Cricket: A Gentlemen's Game!

Cricket : A Gentlemen's Game!
Cricket was invented in the vast fields of England, supposedly by

shepherds who herded their flock. Later on this game was shown
benevolence by aristocrats, and now has the stature of being England's
national game. After a century now, cricket stands in the international
arena, with a place of its own.
THE GAME
Cricket involves two teams with 11 players on each side. The captain
who wins the toss decides whether his team bats or bowls first. If they bat
first , their aim is to score a lot of runs and make sure the other team does not reach that score.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of each team is to score more runs than the other team and to completely dismiss
the other team. In limited overs cricket, winning the game is achieved by scoring the most runs,
even if the opposition has not been completely dismissed. In Test cricket, it is necessary to score
the most runs and dismiss the opposition twice in order to win the match, which would otherwise
be drawn.
FORMATS OF THE GAME

Cricket is played in many formats , but the most popular are TEST CRICKET and ONE DAY
cricket. In TEST cricket game goes on for 5 days, with each team batting twice - if time permits.
ONE DAY is the most popular format, with each team getting 300 balls to score runs. And the
other team tries to outscore them within the same number of balls.
KEY PLAYERS
Three functions of the players are 1. BATSMEN, 2. BOWLING 3. FIELDING.

1. Batsmen - one who scores runs of the balls bowled by the bowler.
2. Bowler - One who bowls, and tries to get the batsmen "out" (dismissed from the ground).
3. Fielder - Players (10) who assist the bowler in achieving his goal,
and prevent the batsmen from scoring runs.
BATSMEN
The game of cricket mainly revolves around batsmen. Crowds love the
batsmen, especially when they wallop the ball all over the ground.
Batsmen are the ones who whip up hysteria in the crowd, everybody loves them, they are the
Don Juan's of the game.
Many batsmen are good, but only a few are great. Their style, their flair, talent is unique. To each
his own - if I can quote this famous phrase.
From the numerous batsmen, from the 11 ICC (International Cricket Committee, London, UK)
recognize , only a few achieve immortality. So what is the thing that separates the boys from the
men?
Many factors go in deciding, or rather making of a great batsmen. A natural talent is most
definite, a good coach (Achrekar who coached Sachin Tendulkar), and obviously performing at
the right time.
Modern cricket is a team sport originating in England and popular mainly in areas that formerly
made up the British Empire. The major international test teams are England, Australia, India,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and the West Indies.
The language of cricket is particularly idiosyncratic and tends to reflect the somewhat
complicated and eccentric nature of the game itself. The majority of the terms used in cricket
have originated in England and Australia, however these terms have generally been adopted by
the majority of playing nations and their cricketers.
The game is played between two competing teams of eleven players on each side, on a large
expanse of (usually grassy) ground called a pitch. The teams are comprised of players with a
mixture of abilities, some who specialise at batting, some at bowling, occasionally some who
excel in both capacities, and one highly specialist player who acts as 'wicket-keeper'. In the
centre of the pitch is a length of grass, (usually 22 yards long), called 'the wicket'. At each end of
the wicket are placed three sticks adjacent to each other in an upright position: these are the
'stumps'. They are separated by a gap not greater than the diameter of a cricket ball. On top of
each set of stumps are placed two smaller sticks, or 'bails'. A chalk outline is drawn in front of
each set of stumps called a 'crease'. The game is refereed by two 'umpires'.
The length of games can vary in duration of time, and number of balls bowled. One side will 'bat'
first, the other side will bowl to them. Batsmen play in pairs, each equipped with a bat, one at
each end of the wicket.
The object for the batting side is to score the optimal number of 'runs' (points) before the bowling
side have dismissed them. The object for the bowling side is to dismiss the batsmen as
economically as possible. Once the process is complete the roles are reversed, i.e. the side which
were batting then bowl and the bowling side then bat. This reversal may happen only the once
(typically in 'one-day' or 'limited overs' cricket) or twice, as in county or international test match
cricket.
Runs can be scored in a number of ways: each time that the batting pair is able to run between
the wickets after a ball has been bowled (and before the stumps are or potentially can be touched
with the ball) a run is scored. If the ball travels outside of the playing area, and it has touched the
ground prior to leaving the playing area, 4 runs are scored. If the ball does not touch the ground
on its way out, 6 runs are scored.
Additionally, runs can be accrued through the failure of the bowler to correctly deliver the ball;
either through an incorrect bowling action, when this is deemed a 'no-ball', or through the ball
being delivered too wide for the batsman to strike it, known as a 'wide'. The number of runs
accrued can be affected by where the ball ends up; a no-ball which crosses the boundary will
count for 4 runs. Additionally, any balls which are deemed foul have to be bowled again by the
same bowler before his turn or 'over' of 6 correctly delivered balls is deemed complete.
Dismissal of the batsmen can occur in a number of ways. The batsman facing the bowler can be
'bowled' out, i.e. the ball will hit the stumps without him being able to prevent it. If the batsman
strikes the ball with the bat and it is caught by the bowler or one of the bowler's side who are
dotted around the ground to field the ball before it hits the ground, then he is deemed to be out. A
batsman can also be stumped by the specially equipped wicket-keeper, a player who stands
immediately behind the batsman to retrieve balls coming through from the bowler, if the batsman
steps in front of the crease leaving no part of his anatomy or the bat behind, and the wicket-
keeper is able to remove the bails from the wicket with the ball. A batsman can also be out 'leg
before wicket' or 'lbw': this is one of the more complex and vexatious rules and usually involves
the ball striking the batsman's leg-protectors or 'pads' and the likelihood of the onward trajectory
of the ball striking the wicket has the player's anatomy not intervened.
Either player can be 'run-out' if the wicket towards which they are running during the course of
play is struck with the ball prior to their reaching the safety of the crease.

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Cricket: A Gentlemen's Game!

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Cricket : A Gentlemen's Game!

Cricket was invented in the vast fields of England, supposedly by

FORMATS OF THE GAME

Three functions of the players are 1. BATSMEN, 2. BOWLING 3. FIELDING.

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