Cricket

For the insect, see Cricket (insect).

See also: Glossary of cricket terminology

Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka bowls to Adam Gilchrist of Australia in a Twenty20 International match.
The pale area of the field is the pitch, with a wicket in place at each end. The batter (Gilchrist) is using his bat to defend the wicket against the white ball which Murali has just bowled. Sri Lanka's wicket-keeper (#11) is crouching just behind the wicket which Gilchrist is defending. The other Sri Lanka player (#55) is a fielder operating in the "first slip" position. Gilchrist's partner, the "non-striker", stands by the other wicket at the bowler's end of the pitch. Behind that wicket stands one of the two umpires. The lines on the pitch are the various creases.

Cricket is a sport. It is an outdoor bat-and-ball game played by two teams of eleven players on a large, grassy field. At the centre of the field is a rectangular pitch with a wooden structure called a wicket sited at each end. As in other sports, there are separate men's and women's games, both played internationally.

In all levels of cricket, the essence of the game is that the wicket is a target being attacked by a bowler using the ball, and defended by a batter using a bat. The bowler is a member of the fielding team; the batter is a member of the batting team. The objective of the batting team is to score as many runs as possible. The objective of the fielding team is to restrict scoring and, by various means, dismiss the batters. If ten batters are dismissed, the batting team is all out and the teams change roles. Generally, the winning team is the one scoring the most runs, although some matches can result in a draw or, occasionally, a tie.

Probably created as a children's game in south-east England, cricket is known to have been played in the mid-16th century. It has expanded to become the national summer sport of several English-speaking countries. Matches range in scale from informal weekend afternoon games played on village greens to top-level international contests played by professionals in modern, all-seater stadiums. Globally, the sport has a high level of player participation and is, apart from football, the world's most popular spectator sport.

The Laws of Cricket

Like all other sports, cricket has rules and regulations. They are held in a document called The Laws of Cricket. This was first written in 1744, though it was never actually printed until 1755. It underwent a significant revision in 1774. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787, and issued a revised version of The Laws on 30 May 1788. The club has owned copyright ever since. Although MCC still has responsibility for drafting and publishing revisions, it does so in consultation with the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), which has over 100 member countries. Following the 2017 revision, there are now 42 Laws headed by a preamble on the "Spirit of Cricket".

The field

The cricket field is of variable size and shape, though normally round or oval with a diameter of 140 to 160 yards. There are several famous Ovals, especially The Oval in the Kennington district of south London; Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados; and the Adelaide Oval. The field's perimeter is known as the boundary, sometimes marked by a rope encircling the outer edge of the playing area, with spectator seating beyond. One of the most famous books written about cricket is Beyond A Boundary by the radical Trinidadian writer, C. L. R. James.

The pitch

Most of the action in a match takes place on the pitch, a specially prepared rectangular area of the field on which the wickets are sited and creases are painted as shown in the diagram below.

The pitch is 22 yards long (the length of an agricultural chain) between the wickets and is ten feet wide. It is a flat surface and has very short grass that tends to be worn away as the game progresses. As can be seen in the above photo of Murali bowling to Adam Gilchrist, the pitch is always much paler than the main part of the field.

Pitch conditions have a significant bearing on the match and team tactics are always determined with the state of the pitch, both current and anticipated, as a key factor. Groundsmanship is very important in cricket as considerable care — mowing, watering, and rolling — is necessary to prepare and maintain pitch surfaces. In addition, there are rules about covering the pitch during a match when bad weather occurs.

Sited at each end of the pitch is a small structure called the wicket. Made entirely of wood (usually polished ash), a wicket consists of three upright stumps placed in a straight line and surmounted by two horizontal bails which are placed across the two gaps. The dimensions of a wicket are 28.5 inches high by 9 inches wide.

Creases are painted lines at both ends of the pitch. There are three types of crease, and each has a special purpose.

Types of match and competition

Test cricket

Test matches, which last up to five days, are the top international matches played between countries. Twelve countries are permitted to play Test cricket, having been accredited by the ICC. The twelve countries are listed below, ordered by date of first match:

• Australia
• England (this team is England and Wales combined)
• South Africa
• West Indies (this team is a federation of Caribbean countries)
• New Zealand
• India
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka
• Zimbabwe
• Bangladesh
• Afghanistan
• Ireland (this team is Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland combined)

National league systems

In the main, these are contested by teams representing regions such as counties in England and Wales, states in Australia and India, or islands in the West Indies. Matches are usually played over four days, sometimes three.

Limited overs cricket

In these games, the length is determined by the number of overs, and each side has one innings only. A special formula, known as the 'Duckworth–Lewis System (DLS)' is applied if rain reduces the time for play. It calculates the target score for the team batting second in a limited overs match interrupted by weather or other circumstance.

One day internationals (ODI50)

ODIs are usually restricted to 50 overs batting for each side and each bowler can bowl up to 10 overs maximum. In addition to the teams which play Test cricket, ODIs are also played by Bermuda, Canada, Kenya, Namibia, the Netherlands, Scotland, and the United States.

Twenty20 cricket (T20 Cricket)

Twenty20 (T20) cricket has 20 overs for each side and each bowler can bowl up to 4 overs maximum, unlike 10 overs in an ODI match.

External links

• What Is Cricket? Get to know the sport: a video produced by the International Cricket Council.
• "Cricket". Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Fielding positions that can be used in a cricket match.

A wicket. It is made of wood, and built with three upright stumps topped by two bails.

A perspective view of the cricket pitch from the bowler's end. The bowler runs in past one side of the wicket at the bowler's end, either 'over' the wicket or 'around' the wicket.

A standard cricket ground, showing the cricket pitch (brown), close-infield (light green) within 15 yards (13.7 m) of the batter on strike, 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.