HOW TO PLAY CRICKET?
Cricket is a sport that dates back to the early 16th century and has been popular ever since. The pinnacle of international play comes in the form of the Cricket World Cup. Other major events include the T20 World Cup, the Test Series and the One Day Series. Each country organizes a series of national competitions, all very competitive
OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME
The object of cricket is to score more runs than your opponent. There are three variations of the game (Test, One Day and Twenty 20) and each one gives a certain time scale in which the game must be completed.
To score a run, you must hit the ball with a cricket bat made of wood (usually English willow or Kashmir). While one team hits the other on bowling pins and fields. The goal is to pitch the opposing team for the fewest runs possible or restrict it to the fewest runs in the allotted time. After a team has lost all their grounds or the allotted time has expired, the teams will switch roles.
PLAYERS AND EQUIPMENT
Each team consists of 11 players. These eleven players will have different roles on the team, from hitters, bowlers, outfielders and goalkeepers. While each player can have a specialist role, they can take on any role if they wish.
Field sizes vary greatly in cricket, but are generally played on a circular grass field with a circumference of around 200m. Around the edge of the field is what is known as the edge of the boundary and is basically the line between being in play and out of play.
In the center of the field will be the window. The wicket will have two sets of three stumps at each end and they must be 22 yards apart. At each end of the wicket is known as a crease and a line of approximately 2 yards is drawn through the wicket from the stumps. The pitcher will throw the cricket ball from one end, while the batsmen will attempt to hit the ball from the other end.
Hitters can wear a host of padding including leg guards, gloves, thigh guards, inner thigh guards, a box, a helmet, and a chest guard. All players will wear spiked shoes and all will wear white clothing (the only exception is in shorter games where players can wear colored clothing).
The cricket ball is made of cork and will be red (test match) or white (day games).
PUNCTUATION
A run occurs when a batter hits the ball with his bat and the two batters on the wicket mange to successfully run to the other end. Batters can run as many times as they want before it is delivered to them. If the ball crosses the boundary rope after having bounced at least once when leaving the bat, 4 runs are given. If the ball passes over the boundary rope without bouncing, 6 runs are awarded to the batting team.
Runs can also be scored when the pitcher throws a wide delivery (a ball that is too far from the stumps), a no ball (where the pitcher goes over the front line at the wicket), a bye (where no one touches the ball but the two batters run anyway) and a leg goodbye (where the ball hits the batter's leg or body and a run is executed).
WIN THE GAME
One team will hit first and one team will play first. The batting team will try to score as many runs as possible in the allotted time, while the bowling team will try to contain them by fielding the ball. The teams then trade and the second batting team will attempt to beat the runs scored by their opponents first. If they fail, they lose, if they succeed, they win.
CRICKET RULES
Each team consists of 11 players.
The pitcher must roll 6 legal deliveries to constitute an over.
A game must have two umpires at each end of the wicket. The umpires then must count the number of balls in the over, make decisions about whether the batters are out after an appeal, and also verify that the pitcher has thrown a legal pitch.
A batter can be delivered by either being thrown (ball hits his stumps), caught (fielder catches ball without bouncing), Leg before Wicket (ball hits batter's pads preventing his line on stumps), Goalie hits the stumps with his gloves while the batter is out of his crease with the ball in hand), hits the wicket (the batter hits his own wicket), Ball handled (the batter handles the cricket ball on purpose), timeout (the player does not reach the crease within 30 seconds of the previous batter leaving the field), hits the ball twice (the batter hits the cricket ball twice with his bat) and obstruction (the batter deliberately prevents the fielder from receiving the ball).
Test cricket is played over 5 days where each team has two innings (or two chances to hit).
Scores are cumulative and the team with the most runs after each inning is the winner.
A day of cricket is played with 50 overs. Each team has 50 overs to hit and pitch before trading and doing the above discipline. The team with the most races at the end of the game wins.
International games will have two other referees known as the third and fourth referee. These are in place to review any decisions that the field officials cannot make.
The fielding team must have a designated goalkeeper who is the only person authorized to wear pads and gloves on the field. The wicket keeper stands behind the end opposite the bowler to catch the ball.