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Cricket is a sport played by both men and women using a ball and a wooden bat, although currently the sport is essentially male-dominated at the professional level.
Two teams of 11 players take turns to bat and bowl on a closely cropped grass field with a carefully prepared rectangular strip (called the pitch) in the centre. The pitch has a set of 3 stumps called wickets at each end. The bowlers and batsmen are positioned at the wickets at each end of the pitch. When play starts, the fielding team takes its place on the field surrounding the pitch, while the first 2 batsmen for the batting team take their positions, one in front of each wicket.
The remaining 9 batting team members await their own turn to bat in a separate area. This marks the beginning of an innings, which ends once 10 members of the batting team are out or dismissed. The bowler bowls the ball to the batsmen, who must use their bat to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket (meaning they are out), while trying to hit the ball in any direction past the opposing fielders so that he/she and his/her partner have enough time to run from one wicket to the other, passing each other to score runs.
A run is scored each time the batsmen cross over and successfully touch the ground with their bat or a part of their body beyond a marked line called the crease - which is a designated distance just over 1 metre from either wicket. If the batsman hits the ball beyond the perimeter of the field, called the boundary line, he/she scores 4 or 6 runs depending on whether the ball bounces or not.
The members of the fielding team try to stop the batsmen from scoring runs by recovering the ball as quickly as possible and also attempt to get the batsmen out by catching a ball hit by the batsman before it reaches the ground, or to throw the ball to hit the stumps at either end before the batsmen have reached the crease.
The ball becomes “dead” or “out of play” when it is in the hands of the bowler or wicketkeeper (the player standing directly behind the wicket). At this point, runs cannot be scored and players cannot be out by losing their wicket.
A series of 6 balls from one bowler at the same end of the pitch is called an over. When an over is complete, another bowler starts a new over from the other end of the pitch and the fielding team changes ends.
The skill of bowling uses various speeds, directions, trajectories and different spins to the right or left (called off breaks or leg breaks). Bowlers attempt to make the batsman miss their bowl and hit the wicket with the ball, or for the batsman to fail to hit the ball cleanly - hence giving the fielders an opportunity to catch the ball before it touches the ground.
The winning team is the one who finishes the game with the most runs, defined as crossovers of batsmen between wickets.
Two umpires on the field of play supervise the match. One stands at the bowler’s wicket and the other perpendicular to the batsman’s wicket, rotating their positions after each over. They make decisions from interpreting the rules of the game with regards to batsmen being out, legitimacy of bowlers’ deliveries and scoring using different hand signals to ensure scorekeepers are fully informed.
Cricket is administered worldwide by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which organises the ICC Trophy every 4 years. There are 10 test-playing countries and more than 20 associated or none test-playing countries who are members of the ICC.
The 10 test-playing countries are Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe. The first World Cup was held in 1975, and is normally held every 4 years.
Although purists frown upon one-day matches, they have become increasingly popular and lucrative; their great appeal being in the fast-scoring style and clear result within the single day.
Equipment
The bat and ball are the basic equipment in cricket. The bat is made of shaped willow, with the flat side being used to hit the ball and having a tubular rubber handle to be gripped with both hands for shock absorption on impact with the ball. The bat, including handle, is approximately one metre long with the blade approximately 10cms wide. The ball is very hard, covered in red leather and stitched.
Most other equipment is protective - including pads to protect the legs of the batsmen and the wicketkeeper, helmet with cage and chin guard to protect the head, shoes with either studs or rubber soles, and gloves and guards for vulnerable body areas. The colour of players’ uniforms has become more liberal in contemporary cricket - adding to the spectacle of the occasion.
History
The first major official match was held between the counties of Kent and Middlesex in 1719, and the first rules were written in 1744. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787 and became the club of reference for the code of ethics employed in cricket, and remains so to this day.
The foundation of this club marked the adoption of the sport by the rich and the nobility. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the game spread to other Commonwealth countries, including the British West Indies in 1920 as well as New Zealand and India in 1932. It is now actively played at international level by the 30 countries in the ICC.
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