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Bat and ball

Main articles: Cricket bat and Cricket ball

Used white ball

Used red ball

Two different types of cricket balls:

i) A used white ball. White balls are mainly utilised in limited oers cricket! especially in matches played

at ni"ht! under floodli"hts #left).

ii) A used red ball! $ed balls are utilised in Test cricket and first%class cricket and some other forms of

cricket #ri"ht).

 &B Both balls are the same si'e.

The essence of the sport is that a bowler deliers the ball from his end of the pitch towards the batsman

who! armed with a bat is (on strike( at the other end.

The bat is made of wood #usually White Willow) and has the shape of a blade topped by a cylindrical

handle. The blade must not be more than .*+ inches #,- mm) wide and the total len"th of the bat not

more than / inches #01- mm).

The ball is a hard leather%seamed spheroid! with a circumference of 0 inches #*/- mm). The hardness of

the ball! which can be deliered at speeds of more than 0- miles per hour #,- km2h)! is a matter for

concern and batsmen wear protectie clothin" includin" pads #desi"ned to protect the knees and shins)!

 battin" "loes for the hands! a helmet for the head and a bo3 inside the trousers #to protect the crotch

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area). 4ome batsmen wear additional paddin" inside their shirts and trousers such as thi"h pads! arm pads!

rib protectors and shoulder pads. The ball has a (seam(: si3 rows of stitches attachin" the leather shell of

the ball to the strin" and cork interior. The seam on a new ball is prominent! and helps the bowler propel it

in a less predictable manner. 5urin" cricket matches! the 6uality of the ball chan"es to a point where it is

no lon"er usable! and durin" this decline its properties alter and thus influence the match. 7layers will

therefore attempt to chan"es the properties of the ball in order to influence its fli"ht. 7olishin" the ball

and wettin" it with sweat or salia is le"al! een when the polishin" is deliberately done on one side only

to increase the ball8s swin"! while rubbin" other substances into the ball! scratchin" the surface or pickin"

at the seam is ille"al ball tamperin".

Umpires and scorers

Main articles: Umpire #cricket) and 4corer 

An umpire

The "ame on the field is re"ulated by two umpires! one of whom stands behind the wicket at the bowler8s

end! the other in a position called (s6uare le"(! a position ,+9*- metres to the side of the (on strike(

 batsman. The main role of the umpires is to adudicate on whether a ball is correctly bowled #not a no ball

or a wide)! when a run is scored! and whether a batsman is out #the fieldin" side must appeal to the

umpire! usually with the phrase ;ow8s That

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=ff the field and in teleised matches! there is often a third umpire who can make decisions on certain

incidents with the aid of ideo eidence. The third umpire is mandatory under the playin" conditions for

Test matches and limited oers internationals played between two >CC full members. These matches also

hae a match referee whose ob is to ensure that play is within the ?aws of cricket and the spirit of the

"ame.

The match details! includin" runs and dismissals! are recorded by two official scorers! one representin"

each team. The scorers are directed by the hand si"nals of an umpire. @or e3ample! the umpire raises a

forefin"er to si"nal that the batsman is out #has been dismissed) he raises both arms aboe his head if the

 batsman has hit the ball for si3 runs. The scorers are re6uired by the ?aws of cricket to record all runs

scored! wickets taken and oers bowled in practice! they also note si"nificant amounts of additional data

relatin" to the "ame.

>nnin"s

The innin"s #endin" with 8s8 in both sin"ular and plural form) is the term used for the collectie

 performance of the battin" side./* >n theory! all eleen members of the battin" side take a turn to bat

 but! for arious reasons! an innin"s can end before they all do so. 5ependin" on the type of match bein"

 played! each team has one or two innin"s apiece.

The main aim of the bowler! supported by his fielders! is to dismiss the batsman. A batsman when

dismissed is said to be (out( and that means he must leae the field of play and be replaced by the ne3t

 batsman on his team. When ten batsmen hae been dismissed #i.e.! are out)! then the whole team is

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dismissed and the innin"s is oer. The last batsman! the one who has not been dismissed! is not allowed to

continue alone as there must always be two batsmen (in(. This batsman is termed (not out(.

An innin"s can end early for three reasons: because the battin" side8s captain has chosen to (declare( the

innin"s closed #which is a tactical decision)! or because the battin" side has achieed its tar"et and won

the "ame! or because the "ame has ended prematurely due to bad weather or runnin" out of time. >n each

of these cases the team8s innin"s ends with two (not out( batsmen! unless the innin"s is declared closed at

the fall of a wicket and the ne3t batsman has not oined in the play.

>n limited oers cricket! there mi"ht be two batsmen still (not out( when the last of the allotted oers has

 been bowled.

=ers

Main article: =er #cricket)

The bowler bowls the ball in sets of si3 delieries #or (balls() and each set of si3 balls is called an oer.

This name came about because the umpire calls (=erD( when si3 balls hae been bowled. At this point!

another bowler is deployed at the other end! and the fieldin" side chan"es ends while the batsmen do not.

A bowler cannot bowl two successie oers! althou"h a bowler can bowl unchan"ed at the same end for

seeral oers. The batsmen do not chan"e ends and so the one who was non%striker is now the striker and

ice ersa. The umpires also chan"e positions so that the one who was at s6uare le" now stands behind

the wicket at the non%striker8s end and ice ersa.

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Team structure

A team consists of eleen players. 5ependin" on his or her primary skills! a player may be classified as a

specialist batsman or bowler. A well%balanced team usually has fie or si3 specialist batsmen and four or

fie specialist bowlers. Teams nearly always include a specialist wicket%keeper because of the importance

of this fieldin" position. Each team is headed by a captain who is responsible for makin" tactical

decisions such as determinin" the battin" order! the placement of fielders and the rotation of bowlers.

A player who e3cels in both battin" and bowlin" is known as an all%rounder. =ne who e3cels as a batsman

and wicket%keeper is known as a (wicket%keeper2batsman(! sometimes re"arded as a type of all%rounder.

True all%rounders are rare as most players focus on either battin" or bowlin" skills.

Bowlin"

Main article: Bowlin" #cricket)

4hoaib Akhtar of 7akistan holds the world record for delierin" the fastest ball #,F,./ km2h).//

The bowler reaches his deliery stride by means of a (run%up(! althou"h some bowlers with a ery slow

deliery take no more than a couple of steps before bowlin". A fast bowler needs momentum and takes

6uite a lon" run%up! runnin" ery fast as he does so.

The fastest bowlers can delier the ball at a speed of oer 0- miles per hour #,- km2h) and they

sometimes rely on sheer speed to try and defeat the batsman! who is forced to react ery 6uickly. =ther

fast bowlers rely on a mi3ture of speed and "uile. 4ome fast bowlers make use of the seam of the ball so

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that it (cures( or (swin"s( in fli"ht. This type of deliery can deceie a batsman into mistimin" his shot

so that the ball touches the ed"e of the bat and can then be (cau"ht behind( by the wicketkeeper or a slip

fielder.

At the other end of the bowlin" scale is the (spinner( who bowls at a relatiely slow pace and relies

entirely on "uile to deceie the batsman. A spinner will often (buy his wicket( by (tossin" one up( #in a

slower! hi"her parabolic path) to lure the batsman into makin" a poor shot. The batsman has to be ery

wary of such delieries as they are often (fli"hted( or spun so that the ball will not behae 6uite as he

e3pects and he could be (trapped( into "ettin" himself out.

>n between the pacemen and the spinners are the (medium pacers( who rely on persistent accuracy to try

and contain the rate of scorin" and wear down the batsman8s concentration.

All bowlers are classified accordin" to their looks or style. The classifications! as with much cricket

terminolo"y! can be ery confusin". ;ence! a bowler could be classified as ?@! meanin" he is a left arm

fast bowler or as ?BG! meanin" he is a ri"ht arm spin bowler who bowls delieries that are called a (le"

 break( and a (Goo"ly(.

5urin" the bowlin" action the elbow may be held at any an"le and may bend further! but may not

strai"hten out. >f the elbow strai"htens ille"ally then the s6uare%le" umpire may call no%ball: this is known

as (throwin"( or (chuckin"(! and can be difficult to detect. The current laws allow a bowler to strai"hten

his arm ,+ de"rees or less.

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@ieldin"

Main article: @ieldin" #cricket)

@ieldin" positions in cricket for a ri"ht%handed batsman

All eleen players on the fieldin" side take the field to"ether. =ne of them is the wicket%keeper aka

(keeper( who operates behind the wicket bein" defended by the batsman on strike. Wicket%keepin" is

normally a specialist occupation and his primary ob is to "ather delieries that the batsman does not hit!

so that the batsmen cannot run byes. ;e wears special "loes #he is the only fielder allowed to do so)! a

 bo3 oer the "roin! and pads to coer his lower le"s. =win" to his position directly behind the striker! the

wicket%keeper has a "ood chance of "ettin" a batsman out cau"ht off a fine ed"e from the bat. ;e is the

only player who can "et a batsman out stumped.

Apart from the one currently bowlin"! the other nine fielders are tactically deployed by the team captain

in chosen positions around the field. These positions are not fi3ed but they are known by specific and

sometimes colourful names such as (slip(! (third man(! (silly mid on( and (lon" le"(. There are always

many unprotected areas.

The captain is the most important member of the fieldin" side as he determines all the tactics includin"

who should bowl #and how) and he is responsible for (settin" the field(! thou"h usually in consultation

with the bowler.

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>n all forms of cricket! if a fielder "ets inured or becomes ill durin" a match! a substitute is allowed to

field instead of him. The substitute cannot bowl! act as a captain or keep wicket. The substitute leaes the

field when the inured player is fit to return.

Battin"

Main article: battin" #cricket)

En"lish cricketer W.G. Grace (takin" "uard( in ,/. ;is pads and bat are ery similar to those used

today. The "loes hae eoled somewhat. Many modern players utilise more defensie e6uipment than

was aailable to Grace! notably helmets and arm "uards.

At any one time! there are two batsmen in the playin" area. =ne takes station at the striker8s end to defend

the wicket as aboe and to score runs if possible. ;is partner! the non%striker! is at the end where the

 bowler is operatin".

Batsmen come in to bat in a battin" order! decided by the team captain. The first two batsmen 9 the

(openers( 9 usually face the hostile bowlin" from fresh fast bowlers with a new ball. The top battin"

 positions are usually "ien to the most competent batsmen in the team! and the team8s bowlers 9 who are

typically! but not always! less skilled as batsmen 9 typically bat last. The pre%announced battin" order is

not mandatory when a wicket falls any player who has not yet batted may be sent in ne3t.

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>f a batsman (retires( #usually due to inury) and cannot return! he is actually (not out( and his retirement

does not count as a dismissal! thou"h in effect he has been dismissed because his innin"s is oer.

4ubstitute batsmen are not allowed.

A skilled batsman can use a wide array of (shots( or (strokes( in both defensie and attackin" mode. The

idea is to hit the ball to best effect with the flat surface of the bat8s blade. >f the ball touches the side of the

 bat it is called an (ed"e(. Batsmen do not always seek to hit the ball as hard as possible! and a "ood player 

can score runs ust by makin" a deft stroke with a turn of the wrists or by simply (blockin"( the ball but

directin" it away from fielders so that he has time to take a run.

An iconic ima"e of Australia8s Hictor Trumper steppin" out to drie

There is a wide ariety of shots played in cricket. The batsman8s repertoire includes strokes named

accordin" to the style of swin" and the direction aimed: e.".! (cut(! (drie(! (hook(! (pull(.

A batsman is not re6uired to play a shot in the eent that he beliees the ball will not hit his wicket and

there is no opportunity to score runs! he can (leae( the ball to "o throu"h to the wicketkeeper. E6ually!

he does not hae to attempt a run when he hits the ball with his bat. ;e can deliberately use his le" to

 block the ball and thereby (pad it away( but this is risky because of the le" before wicket rule.

>n the eent of an inured batsman bein" fit to bat but not to run! the umpires and the fieldin" captain were

 preiously able to allow another member of the battin" side to be a runner. The runner8s only task was to

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run between the wickets instead of the incapacitated batsman! and he was re6uired to wear and carry

e3actly the same e6uipment as the batsman. As of *-,, the >CC outlawed the use of runners as they felt

this was bein" abused./

$uns