Cricket Information

To help you enjoy the game here is some basic information about the game of cricket!

What is Cricket?

Cricket is a very popular game in Australia that is played mostly in summer on a large grassy field.
There are 2 teams of 11 players
The teams are made up of people that are skilled in…

• Batting
• Bowling
• Fielding

Wickets-

3 sticks with 2 smaller sticks (bails) resting on top the centre of the oval is called the pitch. At each end of the pitch are three sticks in the ground called the wickets (or stumps). The wickets are a very important target. The batting team are trying to stop the wickets from getting knocked over by the bowling/fielding team.

Batting-
The batting team have 2 people playing at a time (one at each end of the pitch) protecting the wickets. There is a small white line drawn around the wickets that is called the crease. The batters need to score as many points (called ‘runs’) as possible by running between the 2 creases/wickets.

Equipments:

• Bat
• Ball
• Batting Gloves
• Leg Pads

 

 

 

Scoring:

Runs can be scored in a number of ways:

• Each time the batting pair run between the wickets (after the ball has been hit) a run is scored.
• If the ball is hit outside the boundary line extra points are scored.
  - 4 runs = If the ball touches the ground before going outside the boundary.
  - 6 runs = If the ball does not touch the ground.
• Runs can also be scored if the bowler delivers the ball incorrectly…
  - ‘No-ball’ = an incorrect bowling action, (= 1 bonus run).
  - ‘Wide’ = bowling the ball so wide the batter can’t hit it (= 1 bonus run).

Fielding:

Cricket Ball

The fielding (or bowling) team try to get the batting team out (‘dismissed’) without them scoring too many ‘runs’.
The 11 players in the fielding team spread themselves out around the ground.

The person bowling must change after they have bowled 6 balls (6 balls = an ‘over’)

Dismissals:

The batter can go out (be dismissed) in a number of ways.

Bowled = the bowler hits the wickets (stumps) with the ball.

Caught = the hit ball is caught on the full by the fielding team (does not touch the ground)

Stumped = the wicket-keeper (player who stands behind the batter – like a catcher in softball/baseball) knocks over the wickets when the batter is not in their crease (safe zone).

LBW (leg before wicket) = the batter is using their leg to stop the ball from hitting the wicket. Ball hits the batters leg (or leg-protector pad) and would have hit the wicket if their leg was not blocking it. (more details in picture)

Run-out = the fielding/bowling team hit the wicket, with the ball, when the batter is out of their crease.

Umpiring:

There are 2 umpires who stand on the ground & ensure the rules are followed.

Game length:
There are 3 different styles of cricket games….

• Twenty20 match
  • One day match
    • Test Match

Twenty20 Match

• Players wear colored team uniform.
• Ball is white.
• Faster format of the game
• More explosive with bigger hitting
• Most matches are played in the evening.
• Play lasts 3 hours

One Day Match

One-Day Cricket Action

• Players wear colored team uniform.
• Ball is white
• Match is often played partly under lights.
• Most matches start early afternoon.
• Playing day lasts about 8 hours

Test Match

• All players wear white clothes.
• Ball is red. 
• Match is played in daylight.
• Lasts up to 5 days.
• Playing days are at least 7 hours long

 The major international test teams are…

• England
• Australia
• India
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka
• Bangladesh
• South Africa
• New Zealand
• Zimbabwe
• The West Indies