What is Cricket

7/29/2019 What is Cricket

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WHAT IS CRICKET

Cricket is a team sport for two teams of eleven players each. The game of cricket is played on an

oval field. The game is officiate by two umpires locally and three internationally; two of which is

on the field, one standing and a square leg umpire. A formal game of cricket can last anything

from an afternoon to several days.

Although the game play and rules are very different, the basic concept of cricket is

similar to that of baseball. Teams bat in successive innings and attempt to score runs, while the

opposing team fields and attempts to bring an end to the batting team's innings. After each team

has batted an equal number of innings (either one or two, depending on conditions chosen before

the game), the team with the most runs wins.

(Note: In cricket-speak the word "innings" is used for both the plural and the singular. "Inning"

is a term used only in baseball.)


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WAYS OF GETTING OUT

Here is a full list of the ten different ways of getting out. But first, a few necessary definitions:

The wicket is said to be broken if one or both of the bails have been dislodged and fallen to the

ground. If the bails have fallen off for any reason and the ball is still in play, then breaking the

wicket must be accomplished by pulling a stump completely out of the ground. If the wicket

needs to be broken like this with the ball, the uprooting of the stump must be done with the ball

in contact with the stump.

The field is notionally split into two halves, along a line down the centre of the pitch. The

half of the field in front of the striker is called the off side, the half behind is called the leg side,

or sometimes the on side. Thus, standing at the bowler's wicket and looking towards a right-handed striker's wicket, the off side is to the left and the leg side to the right (and vice-versa for a

left-handed striker). The stumps of the striker's wicket are called off stump, middle stump,

and leg stump, depending on which side they are on.

When a batsman gets out, no matter by what method, his wicket is said to have fallen, and the

fielding team are said to have taken a wicket.

Now, the ways of getting out:

Caught:

If a fielder catches the ball on the full after the batsman has hit it with his bat. However,

if the fielder catches the ball, but either during the catch or immediately afterwards

touches or steps over the boundary, then the batsman scores six runs and is not out.

Bowled:

If the batsman misses the ball and it hits and breaks the wicket directly from the bowler's

delivery. The batsman is out whether or not he is behind his popping crease. He is also

out bowled if the ball breaks the wicket after deflecting from his bat or body. The

batsman is not out if the wicket does not break.


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Leg Before Wicket:

If the batsman misses the ball with his bat, but intercepts it with part of his body when it

would otherwise have hit the wicket, and provided several other conditions (described

below) are satisfied. An umpire must adjudicate such a decision, and will only do so if

the fielding team appeal the decision. This is a question asked of the umpire, usually of

the form "How's that?" (or "Howzat?"), and usually quite enthusiastic and loud. If the ball

bounces outside an imaginary line drawn straight down the pitch from the outside edge of

leg stump, then the batsman cannot be out LBW, no matter whether or not the ball would

have hit the stumps. If the batsman attempts to play a shot at the ball with his bat (and

misses) he may only be given out LBW if the ball strikes the batsman between imaginary

lines drawn down the pitch from the outside edges of leg and off stumps (ie. directly in

line with the wicket). If the batsman does notattempt to play the ball with his bat, then he

may be given out LBW without satisfying this condition, as long as the umpire is

convinced the ball would have hit the wicket. If the ball has hit the bat before the hitting

the batsman, then he cannot be given out LBW.

Stumped:

If a batsman misses the ball and in attempting to play it steps outside his crease, he is out

stumped if the wicket-keeper gathers the ball and breaks the wicket with it before the

batsman can ground part of his body or his bat behind his crease.

Run Out:

If a batsman is attempting to take a run, or to return to his crease after an aborted run, and

a fielder breaks that batsman's wicket with the ball while he is out of the crease. The

fielder may either break the wicket with a hand which holds the ball, or with the ball

directly. It is possible for the non-striker to be run out if the striker hits the ball straight

down the pitch towards the non-striker's wicket, and the bowler deflects the ball on to the

wicket while the non-striker is out of his crease. If the ball is hit directly on to the non-

striker's wicket, withoutbeing touched by a fielder, then the non-striker is not out. If the

non-striker leaves his crease (in preparation to run) while the bowler is running up, the

bowler may run him out without bowling the ball. Batsmen cannot be run out while the

ball is dead - so they may confer in the middle of the pitch between deliveries if they

desire.


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Hit Wicket:

If, in attempting to hit a ball or taking off for a first run, the batsman touches and breaks

the wicket. This includes with the bat or dislodged pieces of the batsman's equipment -

even a helmet or spectacles!

Handle The Ball:

If a batsman touches the ball with a hand not currently holding the bat, without the

permission of the fielding side. This does not include being hit on the hand by a delivery,

or any other non-deliberate action.

Obstructing The Field:

If a batsman deliberately interferes with the efforts of fielders to gather the ball or effect a

run out. This does not include running a path between the fielder and the wicket so that

the fielder cannot throw the stumps down with the ball, which is quite legal, but does

include any deliberate attempt to swat the ball away.

Hit The Ball Twice:

If a batsman hits a delivery with his bat and then deliberately hits the ball again for any

reason other than to defend his wicket from being broken by the ball. If the

ball is bouncing or rolling around near the stumps, the batsman is entitled to knock it

away so as to avoid being bowled, but not to score runs.

Timed Out:If a new batsman takes longer than two minutes, from the time the previous wicket falls,

to appear on the field.

These methods of getting out are listed in approximate order of how commonly they occur. The

first five are reasonably common, the last five quite rare. The last three methods are almost never

invoked.

If a batsman is out caught, bowled, LBW, stumped, or hit wicket, then the bowler is credited

with taking the wicket. No single person is credited with taking a wicket if it falls by any other

method.


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SCORING RUNS

Whenever a batsman hits the ball during a delivery, he may score runs. A run is scored by the

batsmen running between the popping creases, crossing over midway between them. When they

both reach the opposite crease, one run is scored, and they may return for another runimmediately. The fielding side attempts to prevent runs being scored by threatening to run

out one of the batsmen.

If the batsmen are attempting to take runs, and a fielder gathers the ball and hits a wicket with it,

dislodging one or both bails, while no batsman is behind that wicket's popping crease, then the

nearest batsman is run out. Specifically, the batsman must have some part of his body or his bat

(provided he is holding it) grounded behind (not on) the crease.

The batsmen carry their bats as they run, and turning for another run is accomplished by

touching the ground beyond the crease with an outstretched bat. The batsmen do not have to run

at any time they think it is unsafe - it is common to hit the ball and elect not to run.

If the batsmen run one or three (or five! rare, but possible), then they have swapped ends and

their striker/non-striker roles are reversed for the next ball (unless the ball just completed is the

end of an over).

In addition to scoring runs like this, if a batsman hits the ball so that it reaches the boundary

fence, he scores four runs, without needing to actually run them. If a batsman hits the ball over

the boundary on the full, he scores six runs. If a four or six is scored, the ball is completed and

the batsmen cannot be run out. If a spectator encroaches on to the field and touches the ball, it is

considered to have reached the boundary. If a fielder gathers the ball, but then steps outside or

touches the boundary while still holding the ball, four runs are scored. If a fielder catches the ball

on the full and, either during or immediately after the catch, steps outside or touches the

boundary, six runs are scored.

The batsmen usually stop taking runs when a fielder is throwing the ball back towards the pitch

area. If no fielder near the pitch gathers the ball and it continues into the outfield again, the

batsmen may take more runs. Such runs are called overthrows. If the ball reaches the boundary


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on an overthrow, four runs are scored in addition to the runs taken before the overthrow

occurred.

Runs scored by a batsman, including all overthrows, are credited to him by the scorer. The

number of runs scored by each batsman is an important statistic.

If, while running multiple runs, a batsman does not touch the ground beyond the popping crease

before he returns for the next run, then the umpire at that end will signal one short, and the

number of runs scored is reduced by one.


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EQUIPMENT

Cricket Ball:

Hard, cork and string ball, covered with leather. A bit like a baseball (in size and

hardness), but the leather covering is thicker and joined in two hemispheres, not in atennis ball pattern. The seam is thus like an equator, and the stitching is raised slightly.

The circumference is between 224 and 229 millimetres (8.81 to 9.00 inches), and the ball

weighs between 156 and 163 grams (5.5 to 5.75 ounces). Traditionally the ball is dyed

red, with the stitching left white. Nowadays white balls are also used, for visibility in

games played at night under artificial lighting.

Cricket Bat:

Blade made of willow, flat on one side, humped on the other for strength, attached to a

sturdy cane handle. The blade has a maximum width of 108 millimetres (4.25 inches) and

the whole bat has a maximum length of 965 millimetres (38 inches).

Wickets:

There are two wickets - wooden structures made up of a set of three stumps topped by a

pair of bails. These are described below.

Stumps:

Three wooden posts, 25 millimetres (1 inch) in diameter and 813 millimetres (32 inches)

high. They have have spikes extending from their bottom end and are hammered into the

ground in an evenly spaced row, with the outside edges of the outermost stumps 228

millimetres (9 inches) apart. This means they are just close enough together that a cricket

ball cannot pass between them.

Bails:

Two wooden crosspieces which sit in grooves atop the adjacent pairs of stumps.


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A complete wicket looks like this:

Protective Gear:

Pads, gloves, helmet, etc for batsmen to wear to prevent injury when struck by the ball.Shoes:

Leather, usually with spiked soles for grip on the grass.

Clothing:

Long pants, shirt (long or short sleeved depending on the weather), possibly a sleeveless

or long-sleeved woollen pullover in cold weather. For games played with a red ball, the

clothing must be white or cream. With a white ball, players usually wear uniforms in

solid team colours. Add a hat or cap to keep the sun off. There are no regulations

regarding identifying marks or numbers on clothing.


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THE CRICKET PITCH

A cricket field is a roughly elliptical field of flat grass, ranging in size from about 90 to 150

metres (100-160 yards) across, bounded by an obvious fence or other marker. There is no fixed

size or shape for the field, although large deviations from a low-eccentricity ellipse are

discouraged. In the centre of the field, and usually aligned along the long axis of the ellipse, is

the pitch , a carefully prepared rectangle of closely mown and rolled grass over hard packed

earth. It is marked with white lines, called creases, like this:

The dimensions are in centimetres (divide by 2.54 for inches).


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STARTING CONDITIONS

The order in which the teams bat is determined by a coin toss. The captain of the side winning

the toss may elect to bat or field first.

All eleven players of the fielding team go out to field; two players of the batting team go out to

bat. The remainder of the batting team waits off the field for their turn to bat. Each batsman

wears protective gear and carries a cricket bat.

The game progresses by the bowling of balls. The sequence of events which constitutes a ball

follows:

The fielding team disperses around the field, to positions designed to stop runs being scored or to

get batsmen out. One fielder is the bowler. He takes the ball and stands some distance behind one

of the wickets (i.e., away from the pitch). Another fielder is the wicket-keeper, who wears a pair

of webbed gloves designed for catching the ball and protective pads covering the shins. He

squats behind the opposite wicket. The rest of the fielders have no special equipment - gloves to

assist catching the ball are not allowed to anyone but the wicket-keeper.

One batsman stands behind each popping crease, near a wicket. The batsman farthest from the

bowler is the striker, the other is the non-striker. The striker stands before his wicket, on or near

the popping crease, in the batting stance.


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UMPIRE SIGNALS

The umpires signal various events with gestures, as follows:

Out:

When a batsman is out, the umpire making the decision raises one hand above

his head, with the index finger extended.

Not Out:

There is no formal signal to indicate that a batsman is not out. The umpire can

either shake his head 'no' or not signal at all.

Four:

A four scored by the ball reaching the boundary is signalled by an arm

extended horizontally and waved briefly back and forth in a horizontal arc.

Six:

A six is signalled by raising both arms straight over the head.

No Ball:

A no ball is signalled by holding an arm out horizontally.

Wide:A wide is signalled by holding both arms out horizontally.

Byes:

Runs scored as byes are signalled by raising one arm over the head, palm open.

Leg Byes:

Leg byes are signalled by raising one leg and tapping the knee with one hand.

Dead Ball:

If the umpire has to signal dead ball to prevent the players from assuming that

the ball is still alive, he waves both arms across each other in front of his

abdomen.

One Short:

One short is signalled by touching the tip of one hand to the same shoulder.


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TV Replay:

If an umpire wishes the third umpire to make a decision based on a TV replay,

he signals by drawing a large square shape in the air with both hands, spreading

them out high in the air in front of him, bringing them down, and then togetheragain.


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Block:

A defensive shot played with the bat vertical and angled down at the front, intended to stop

the ball and drop it down quickly on to the pitch in front of the batsman.

Drive:

An offensive shot played with the bat sweeping down through the vertical. The ball travels

swiftly along the ground in front of the striker. A drive can be an on drive, straight drive, off

drive, or cover drive, depending in which direction it goes.

Cut:

A shot played with the bat close to horizontal, which hits the ball somewhere in the arc

between cover and gully.

Edge, or Glance:

A shot played off the bat at a glancing angle, through the slips area.

Leg Glance:

A shot played at a glancing angle behind the legs, so that it goes in the direction of fine leg.

Pull:

A horizontal bat shot which pulls the ball around the batsman into the square leg area.

Sweep:

Like a pull shot, except played with the backmost knee on the ground, so as to hit balls

which bounce low.

Hook:Like a pull shot, but played to a bouncer and intended to hit the ball high in the air over

square leg - hopefully for six runs.

French Cut:

An attempt at a cut shot which hits the bottom edge of the bat and goes into the area behind

square leg.

Reverse Sweep:

A sweep with the bat reversed, into the point area.

Most of these shots can also be lofted, in an attempt to hit the ball over the close fielders (or

the boundary). The batting strokes can be divided into two categories: Straight bat and

cross bat. The straight bat shots are played with the bat held close to the vertical, and are

the blocks, drives and glances. Cross bat shots are played with the bat held more

horizontally, like a baseball bat. These include cuts, pulls, sweeps and hooks.


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The following terms are used more informally and are not standard:

Hoik:

A wild swing intended only to hit the ball as hard and as far as possible, usually with little or

no control.

Agricultural Shot:

Any shot played with very little skill.


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BLOCK SHOT DRIVE GLANCE

CUT SHOT PULL SHOT SWEEP

HOOK SHOT REVERSE SWEEP


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TYPES OF DELIVERIES

Deliveries can be delivered by fast bowlers or by spin bowlers. Fast bowlers tend to make the

ball either move off the pitch ("seam") or move through the air ("swing"), while spinners make

the ball "turn" either toward a right-handed batsman (as in the case ofoff spin and left-armunorthodox spin) or away from him (as in the case ofleg spin and left-arm orthodox spin).

Leg break

A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known

as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin

on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case ofoff spinners.

A leg break is bowled by holding the cricket ball in the palm of the hand with the seam running

across under all the fingers. As the ball is released, the wrist is rotated to the left and the ball

allowed to roll out of the hand over the ring finger, giving the ball an anti-clockwise spin as seen

from behind. When the ball bounces on the pitch, the spin causes it to deviate towards the left

from the bowler's perspective; this is to the right from the batsman's point of view, or towards

the off side of a right-handed batsman. The ball spins away from the leg side, and this is where it

gets the name leg break, meaning it breaks away from the leg. The turn is mostly when the ball

pitches.

Off break

It is the attacking delivery of an off spin bowler. Off breaks are known as off spinners.

An off break is bowled by holding the cricket ball in the palm of the hand with the seam running

across under all the fingers. As the ball is released, the fingers roll down the right side of the ball

(for a right-handed bowler), giving the ball a clockwise spin as seen from behind. When the ball

bounces on thepitch, the spin causes it to deviate towards the right from the bowler's perspective,

this is to the left from the batsman's point of view or towards the leg side of a right-handed

batsman. The ball spinsaway from the off side.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_bowlinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_bowlinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seam_bowlinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_bowlinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-arm_unorthodox_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-arm_unorthodox_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leg_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-arm_orthodox_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-armhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leg_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowler_(cricket)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_breakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_ballhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_pitchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batsmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fielding_(cricket)#Off_and_leg_side_fieldshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leg_sidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowler_(cricket)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_ballhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_pitchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batsmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leg_sidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fielding_(cricket)#Off_and_leg_side_fieldshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fielding_(cricket)#Off_and_leg_side_fieldshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leg_sidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batsmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_pitchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_ballhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowler_(cricket)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leg_sidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fielding_(cricket)#Off_and_leg_side_fieldshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batsmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_pitchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_ballhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_breakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowler_(cricket)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leg_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-armhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-arm_orthodox_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leg_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-arm_unorthodox_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-arm_unorthodox_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_spinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_bowlinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seam_bowlinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_bowlinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_bowling


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INSWINGER

An in swinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam vertical and the first two

fingers slightly across the seam so that it is angled a little to the leg side. Once the ball has worn

and been polished so that one side is rougher than the other, the rough side is placed on the legside. The ball is placed on the pad of the thumb. This thumb position locks the wrist in a position

inclined to the leg side.

AN OUT SWINGER

An outswinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam at an angle and the first two fingers

running along either side of the seam. Once the ball has worn and been polished so that one side is

rougher than the other, the rough side is placed on the left (as seen from the bowler's viewpoint). When

the bowler delivers the ball, he angles the seam so that it points slightly to the left as well, and releasesthe ball rotating about a vertical axis with the seam along the rotational axis. The angle of the seam to the

direction of motion produces an aerofoil effect as the ball moves through the air, pushing it to the left. This

is enhanced by differential air pressure caused by movement of air over the rough and smooth surfaces,

which also tends to push the ball to the left. The result is that the ball curves, or swings to the left.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_ballhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_ballhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airfoilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airfoilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_ballhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_ball


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TYPE OF ACTION


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THE CRICKET FIELD

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What is Cricket