them to score, as it exposes the less skilful batsmen. Their next task is to limit the numbers of runs scored per over they bowl. This is known as the Economy rate. If a bowler gets a batsman out, he is credited for this achievement. There are two main kinds of bowlers : pace bowlers and spin bowlers.
Dismissal of a batsman
Many modes of dismissal require the wicket to be "put down". The wicket is put down if a bail is dislodged from the top of the stumps or a stump is struck out of the ground either with the ball, or by a fielder with the ball in his hand. Of the following ten modes of dismissal, the first six are common, while the last four are technicalities which rarely occur. Briefly, the ten modes are:
Additionally, a batsman may leave the field undismissed. For instance, if he is ill or injured, this is known as retired hurt or retired ill. The batsman is not out; he may return to bat later in the same innings if sufficiently recovered. Also, an unimpaired batsman may retire, but it is usual to ask permission of the opposing captain if the batsman wishes to reserve his right to return and continue his innings. In practice, very few batsmen retire.
An individual cannot be out — caught, bowled, 'leg before wicket', stumped, or 'hit wicket' off a no ball. He cannot be out – 'bowled', 'leg before wicket', or 'hit the ball twice' off a wide.
Fielding and wicket-keeping
Fielders assist the bowlers to prevent batsmen from scoring too many runs. They do this in two ways: by taking catches to dismiss a batsman, and by intercepting hit balls and returning them to the pitch to attempt run-outs to restrict the scoring of runs.
OTHER ROLES
Captain
A runner
Substitutes
In other forms of cricket, if a player gets injured or becomes ill during a match, a substitute is allowed to field instead of him; though he cannot bowl, bat, or act as a captain or wicket-keeper. Here the substitute is a temporary role and leaves the field once the injured player is fit to return.
HISTORY
From the mid-17th to the 18th century, cricket transformed from being a children's game to one played by men for bets. Originally played with only two stumps and a single, long bail, Sevenoaks Vine C.C. established a third stump and second bail (folklore suggests that a certain bowler continuously bowled the ball through the middle of the stumps, but due to the speed nobody could tell for sure). Old Coulsdon hosted the first ever cricket match with three stumps and two bails. The Coulsdon and Caterham Team were a pretty confident bunch, laying out a bullish all-comers challenge in 1731 to beat any 11 men in England. Around 1750, a cricket club was formed in Hambledon, Hampshire. In 1788, the Marylebone Cricket Club framed the first set of rules to govern matches played between English counties.
Cricket entered an epochal era in 1963, when English counties modified the rules to provide a variant match form that produced an expedited result: games with a restricted number of overs per side. This gained widespread popularity and resulted in the birth of one-day international (ODI) matches in 1971. The governing International Cricket Council quickly adopted the new form and held the first ODI Cricket World Cup in 1975. Since then, ODI matches have gained mass spectatorship, at the expense of the longer form of the game and to the consternation of fans who prefer the longer form of the game. As of the early 2000s, however, the longer form of cricket is experiencing a growing resurgence in popularity.
FORMS OF CRICKET
Test cricket
The Test Cricket Series between England and Australia is called The Ashes, with the trophy being a tiny fragile urn, reputed to hold the ashes of a bail or cricket ball used during the second test series between the two countries, which was presented to the English Cricket Captain, Ivo Bligh, by a group of Melbourne women, following the Test Series win by the England Cricket Team, during the England Cricket Team's Tour of Australia in 1882/83.
Since then, over 1,700 test matches have been played and the number of test playing nations has increased to ten with Bangladesh, the most recent nation elevated to , making its debut in 2000. Test matches are two innings games that are nowadays played over five days.
One-day cricket
In one-day cricket, each team bats for only one innings, and it is limited to a number of overs, usually 50 in international matches. Despite its name, a one-day match may go into a second day if play is interrupted by rain. Day and night matches are also played which extend into the night. Innovations such as a coloured clothing, frequent tournaments and result oriented games often resulting in nail biting finishes has seen ODI cricket gain many supporters. Strategies such as quick scoring, gravity-defying fielding and accurate bowling make this form more invigorating as compared to the Test matches.
First-class matches
Generally speaking, a match can be considered first-class only if both teams have first-class status. Thus, a match between two test nations, between two domestic teams in full members of the ICC (except Kenya), or between a test nation and another test nation's domestic team, may be considered first class. A test match is also considered to be a first-class match, but one-day matches are not. First-class cricket is treated as having started in 1801.
Other forms of cricket
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LINKS:
The Art of Cricket — by Sir Don Bradman — ISBN 1875892540
The official laws of cricket published by the MCC
Cricket Romance: Website for passionate cricket lovers
The Interactive Cricket Portal
Bangladeshis in England in 2005
Pakistanis in West Indies in 2005
History of Test cricket (1890 to 1900)
International cricket in South Africa (1971 to 1981)
A taste for adventure capitalists
Solar Cola - a healthier alternative
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