Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball team sport. It is played on an oval-shaped outdoor arena known as a cricket
field at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard (20.12 m) long pitch that is the focus of the game.
A game (or match) is contested between two teams of eleven players each. One team bats, while the
other team bowls andfields, trying to dismiss the batsmen . A run is scored by the striking batsman
hitting the ball with his bat, running to the opposite end of the pitch and touching the crease. The
teams switch between batting and fielding at the end of an innings.

There are also variations in the length of a game of cricket. In professional cricket this ranges from a
limit of 20 overs per side (Twenty20) to a game played over 5 days (Test cricket, which is the highest
level of the game). Depending on the form of the match being played, there are different rules that
govern how a game is won, lost, drawn or tied.

History
Cricket was first played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, it had
become the national sport of England. Today, the game's governing body, the International Cricket
Council (ICC), has 105 member countries.[3] With its greatest popularity in the Test playing countries,
cricket is the world's second most popular sport afterAssociation football.[4]

Early cricket was described as "a club striking a ball “. Written evidence exists of a game known as creag being
played by Prince Edward, the son of Edward I (Longshanks), at Newenden, Kent in 1301[6] and there has
been speculation, but no evidence, that this was a form of cricket.

A number of other words have been suggested as sources for the term "cricket". In 1598,[7] it is
called creckett.

In 1598,[7] a court case referred to a sport called creckett being played by boys at the Royal
Grammar School, Guildford around 1550. In 1624, a player called Jasper Vinallwas killed
when he was struck on the head during a match between two parish teams in Sussex.[16]

The game underwent major development in the 18th century and became the national
sport of England.Bowling evolved around 1760 when bowlers began to pitch the ball
instead of rolling or skimming it towards the batsman. This caused a revolution in bat
design because, to deal with the bouncing ball, it was necessary to introduce the modern
straight bat in place of the old "hockey stick" shape.

The 19th century saw underarm bowling replaced by first roundarm and then overarm bowling.
by the middle of the 19th century it had become well established in India, North America, the
Caribbean, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In 1844, the first international cricket match took
place between the United States andCanada

. Test cricket began to expand in 1888–89 when South Africa played England.

in 1932–33, particularly from the accurate short-pitched bowling of Harold Larwood. Test cricket
continued to expand during the 20th century with the addition of the West Indies, India, and New
Zealand before the Second World War and then Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh

Cricket entered a new era in 1963 when English counties introduced the limited overs variant. The
first Limited Overs International was played in 1971. The governingInternational Cricket Council (ICC)
saw its potential and staged the first limited overs Cricket World Cup in 1975. In the 21st century, a
new limited overs form, Twenty20, has made an immediate impact.

Rules and Game-play

A cricket match is played between two teams (or sides) of eleven players each[19][20] on a grassy
field.Field diameters of 137–150 metres (150–160 yd) are usual.[21] The perimeter of the field is known
as the boundary and this is sometimes painted and sometimes marked by a rope that encircles the
outer edge of the field.

The key action takes place in a specially prepared area of the field (generally in the centre) that is
called the pitch. A run is scored when the batsman has run the length of the pitch after hitting the ball
with his bat, although as explained below there are many ways of scoring runs.[23] If the batsmen are
not attempting to score any more runs, the ball is dead and is returned to the bowler to be bowled
again.[24]

Before play commences, the two team captains toss a coin to decide which team shall bator bowl first.
[20]
The captain who wins the toss makes his decision .

The bowling side seeks to dismiss the batsmen by various means[26] until the batting side is all out,
whereupon the side that was bowling takes its turn to bat and the side that was batting must take the
field.[27]

In professional matches, there are 15 people on the field while a match is in play. Two of these are
the umpires who regulate all on-field activity. Two are the batsmen, one of whom is the striker as he is
facing the bowling; the other is called the non-striker. The roles of the batsmen are interchangeable as
runs are scored and overs are completed. The fielding side has all 11 players on the field together.
[20]
One of them is the bowler, another is the wicketkeeper and the other nine are called fielders. The
wicketkeeper (or keeper) is nearly always a specialist but any of the fielders can be called upon to
bowl.

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.

Pitch, wickets and creases

At either end of the pitch, 22 yards (20 m) apart, are placed the wickets. These serve as a target for
the bowling (aka fielding) side and are defended by the batting side which seeks to accumulate runs.
The pitch is a flat surface and 22 yards (20 m) in length between the wickets and is 10 feet (3.0 m)
wide.

Each wicket consists of three wooden stumps placed in a straight line and surmounted by
two wooden crosspieces called bails; the total height of the wicket including bails is
28.5 inches (720 mm) and the combined width of the three stumps is 9 inches (230 mm).

Four lines, known as creases, are painted onto the pitch around the wicket areas to define
the batsman's "safe territory" and to determine the limit of the bowler's approach. These
are called the "popping" (or batting) crease, the bowling crease and two "return" creases.

The stumps are placed in line on the bowling creases and so these must be 22 yards (20 m) apart. A
bowling crease is 8 feet 8 inches (2.64 m) long with the middle stump placed dead centre. The
popping crease has the same length, is parallel to the bowling crease and is 4 feet (1.2 m) in front of
the wicket. The return creases are perpendicular to the other two; they are adjoined to the ends of the
popping crease and are drawn through the ends of the bowling crease to a length of at least 8 feet (2.4
m).

When bowling the ball, the bowler's back foot in his "delivery stride" must land within the two return
creases while his front foot must land on or behind the popping crease. If the bowler breaks this rule,
the umpire calls "No ball".

Bat and ball

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 4.25 inches (108 mm) wide and the total length of the bat
not more than 38 inches (970 mm).
The ball is a hard leather-seamed spheroid with a circumference of 9 inches (230 mm). Due to
itshardness batsmen wear protective clothing including pads batting gloves a helmet.

Umpires and scorers

Main articles: Umpire (cricket) and Scorer

The game on the field is regulated by two umpires, one of whom stands behind the wicket
at the bowler's end, the other in a position called "square leg", a position 15–20 metres to
the side of the "on strike" batsman. When the bowler delivers the ball, the umpire at the
wicket is between the bowler and the non-striker. The umpires confer if there is doubt
about playing conditions and can postpone the match by taking the players off the field if
necessary, for example rain or deterioration of the light.

Off the field and in televised matches, there is often a third umpire who can make decisions on certain
incidents with the aid of video evidence. The third umpire is mandatory under the playing conditions for
Test matches and limited overs internationals played between two ICC full members. These matches
also have a match referee whose job is to ensure that play is within the Laws of cricket and the spirit of
the game.

Off the field, the match details including runs and dismissals are recorded by two official scorers, one
representing each team. The scorers are directed by the hand signals of an umpire.

Innings
The innings (ending with 's' in both singular and plural form) is the term used for the collective
performance of the batting side.[29] In theory, all eleven members of the batting side take a turn to bat
but, for various reasons, an "innings" can end before they all do so.

Depending on the type of match being played, each team has one or two innings apiece. The term
"innings" is also sometimes used to describe an individual batsman's contribution ("he played a fine
innings").

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 isreplaced by the next batsman on his team. When ten batsmen have
been dismissed (i.e., are out), then the whole team is dismissed and the innings is over. 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 innings can end early for three reasons: because the batting side's captain has chosen to "declare"
the innings closed (which is a tactical decision), or because the batting side has achieved its target
and won the game, or because the game has ended prematurely due to bad weather or running out of
time. In each of these cases the team's innings ends with two "not out" batsmen, unless the innings is
declared closed at the fall of a wicket and the next batsman has not joined in the play.

In limited overs cricket, there might be two batsmen still "not out" when the last of the allotted overs
has been bowled.

Overs
Main article: Over (cricket)

The bowler bowls the ball in sets of six deliveries (or "balls") and each set of six balls is called an over.
when six balls have been bowled, another bowler is deployed at the other end, and the fielding side
changes ends while the batsmen do not. A bowler cannot bowl two successive overs, although a
bowler can bowl unchanged at the same end for several overs. The batsmen do not change ends and
so the one who was non-striker is now the striker and vice-versa. The umpires also change positions
so that the one who was at square leg now stands behind the wicket at the non-striker's end and vice-
versa.

Team structure
A team consists of eleven players. Depending on his or her primary skills, a player may be classified
as a specialist batsman or bowler. A well-balanced team usually has five or six specialist batsmen and
four or five specialist bowlers. Teams nearly always include a specialistwicket-keeper because of the
importance of this fielding position. Each team is headed by a captain who is responsible for making
tactical decisions such as determining the batting order, the placement of fielders and the rotation of
bowlers.

A player who excels in both batting and bowling is known as an all-rounder. One who excels as a
batsman and wicket-keeper is known as a "wicket-keeper/batsman", sometimes regarded as a type of
all-rounder. True all-rounders are rare as most players focus on either batting or bowling skills.

Bowling
The bowler reaches his delivery stride by means of a "run-up", although some bowlers with a very slow
delivery take no more than a couple of steps before bowling. A fast bowler needs momentum and
takes quite a long run-up, running very fast as he does so.

The fastest bowlers can deliver the ball at a speed of over 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) Some fast
bowlers make use of the seam of the ball so that it "curves" or "swings" in flight. This type of delivery
can deceive a batsman into mistiming his shot

At other end of bowling scale is the "spinner" who bowls at a relatively slow pace and relies entirely on
guile to deceive the batsman.
In between the pacemen and the spinners are the "medium pacers" who rely on persistent accuracy to
try and contain the rate of scoring and wear down the batsman's concentration.

All bowlers are classified according to their looks or style. Hence, a bowler could be classified as LF,
meaning he is a left arm fast bowler; or as LBG, meaning he is a right arm spin bowler who bowls
deliveries that are called a "leg break" and a "Googly".

During bowling the elbow may not straighten out. If it happens it is considered as no ball . The current
laws allow a bowler to straighten his arm 15 degrees or less.

Fielding
All eleven players on the fielding side take the field together. One of them is the wicket-keeper.

Wicket-keeping is normally a specialist occupation and his primary job is to gather deliveries that the
batsman does not hit, so that the batsmen cannot run byes.. He is the only player who can get a
batsman out stumped.

Apart from the one currently bowling, there are nine fielders deployed by the team captain in chosen
positions around the field. These positions are not fixed but they are known by specific and sometimes
colourful names such as "slip", "third man", "silly mid on" and "long leg".

if a fielder gets injured or becomes ill during a match, a substitute is allowed to field instead of him. The
substitute cannot bowl, act as a captain or keep wicket. The substitute leaves the field when the
injured player is fit to return.

Batting
At any one time, there are two batsmen in the playing area. One takes station at the striker's end the
non-striker, is at the other end

The first two batsmen – the "openers" – usually face the hostile bowling from fresh fast bowlers

If a batsman "retires" and cannot return, he is actually "not out" and his retirement does not count as a
dismissal, though in effect he has been dismissed because his innings is over. Substitute batsmen are
not allowed.

If the ball touches the side of the bat it is called an "edge".

There is a wide variety of shots played in cricket e.g., "cut", "drive", "hook", "pull".

In the event of an injured batsman being fit to bat but not to run, the umpires and the fielding captain
may allow another member of the batting side to be a runner. .

Runs
To register a run, both runners must touch the ground behind the crease with either their bats or their
bodies. Each completed run increments the score.

More than one run can be scored from a single hit;

hits that reach the boundary of the field are automatically awarded four runs if the ball
touches the ground en route to the boundary or six runs if the ball clears the boundary on
the full. The batsmen do not need to run if the ball reaches or crosses the boundary.

Hits for five are unusual and generally rely on the help of "overthrows" by a fielder returning the ball.

Running is a calculated risk because if a fielder breaks the wicket with the ball while the nearest
batsman is out of his ground the batsman is run out.

Extras
Additional runs can be gained by the batting team as extras (called "sundries" in Australia) due to
errors made by the fielding side such as :~

1. No ball

2. Wide

3. Bye

4. Leg bye

Dismissals (outs)
There are ten ways in which a batsman can be dismissed

1. Bowled

2. Caught:

3. Leg before wicket

4. Run out:

5. Stumped

6. Hit wicket

7. Hit the ball twice

8. Obstructed the field

9. Handled the ball

10. Timed out

Before the umpire will award a dismissal and declare the batsman to be out, a member of
the fielding side (generally the bowler) must "appeal". This is invariably done by asking
(or shouting) the term "Howzat?" which means, simply enough, "How is that?"

If injured or taken ill the batsman may temporarily retire, and be replaced by the next batsman and
may resume the innings later. An unimpaired batsman may retire, and this is treated as being
dismissed retired out.

Innings closed
An innings is closed when:

1. Ten of the eleven batsmen are out (have been dismissed); in this case, the team is
said to be "all out"

2. The team has only one batsman left who can bat, one or more of the remaining
players being unavailable owing to injury, illness or absence; again, the team is said to be "all
out"

3. The team batting last reaches the score required to win the match
4. The predetermined number of overs has been bowled

5. A captain declares his team's innings closed while at least two of his batsmen are not
out (this does not apply in one-day limited over matches)

Results
If the team that bats last is all out having scored fewer runs than their opponents, the team is said to
have lost the game. If the team that bats last scores enough runs to win, it is said to have won the
match.

In a two-innings-a-side match, one team's combined first and second innings total may be less than
the other side's first innings total. The team with the greater score is then said to have won .

If the team batting last is all out, and both sides have scored the same number of runs, then the match
is a tie. If the time allotted for the match expires before either side can win, then the game is declared
a draw.

Types of matches
Test cricket
Limited overs
National championships
First-class cricket includes Test cricket at highest level of domestic cricket in those countries with full
ICC membership, although there are exceptions to this

International structure
The International Cricket Council (ICC), which has its headquarters in Dubai, is the international
governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by
representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket
Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.

Statistics
Organized cricket lends itself to statistics to a greater degree than many other sports. Each play is
discrete and has a relatively small number of possible outcomes.At the professional level, statistics for
Test cricket, one-day internationals, and first-class cricket are recorded separately.

Certain traditional statistics are familiar to most cricket fans. The basic batting statistics include:

 Innings(I)

 Not outs (NO)

 Runs (R)

 Highest Score (HS/Best)

 Batting Average (Ave)

 Centuries (100)

 Half-centuries (50)

 Balls Faced (BF)

 Strike Rate (SR)

 Run Rate (RR)

The basic bowling statistics include:

 Overs (O)

 Balls (B)

 Maiden Overs

 Runs (R)

 Wickets (W)

 No balls (Nb):

 Wides .
 Bowling Average