INTRODUCTION
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game
played between two teams of 11 players on a field at the centre of
which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. Each team takes it in turn
to bat, attempting to score runs, while the other
team fields. Each turn is known as
an innings.The bowler delivers the ball to the batsman
who attempts to hit the ball with his bat far enough for him to run
to the other end of the pitch and score a run. Each batsman continues batting
until he is out. The batting team continues batting until ten batsmen are
out, at which point the teams switch roles and the fielding team comes in to
bat.In professional cricket the length of a game ranges
from 20 overs of six bowling deliveries per side to Test cricket played
over five days. The Laws of Cricket are maintained by
the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone
Cricket Club(MCC) with additional Standard Playing Conditions for Test matches
and One Day Internationals.Cricket was first played in southern England in the
16th century. By the end of the 18th century, it had developed into the
national sport of England. The expansion of theBritish Empire led
to cricket being played overseas and by the mid-19th century the first
international matches were being held. The ICC, the game's governing body, has
10 full members. The game is most popular
in Australia, England, the Indian subcontinent, the West
Indies and Southern Africa
History of Cricket
What Players Are There On A Cricket Team
update on 21th september
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.The FieldA
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).The PlayThe
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 wait 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.
For a right-handed batsman, the feet are positioned like this:
The
batsman stands with his bat held down in front of the wicket, ready to hit the
ball, which will be bowled from the other end of the pitch. The batsman usually
rests the lower end of the bat on the pitch and then taps the bat on the pitch
a few times as "warm-up" backswings.The non-striker simply stands
behind the other popping crease, waiting to run if necessary. The bowler takes
a run-up from behind the non-striker's wicket. He passes to one side of the
wicket, and when he reaches the non-striker's popping crease he bowls the ball
towards the striker, usually bouncing the ball once on the pitch before it
reaches the striker. (The bowling action will be described in detail later.)The
striker may then attempt to hit the ball with his bat. If he misses it, the
wicket-keeper will catch it and the ball is completed. If he hits it, the two
batsmen may score runs (described later). When the runs are completed, the ball
is also considered completed. The ball is considered to be in play from the
moment the bowler begins his run-up. It remains in play until any of several
conditions occur (two common ones were just described), after which it is
called dead. The ball is also dead if it lodges in the striker's clothing
or equipment. Once the ball is dead, it is returned to the bowler for the
next delivery (another name for the bowling of a ball). Between
deliveries, the batsmen may leave their creases and confer with each other.When
one bowler has completed six balls, that constitutes an over. A different
member of the fielding team is given the ball and bowls the next over - from
the opposite end of the pitch. The batsmen do not change ends, so the roles of
striker and non-striker swap after each over. Any member of the fielding team
may bowl, so long as no bowler delivers two consecutive overs. Once a bowler
begins an over, he must complete it, unless injured or suspended during the
over.Another possibility during a ball is that a batsman may get out.
There are ten different methods of being out - these will be described in
detail later. If a batsman gets out, the ball is dead immediately, so it is
impossible to get the other batsman out during the same ball. The out batsman
leaves the field, and the next batsman in the team comes in to bat.
The not out batsman remains on the field. The order in which batsmen
come in to bat in an innings is not fixed. The batting order may be changed by
the team captain at any time, and the order does not have to be the same in
each innings.When ten batsmen are out, no new batsmen remain to come in, and
the innings is completed with one batsman remaining not out. The roles of the
teams then swap, and the team which fielded first gets to bat through an
innings. When both teams have completed the agreed number of innings, the team
which has scored the most runs wins.Scoring RunsWhenever
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 run immediately. 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 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.Ways of Getting OutHere
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.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 not attempt 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, without being
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.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.OfficialsThe
game is adjudicated by two umpires, who make all decisions on the field
and whose word is absolutely final. One umpire stands behind the non-striker's
wicket, ready to make judgements on LBWs and other events requiring a decision.
The other umpire stands in line with the striker's popping crease, about 20
metres (20 yards) to one side (usually the leg side, but not always), ready to
judge stumpings and run-outs at his end. The umpires remain at their respective
ends of the pitch, thus swapping roles every over.If the technology is
available for a given match, a third umpire is sometimes used. He sits off the
field, with a television replay monitor. If an on-field umpire is unsure of a
decision concerning either a run out or a stumping attempt, he may signal for
the third umpire to view a television replay. The third umpire views a replay,
in slow motion if necessary, until he either reaches a decision or decides that
he cannot make a clear decision. He signals the result to the on-field umpire,
who must then abide by it. If the equipment fails, the replay umpire signals no
decision. The replay umpire cannot be used for any decisions other than run
outs and stumpings.Whenever any decision is in doubt, the umpire must rule in favour
of the batsman.If the ball hits an umpire, it is still live and play continues.
If it lodges in an umpire's clothing, then it is dead.The game is also presided
over by a match referee, who watches from outside the field. The referee
makes no decisions of relevance to the outcome of the game, but determines
penalties for breaches of various rules and misconduct. In professional games,
these penalties are monetary fines.Arguing with an umpire's decision is simply
not tolerated. Anything more than a polite question to the umpires is heavily
frowned upon and could attract a penalty from the referee. The most serious
misconduct in a cricket match is of the order of a rude gesture to an opponent
or throwing the ball into the ground in disgust. Such gross misbehaviour would
attract large fines and possibly match suspensions. Penalties for physical
violence can only be guessed at, but would possibly be a career suspension.ExtrasExtras are
runs scored by means other than when the ball is hit by a batsman. Extras are
not credited to any batsman, and are recorded by the scorer separately. The
total number of runs for the innings is equal to the sums of the individual
batsmen's scores and the extras. There are four types of extras: no balls,
wides, byes, and leg byes.The bowler must bowl each ball with part of his
frontmost foot behind the popping crease. If he oversteps this mark, he has
bowled a no ball. The umpire at that end calls "no ball"
immediately in a loud voice. The batsman may play and score runs as usual, and
may not be out by any means except run out, handle the ball, hit the ball
twice, or obstructing the field. Further, if the batsman does not score any
runs from the ball, one run is added to the batting team's score. Also, the
bowler must bowl an extra ball in his over to compensate. A no ball is also
called if any part of the bowler's back foot is not within the area between the
return creases.If the bowler bowls the ball far to one side or over the head of
the batsman, so making it impossible to score, the umpire will signal the ball
as a wide . This gives the batting team one run and the bowler must
rebowl the ball. The striker may not be out hit wicket off a wide ball.If the striker
misses a ball and the wicket-keeper fails to gather it cleanly, the batsmen may
take runs. These runs are called byes and are scored as extras.If the
striker, in attempting to play a shot, deflects the ball with part of his body,
the batsmen may attempt to take a run. Such runs are called leg
byes . If the striker did not attempt to play a shot with his bat, leg
byes may not be taken. The umpire adjudicates by signalling a dead ball if the
batsmen attempt to run when, in his opinion, no attempt was made to play a
shot.Batsmen may be run out as usual while running byes and leg-byes. If, while
running either form of bye, the ball reaches the boundary, four byes (of the
appropriate type) are scored.The Bowling ActionThe
bowling action itself has to conform to several restrictions. The bowler's arm
must be straight when the ball is bowled (so no "throwing" is
allowed). The ball must be bowled overarm, not underarm.The difference between
'bowling' and 'throwing': When you throw the ball, the elbow is cocked and used
to impart energy to the ball by straightening. When a ball is bowled, the elbow
joint is held extended throughout. All the energy is imparted by rotation of
the arm about the shoulder, and possibly a little by wrist motion. For a
right-handed bowler, the action goes roughly as follows:After the run-up, the
right foot is planted on the ground with the instep facing the batsman. The
right arm is extended backwards and down at this stage. The left foot comes
down on the popping crease as the bowler's momentum carries him forward - he is
standing essentially left-side on to the batsman. As the weight transfers to
the left foot, the right arm is brought over the shoulder in a vertical arc.
The ball is released near the top of the arc, and the follow-through brings the
arm down and the right shoulder forward rapidly.Bouncing the ball on the pitch
is not mandatory. It's usually done because the movement of the ball off the
pitch makes it much harder to hit. Unbounced deliveries, orfull tosses are
almost always much easier to hit, and mostly they are bowled accidentally. A
full toss above hip height is no ball, and an umpire who suspects that such a
ball was deliberate will give the bowler an official warning. A warning is also
given if the umpire believes the bowler is bowling at the body of a batsman in
a deliberate attempt to injure the batsman. After two warnings a bowler is
barred from bowling for the rest of the innings.If any rule governing the
bowling action is violated, a no ball results.Bowlers are allowed to polish the
ball by rubbing it with cloth (usually on their trouser legs) and applying
saliva or sweat to it. Any other substance is illegal, as is rubbing the ball
on the ground. Usually one side of the ball is polished smooth, while the other
wears, so that the bowler can achieve swing (curving the ball through
the air). It is also illegal to roughen the ball by any means, including
scraping it with the fingernails or lifting the seam. A bowler who illegaly
tampers with the ball is immediately suspended from bowling for the rest of
that innings.The bowler may bowl from either side of the wicket, but must
inform the umpire and the batsmen if he wishes to change sides. Bowling with
the bowling arm closest to the wicket is called over the wicket, and is
most common. Bowling with the non-bowling are closest to the wicket is
called around the wicket.The bowler may abort his run-up or not let go of
the ball if he loses his footing or timing for any reason. The umpire will
signal dead ball and the ball must be bowled again. If a bowler loses his grip
on the ball during the delivery action, it is considered to be a live ball only
if it is propelled forward of the bowler. If such a ball comes to rest in front
of the striker, but any distance to the side, the striker is entitled to walk
up to the ball and attempt to hit it with his bat. The fielding team must not
touch the ball until the striker either hits it or declines to do so.A delivery
may also be aborted by the striker stepping away from his stumps, if distracted
by an insect or dust in the eye, for example.FieldingField
placements in cricket are not standardised. There are several named field
positions, and the fielding captain uses different combinations of them for
tactical reasons. There are also further descriptive words to specify
variations on the positions labelled by simple names, so that any position in
which a fielder stands can be described.The following diagram shows the rough
positions of all of the simply named field positions. In this diagram, the
pitch is indicated by three '#' marks; the striker's end is at the top. The
bowler is not shown, but would be running upwards towards the bottom end of the
pitch. The approximate field positions are marked with numbers or letters,
according to the key on the right of the diagram. The three marks: '+', '*',
and '~' indicate that the adjective shown at the bottom of the list can be used
to describe a modification of that position, as shown in the example. ---------------------------------
1 wicket keeper / \ 2 first slip / e h \ 3 second slip / \ 4
third slip / \ 5 gully + / \ 6 point +*~ / \ 7 cover + / 2
j \ 8 extra cover +| 43 1 d | 9 mid-off +*| 5 | a mid-on +*| 6 # i c | b
mid-wicket +| # | c square leg +~| 7 # b | d leg slip| 8 | e third man| | f
long off \ 9 a / g long on \ / h fine leg \ / i bat-pad \ /
+ deep (near boundary) \ / * silly (near batsman) \ f g / ~ backward
(more 'up') \ / eg. --------------------------------- j deep backward
square leg(This picture will be replaced with an inline image when I have
time.)Other modifiers used to qualify positions:square: close to a line perpendicular
to the pitch, through the batsman;fine: close to a line straight along the
pitch;short: close to the batsman.The only restriction on field placements is
that, at the time the ball is delivered, there must be no more than two
fielders in the quadrant of the field backward of square leg. (This rule exists
mainly for historical reasons - see the Bodyline section
below.)Sometimes fielders close to the bat wear helmets for safety. When not in
use, the helmet (or any other loose equipment) may be placed on the field
(usually behind the wicket-keeper, where it is unlikely to be hit by the ball).
If any such loose fielding equipment is hit with the ball, five runs are
scored, either to the batsman who hit the ball or as the appropriate form of
byes. The ball is then considered dead and no further runs can be taken, nor
can a batsman be run out.If a fielder is wearing a protective helmet, and the
striker hits the ball so that it bounces off the helmet, he may not be out
caught off the rebound. If a ball rebounds from any other part of the body of a
fielder, he may be out caught if another fielder (or the same one) then catches
the ball before it hits the ground.Injuries and SubstitutionsIn
case of injury, substitutes may replace any number of fielders. A substitute
may only field - he may not bowl, nor bat. A substitute may not keep wicket. A
substituted player must return to the field as soon as he is able to resume
playing without danger.If a batsman is injured, he may retire and resume his
innings when fit again, so long as his team's innings is not over. If a batsman
is too injured to bat when no other batsmen remain to come in after a wicket
falls, his innings must be forfeited and his team's innings ends. If a batsman
is able to bat, but not run, then another player may run for him. The runner
must wear the same equipment as the batter, and performs all his running. The
injured non-runner must remain behind his crease at all times when the ball is
in play or risk being run out, even if his runner is safely behind a crease.If
a bowler is injured during an over and cannot complete it, another bowler must
bowl the remaining deliveries in that over. The bowler chosen to finish the over
must not be the bowler who bowled the previous over, and must not bowl the over
immediately following either.A player may not leave the field for injury unless
the injury is sustained on the field. An injured player who takes the field may
not leave because of his pre-existing injury, unless it is clearly aggravated
further on the field.Adverse Weather
ConditionsPlay is suspended at the umpires'
discretion for rain. Light rain is usually tolerated, though nothing heavier,
because of the possibility of damage to the pitch. If the players are off the
field, they must remain off until the rain has stopped completely. During rain
the pitch is covered with waterproof material to protect it. Often the bowlers'
run-ups and an area around the pitch are also covered.During very windy
conditions, sometimes the bails will tend to blow off the top of the stumps. If
this becomes a problem, the umpires can decide to play without bails. In this case,
the wicket does not need to be broken by uprooting a stump, and the umpires
must take full responsibility for deciding, in a reasonable manner, whether the
wicket is broken or not.Umpire SignalsThe
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.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 together again.The Two Forms of CricketCricket
is played in two very distinct forms. The first is limited duration, in which a
specific number of hours of playing time are allocated and each team plays two
innings.The second is limited overs, in which each team plays one innings of a
pre-determined number of overs.First Class CricketFirst
class cricket matches are the most prestigious games, played at a professional
level. The top level games are international Test matches, played between
countries. There are also domestic first class cricket competitions. First
class matches are of limited duration. Test matches will be described first,
then any differences for other first class matches will be described.Test
matches are played over five days, with six hours of play each day. Each day's
play is divided into three sessions of two hours each, with a 40
minute break between the first two session for lunch, and a 20 minute tea break
between the last two sessions. A short drinks break is taken once an hour, or
more often in very hot weather. Play usually goes from 11:00 local time to
18:00, although this may be varied if sunset occurs early. The scheduled close
of play time is called stumps. Test matches are never played under
artificial lighting.Each team has two innings, usually played in alternating
order. Each innings is over when either ten batsmen are out, or the captain of
the batting side declares the innings closed (for strategic reasons,
more later). When all the innings are completed, the team with the most runs
wins. If there is a tie, the result stands (this is rare - it has only ever
happened twice).If by the end of the final day's play all the innings are not
completed, the game is a draw, no matter who appeared to be
"winning". Thus the strategic importance of sometimes declaring an
innings closed, in order to have enough time to dismiss the other team and so
win the game.The order of the innings alternates except when
the follow-on is enforced. This can occur if the second team to bat
in the first innings scores 200 or more runs fewer than the first team. The
captain of the first team may then ask the second team to follow on: to bat its
second innings immediately, and defer his own team's second innings until
afterwards.Whenever a change of innings occurs during a session, a ten minute
break is taken. If the end of an innings occurs within ten minutes of the end
of the first or second sessions, the ten minute break is lost and the scheduled
interval is shifted to begin immediately. If the end of an innings occurs
within ten minutes of stumps, the day's play ends early.Test matches are played
with a red cricket ball. A new ball is used for the beginning of each innings.
The same ball must be used throughout the innings, being replaced only in the
following cases:
So
right handed spinners fall into two classes: off-spinners, with their simple
off-spin and arm-ball deliveries; and leg-spinners, with their leg-spinners,
top-spinners, wrong 'uns, and flippers. Leg-spinners are naturally much more
difficult to bat against, because of the great variety of balls they can
produce, but they are actually rarer than off-spinners because it is so much
more difficult to bowl reasonably accurately with the leg-spin hand action.For
left-handed spin bowlers there is a whole different system of nomenclature!A
left-handed bowler who uses the same action as an off-spinner is called
an orthodox spinner. Such bowlers are not uncommon. A left-hander who
bowls with the same action as a leg-spinner is called
an unorthodox spinner - and these are the rarest bowlers in cricket.
The left-handed analogue of the leg-spin delivery (which spins the opposite
way, of course) is called an unorthodox spinner. The top-spinner and flipper
retain their names. And the left-handed analogue of the wrong 'un is called
a Chinaman .Typical bowling speeds are:Fast bowler:130-140 km/h
(80-90 mph)Medium pace bowler:100-130 km/h (60-80 mph)Spin bowler:70-90 km/h
(45-55 mph)Bowlers also make use of the state of the pitch, which is quite
crucial to the game, and is one of the things the commentators look at in great
detail before the game begins. Because it's a natural surface, there are
usually small inconsistencies in its flatness, hardness and elasticity. Over a
multi-day game, or even over a single day, these become more pronounced, so it
often gets more difficult to bat as the game progresses. Spin bowlers in
particular often find that they get much more spin from an old pitch than a
freshly prepared one.Some of the different types of balls bowled have special
names:Bouncer:A ball bounced short so that it bounces high, usually chest
height or higher as it passes the batsman.Yorker:A ball bounced very close to
the batsman's crease. This is difficult to score from and often gets batsmen
out, but is difficult to bowl without accidentally bowling a full toss.Batsman's ShotsThe
different types of shots a batsman can play are described by names: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.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.More Weird NamesIf
a bowler completes an over without any runs being scored from it, it is termed
a maiden.If a batsman gets out without scoring any runs, he is said to be
out for a duck . The origin of this term is unclear, but commonly
rumoured to be because the '0' next to his name on the scorecard resembles a
duck egg. A batsman out for a duck while facing his first delivery of the
innings is out for a golden duck.The runs scored while two batsmen bat
together are called their partnership. There are ten partnerships per
completed innings, labelled from first-wicket
partnership to tenth-wicket partnership, in
order.A nightwatchman is a batsman who comes in to bat out of order
towards the end of a day's play in a multi-day game, in order to 'protect'
better batsmen. To elucidate, the batting order in an innings is usually
arranged with two specialists openers who begin the innings, then the
rest of the batsmen in order of skill, best to worst. The job of the openers is
to bat for a while against the new ball. A brand new ball is very hard and
bouncy, and fast bowlers can use this to great advantage and can often get
batsmen out. So it is harder to bat against a new ball. It is also somewhat
difficult to begin batting. A new batsman is more likely to get out than one
who has been on the field and scoring runs for a while.Now, in a multi-day
game, it sometimes happens that a team's innings will have only a few men out
towards the end of the day's play. If a batsman gets out with about half an
hour or less until stumps, the batting captain will sometimes send in a poor
batsman next instead of a good one. The idea is that the poor batsman (the
nightwatchman) will last 20 minutes and so protect the good batsman from having
to make a fresh start that evening and again the next morning. It is
essentially a sacrifice ploy. Of course, it can backfire dangerously if the
nightwatchman does get out before stumps. The nightwatchman is a tactic that is
used about 50% of the time when the appropriate situation arises (which itself
occurs perhaps once every 4 or 5 games). It just depends on how the captain
feels at the time.A sightscreen is a large screen positioned on the
boundary so that it forms a backdrop behind the bowler, so that the striker can
see the ball clearly. Sightscreens are white when a red ball is used, and black
for a white ball.A rabbit is a player (almost invariably a bowler,
but sometimes a wicket-keeper) who is a very poor batsman.
A ferret is an extremely poor batsman (so called
because he "goes in after the rabbits").Statistics and Good
PerformancesThe following statistics are
recorded:Batsmen:number of runs scored, time spent batting, number of balls
faced, how out (and by which bowler and catcher if appropriate).Bowlers:number
of overs bowled, number of maidens bowled, number of wickets taken, number of
runs conceded (i.e., scored off his bowling).Team:extras, total runs, wickets
fallen, overs bowled, total at each fall of wicket.A single innings scorecard
might look like this:Australia - 1st InningsM. Taylor c Richardson b Snell 12M.
Slater lbw Donald 57D. Boon b de Villiers 68M. Waugh not out 184A. Border c
Rhodes b Donald 0S. Waugh c Snell b de Villiers 34I. Healy c Snell b de
Villiers 6S. Warne run out 35M. Hughes st Richardson b Cronje 10C. McDermott b
de Villiers 41G. McGrath lbw de Villiers 9 Extras 16 Total 141 overs
10 for 472 Bowling - South Africa O M R WA. Donald 40 5 106 2F. de
Villiers 37 7 85 5R. Snell 32 3 126 1C. Simons 15 0 82 0H. Cronje 17 2 73 1FOW:
25, 99, 164, 164, 225, 238, 315, 345, 446, 472 The abbreviations are:b
bowled byc caught byst stumped byO oversM maidensR runsW wicketsFOW fall of
wicketThe team score is usually given as "(number of wickets) for (number
of runs)" in Australia. In England, New Zealand, and some other countries
it is given as "(number of runs) for (number of wickets)". Bowling
figures are sometimes printed in shortened form, for example: Donald
40-5-106-2, de Villiers 37-7-85-5, etc.The partnership scores can be seen from
the differences between successive fall of wicket scores.Good performances are
considered to be:
- A batsman scoring 50, or 100,
or multiples thereof.
- A partnership adding 50, or
100, or multiples thereof.
- A bowler taking five wickets in
a single innings.
- A bowler taking ten wickets in
a two innings match. (This is an excellent performance
and a relatively rare feat.)
- A bowler taking a hat
trick, i.e., three wickets in three successive balls (perhaps in different
overs). This is even more rare.
Each of these tasks is usually greeted with enthusiastic applause
from the spectators. The crowd also usually applauds significant events such
as: any wicket falling, a six, a four, a good over from a bowler (one that the
batsmen have great difficulty playing safely), a good athletic effort from a
fielder to gather the ball, the innings total reaching a multiple of 50.The
number of runs scored in an innings average about 3 per over for a first class
match, and 4 per over in a one-day match. The variation in these numbers can be
quite large, differences of up to one run per over being not uncommon. In a
first class match, a captain makes his decision on declaring the innings closed
based on the remaining time in the match and the size of his team's lead. He
will try to allow as much time as possible to bowl the opposition out, while
ensuring they do not have enough time to score enough runs to win.Over a single
player's career, the two most important statistics are:Batting Average:The
aggregate number of runs scored divided by the number of times the batsman has
been out. The higher, the better.Bowling Average:The aggregate runs scored
against a bowler divided by the number of wickets taken. The lower, the better.Each
of these averages is kept separately for Test cricket, first class cricket in
general, and one-day cricket. A batting average above 30 is very good, 40
excellent, and 50 is legendary. Mention must be made of the Australian batsman
Sir Donald Bradman, whose career average was a record 99.94, far and away the
greatest batsman ever to play the game. A bowling average below 25 is
considered excellent.Teams That Play CricketThe
official Test Cricket nations are currently: England, Australia, West Indies,
South Africa, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and
Bangladesh.The West Indies is actually a consortium of Caribbean countries:
Barbados; Jamaica; Guyana; The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Antigua and
Barbuda; St. Kitt's-Nevis; Dominica; St. Lucia; St. Vincent and the Grenadines;
Montserrat; and Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.Minor cricketing
nations (which do not play Test cricket, but do compete for a place in the
World Cup One-Day competition) include: Ireland, Kenya, Fiji, Canada, The
Netherlands, USA.The most famous Test cricket Series is The Ashes, played every
two years between Australia and England. The Ashes trophy is a small urn
containing "the ashes of English cricket" (in reality the ashes of a
set of bails), which "died" in a match in 1882 when Australia beat
England for the first time. The Ashes are currently held by Australia, although
the physical trophy is kept permanently in a room at Lord's Cricket Ground in
London.The most infamous event in cricket was the 1932-33 English tour of
Australia - the Bodyline tour. The English team used a new tactic to
get batsmen out, by bowling at their bodies and placing many fielders in short
fielding positions backward of square leg. As the batsmen fended the ball away
in an effort to protect themselves, the ball often flew off the edge of the bat
into the waiting hands of the fielders, getting the batsman out caught. The
English referred to this tactic as "Leg Theory", but the Australians,
angry that the English bowlers were aiming at their bodies, christened it
"Bodyline".Several Australian batsmen were injured because of this,
some seriously. The English tactics cause a diplomatic row between the countries.
After the tour was over, cricket officials introduced the rules against
dangerous bowling, and the restriction of no more than two fielders backward of
square leg.
INTRODUCTION
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game
played between two teams of 11 players on a field at the centre of
which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. Each team takes it in turn
to bat, attempting to score runs, while the other
team fields. Each turn is known as
an innings.The bowler delivers the ball to the batsman
who attempts to hit the ball with his bat far enough for him to run
to the other end of the pitch and score a run. Each batsman continues batting
until he is out. The batting team continues batting until ten batsmen are
out, at which point the teams switch roles and the fielding team comes in to
bat.In professional cricket the length of a game ranges
from 20 overs of six bowling deliveries per side to Test cricket played
over five days. The Laws of Cricket are maintained by
the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone
Cricket Club(MCC) with additional Standard Playing Conditions for Test matches
and One Day Internationals.Cricket was first played in southern England in the
16th century. By the end of the 18th century, it had developed into the
national sport of England. The expansion of theBritish Empire led
to cricket being played overseas and by the mid-19th century the first
international matches were being held. The ICC, the game's governing body, has
10 full members. The game is most popular
in Australia, England, the Indian subcontinent, the West
Indies and Southern Africa
History of Cricket
What Players Are There On A Cricket Team
update on 21th september
- A batsman scoring 50, or 100,
or multiples thereof.
- A partnership adding 50, or
100, or multiples thereof.
- A bowler taking five wickets in
a single innings.
- A bowler taking ten wickets in
a two innings match. (This is an excellent performance
and a relatively rare feat.)
- A bowler taking a hat
trick, i.e., three wickets in three successive balls (perhaps in different
overs). This is even more rare.
Each of these tasks is usually greeted with enthusiastic applause
from the spectators. The crowd also usually applauds significant events such
as: any wicket falling, a six, a four, a good over from a bowler (one that the
batsmen have great difficulty playing safely), a good athletic effort from a
fielder to gather the ball, the innings total reaching a multiple of 50.The
number of runs scored in an innings average about 3 per over for a first class
match, and 4 per over in a one-day match. The variation in these numbers can be
quite large, differences of up to one run per over being not uncommon. In a
first class match, a captain makes his decision on declaring the innings closed
based on the remaining time in the match and the size of his team's lead. He
will try to allow as much time as possible to bowl the opposition out, while
ensuring they do not have enough time to score enough runs to win.Over a single
player's career, the two most important statistics are:Batting Average:The
aggregate number of runs scored divided by the number of times the batsman has
been out. The higher, the better.Bowling Average:The aggregate runs scored
against a bowler divided by the number of wickets taken. The lower, the better.Each
of these averages is kept separately for Test cricket, first class cricket in
general, and one-day cricket. A batting average above 30 is very good, 40
excellent, and 50 is legendary. Mention must be made of the Australian batsman
Sir Donald Bradman, whose career average was a record 99.94, far and away the
greatest batsman ever to play the game. A bowling average below 25 is
considered excellent.Teams That Play CricketThe
official Test Cricket nations are currently: England, Australia, West Indies,
South Africa, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and
Bangladesh.The West Indies is actually a consortium of Caribbean countries:
Barbados; Jamaica; Guyana; The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Antigua and
Barbuda; St. Kitt's-Nevis; Dominica; St. Lucia; St. Vincent and the Grenadines;
Montserrat; and Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.Minor cricketing
nations (which do not play Test cricket, but do compete for a place in the
World Cup One-Day competition) include: Ireland, Kenya, Fiji, Canada, The
Netherlands, USA.The most famous Test cricket Series is The Ashes, played every
two years between Australia and England. The Ashes trophy is a small urn
containing "the ashes of English cricket" (in reality the ashes of a
set of bails), which "died" in a match in 1882 when Australia beat
England for the first time. The Ashes are currently held by Australia, although
the physical trophy is kept permanently in a room at Lord's Cricket Ground in
London.The most infamous event in cricket was the 1932-33 English tour of
Australia - the Bodyline tour. The English team used a new tactic to
get batsmen out, by bowling at their bodies and placing many fielders in short
fielding positions backward of square leg. As the batsmen fended the ball away
in an effort to protect themselves, the ball often flew off the edge of the bat
into the waiting hands of the fielders, getting the batsman out caught. The
English referred to this tactic as "Leg Theory", but the Australians,
angry that the English bowlers were aiming at their bodies, christened it
"Bodyline".Several Australian batsmen were injured because of this,
some seriously. The English tactics cause a diplomatic row between the countries.
After the tour was over, cricket officials introduced the rules against
dangerous bowling, and the restriction of no more than two fielders backward of
square leg.
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.The FieldA
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).The PlayThe
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 wait 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.
For a right-handed batsman, the feet are positioned like this:The
batsman stands with his bat held down in front of the wicket, ready to hit the
ball, which will be bowled from the other end of the pitch. The batsman usually
rests the lower end of the bat on the pitch and then taps the bat on the pitch
a few times as "warm-up" backswings.The non-striker simply stands
behind the other popping crease, waiting to run if necessary. The bowler takes
a run-up from behind the non-striker's wicket. He passes to one side of the
wicket, and when he reaches the non-striker's popping crease he bowls the ball
towards the striker, usually bouncing the ball once on the pitch before it
reaches the striker. (The bowling action will be described in detail later.)The
striker may then attempt to hit the ball with his bat. If he misses it, the
wicket-keeper will catch it and the ball is completed. If he hits it, the two
batsmen may score runs (described later). When the runs are completed, the ball
is also considered completed. The ball is considered to be in play from the
moment the bowler begins his run-up. It remains in play until any of several
conditions occur (two common ones were just described), after which it is
called dead. The ball is also dead if it lodges in the striker's clothing
or equipment. Once the ball is dead, it is returned to the bowler for the
next delivery (another name for the bowling of a ball). Between
deliveries, the batsmen may leave their creases and confer with each other.When
one bowler has completed six balls, that constitutes an over. A different
member of the fielding team is given the ball and bowls the next over - from
the opposite end of the pitch. The batsmen do not change ends, so the roles of
striker and non-striker swap after each over. Any member of the fielding team
may bowl, so long as no bowler delivers two consecutive overs. Once a bowler
begins an over, he must complete it, unless injured or suspended during the
over.Another possibility during a ball is that a batsman may get out.
There are ten different methods of being out - these will be described in
detail later. If a batsman gets out, the ball is dead immediately, so it is
impossible to get the other batsman out during the same ball. The out batsman
leaves the field, and the next batsman in the team comes in to bat.
The not out batsman remains on the field. The order in which batsmen
come in to bat in an innings is not fixed. The batting order may be changed by
the team captain at any time, and the order does not have to be the same in
each innings.When ten batsmen are out, no new batsmen remain to come in, and
the innings is completed with one batsman remaining not out. The roles of the
teams then swap, and the team which fielded first gets to bat through an
innings. When both teams have completed the agreed number of innings, the team
which has scored the most runs wins.Scoring RunsWhenever
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 run immediately. 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 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.Ways of Getting OutHere
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.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 not attempt 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, without being
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.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.OfficialsThe
game is adjudicated by two umpires, who make all decisions on the field
and whose word is absolutely final. One umpire stands behind the non-striker's
wicket, ready to make judgements on LBWs and other events requiring a decision.
The other umpire stands in line with the striker's popping crease, about 20
metres (20 yards) to one side (usually the leg side, but not always), ready to
judge stumpings and run-outs at his end. The umpires remain at their respective
ends of the pitch, thus swapping roles every over.If the technology is
available for a given match, a third umpire is sometimes used. He sits off the
field, with a television replay monitor. If an on-field umpire is unsure of a
decision concerning either a run out or a stumping attempt, he may signal for
the third umpire to view a television replay. The third umpire views a replay,
in slow motion if necessary, until he either reaches a decision or decides that
he cannot make a clear decision. He signals the result to the on-field umpire,
who must then abide by it. If the equipment fails, the replay umpire signals no
decision. The replay umpire cannot be used for any decisions other than run
outs and stumpings.Whenever any decision is in doubt, the umpire must rule in favour
of the batsman.If the ball hits an umpire, it is still live and play continues.
If it lodges in an umpire's clothing, then it is dead.The game is also presided
over by a match referee, who watches from outside the field. The referee
makes no decisions of relevance to the outcome of the game, but determines
penalties for breaches of various rules and misconduct. In professional games,
these penalties are monetary fines.Arguing with an umpire's decision is simply
not tolerated. Anything more than a polite question to the umpires is heavily
frowned upon and could attract a penalty from the referee. The most serious
misconduct in a cricket match is of the order of a rude gesture to an opponent
or throwing the ball into the ground in disgust. Such gross misbehaviour would
attract large fines and possibly match suspensions. Penalties for physical
violence can only be guessed at, but would possibly be a career suspension.ExtrasExtras are
runs scored by means other than when the ball is hit by a batsman. Extras are
not credited to any batsman, and are recorded by the scorer separately. The
total number of runs for the innings is equal to the sums of the individual
batsmen's scores and the extras. There are four types of extras: no balls,
wides, byes, and leg byes.The bowler must bowl each ball with part of his
frontmost foot behind the popping crease. If he oversteps this mark, he has
bowled a no ball. The umpire at that end calls "no ball"
immediately in a loud voice. The batsman may play and score runs as usual, and
may not be out by any means except run out, handle the ball, hit the ball
twice, or obstructing the field. Further, if the batsman does not score any
runs from the ball, one run is added to the batting team's score. Also, the
bowler must bowl an extra ball in his over to compensate. A no ball is also
called if any part of the bowler's back foot is not within the area between the
return creases.If the bowler bowls the ball far to one side or over the head of
the batsman, so making it impossible to score, the umpire will signal the ball
as a wide . This gives the batting team one run and the bowler must
rebowl the ball. The striker may not be out hit wicket off a wide ball.If the striker
misses a ball and the wicket-keeper fails to gather it cleanly, the batsmen may
take runs. These runs are called byes and are scored as extras.If the
striker, in attempting to play a shot, deflects the ball with part of his body,
the batsmen may attempt to take a run. Such runs are called leg
byes . If the striker did not attempt to play a shot with his bat, leg
byes may not be taken. The umpire adjudicates by signalling a dead ball if the
batsmen attempt to run when, in his opinion, no attempt was made to play a
shot.Batsmen may be run out as usual while running byes and leg-byes. If, while
running either form of bye, the ball reaches the boundary, four byes (of the
appropriate type) are scored.The Bowling ActionThe
bowling action itself has to conform to several restrictions. The bowler's arm
must be straight when the ball is bowled (so no "throwing" is
allowed). The ball must be bowled overarm, not underarm.The difference between
'bowling' and 'throwing': When you throw the ball, the elbow is cocked and used
to impart energy to the ball by straightening. When a ball is bowled, the elbow
joint is held extended throughout. All the energy is imparted by rotation of
the arm about the shoulder, and possibly a little by wrist motion. For a
right-handed bowler, the action goes roughly as follows:After the run-up, the
right foot is planted on the ground with the instep facing the batsman. The
right arm is extended backwards and down at this stage. The left foot comes
down on the popping crease as the bowler's momentum carries him forward - he is
standing essentially left-side on to the batsman. As the weight transfers to
the left foot, the right arm is brought over the shoulder in a vertical arc.
The ball is released near the top of the arc, and the follow-through brings the
arm down and the right shoulder forward rapidly.Bouncing the ball on the pitch
is not mandatory. It's usually done because the movement of the ball off the
pitch makes it much harder to hit. Unbounced deliveries, orfull tosses are
almost always much easier to hit, and mostly they are bowled accidentally. A
full toss above hip height is no ball, and an umpire who suspects that such a
ball was deliberate will give the bowler an official warning. A warning is also
given if the umpire believes the bowler is bowling at the body of a batsman in
a deliberate attempt to injure the batsman. After two warnings a bowler is
barred from bowling for the rest of the innings.If any rule governing the
bowling action is violated, a no ball results.Bowlers are allowed to polish the
ball by rubbing it with cloth (usually on their trouser legs) and applying
saliva or sweat to it. Any other substance is illegal, as is rubbing the ball
on the ground. Usually one side of the ball is polished smooth, while the other
wears, so that the bowler can achieve swing (curving the ball through
the air). It is also illegal to roughen the ball by any means, including
scraping it with the fingernails or lifting the seam. A bowler who illegaly
tampers with the ball is immediately suspended from bowling for the rest of
that innings.The bowler may bowl from either side of the wicket, but must
inform the umpire and the batsmen if he wishes to change sides. Bowling with
the bowling arm closest to the wicket is called over the wicket, and is
most common. Bowling with the non-bowling are closest to the wicket is
called around the wicket.The bowler may abort his run-up or not let go of
the ball if he loses his footing or timing for any reason. The umpire will
signal dead ball and the ball must be bowled again. If a bowler loses his grip
on the ball during the delivery action, it is considered to be a live ball only
if it is propelled forward of the bowler. If such a ball comes to rest in front
of the striker, but any distance to the side, the striker is entitled to walk
up to the ball and attempt to hit it with his bat. The fielding team must not
touch the ball until the striker either hits it or declines to do so.A delivery
may also be aborted by the striker stepping away from his stumps, if distracted
by an insect or dust in the eye, for example.FieldingField
placements in cricket are not standardised. There are several named field
positions, and the fielding captain uses different combinations of them for
tactical reasons. There are also further descriptive words to specify
variations on the positions labelled by simple names, so that any position in
which a fielder stands can be described.The following diagram shows the rough
positions of all of the simply named field positions. In this diagram, the
pitch is indicated by three '#' marks; the striker's end is at the top. The
bowler is not shown, but would be running upwards towards the bottom end of the
pitch. The approximate field positions are marked with numbers or letters,
according to the key on the right of the diagram. The three marks: '+', '*',
and '~' indicate that the adjective shown at the bottom of the list can be used
to describe a modification of that position, as shown in the example. ---------------------------------
1 wicket keeper / \ 2 first slip / e h \ 3 second slip / \ 4
third slip / \ 5 gully + / \ 6 point +*~ / \ 7 cover + / 2
j \ 8 extra cover +| 43 1 d | 9 mid-off +*| 5 | a mid-on +*| 6 # i c | b
mid-wicket +| # | c square leg +~| 7 # b | d leg slip| 8 | e third man| | f
long off \ 9 a / g long on \ / h fine leg \ / i bat-pad \ /
+ deep (near boundary) \ / * silly (near batsman) \ f g / ~ backward
(more 'up') \ / eg. --------------------------------- j deep backward
square leg(This picture will be replaced with an inline image when I have
time.)Other modifiers used to qualify positions:square: close to a line perpendicular
to the pitch, through the batsman;fine: close to a line straight along the
pitch;short: close to the batsman.The only restriction on field placements is
that, at the time the ball is delivered, there must be no more than two
fielders in the quadrant of the field backward of square leg. (This rule exists
mainly for historical reasons - see the Bodyline section
below.)Sometimes fielders close to the bat wear helmets for safety. When not in
use, the helmet (or any other loose equipment) may be placed on the field
(usually behind the wicket-keeper, where it is unlikely to be hit by the ball).
If any such loose fielding equipment is hit with the ball, five runs are
scored, either to the batsman who hit the ball or as the appropriate form of
byes. The ball is then considered dead and no further runs can be taken, nor
can a batsman be run out.If a fielder is wearing a protective helmet, and the
striker hits the ball so that it bounces off the helmet, he may not be out
caught off the rebound. If a ball rebounds from any other part of the body of a
fielder, he may be out caught if another fielder (or the same one) then catches
the ball before it hits the ground.Injuries and SubstitutionsIn
case of injury, substitutes may replace any number of fielders. A substitute
may only field - he may not bowl, nor bat. A substitute may not keep wicket. A
substituted player must return to the field as soon as he is able to resume
playing without danger.If a batsman is injured, he may retire and resume his
innings when fit again, so long as his team's innings is not over. If a batsman
is too injured to bat when no other batsmen remain to come in after a wicket
falls, his innings must be forfeited and his team's innings ends. If a batsman
is able to bat, but not run, then another player may run for him. The runner
must wear the same equipment as the batter, and performs all his running. The
injured non-runner must remain behind his crease at all times when the ball is
in play or risk being run out, even if his runner is safely behind a crease.If
a bowler is injured during an over and cannot complete it, another bowler must
bowl the remaining deliveries in that over. The bowler chosen to finish the over
must not be the bowler who bowled the previous over, and must not bowl the over
immediately following either.A player may not leave the field for injury unless
the injury is sustained on the field. An injured player who takes the field may
not leave because of his pre-existing injury, unless it is clearly aggravated
further on the field.Adverse Weather
ConditionsPlay is suspended at the umpires'
discretion for rain. Light rain is usually tolerated, though nothing heavier,
because of the possibility of damage to the pitch. If the players are off the
field, they must remain off until the rain has stopped completely. During rain
the pitch is covered with waterproof material to protect it. Often the bowlers'
run-ups and an area around the pitch are also covered.During very windy
conditions, sometimes the bails will tend to blow off the top of the stumps. If
this becomes a problem, the umpires can decide to play without bails. In this case,
the wicket does not need to be broken by uprooting a stump, and the umpires
must take full responsibility for deciding, in a reasonable manner, whether the
wicket is broken or not.Umpire SignalsThe
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.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 together again.The Two Forms of CricketCricket
is played in two very distinct forms. The first is limited duration, in which a
specific number of hours of playing time are allocated and each team plays two
innings.The second is limited overs, in which each team plays one innings of a
pre-determined number of overs.First Class CricketFirst
class cricket matches are the most prestigious games, played at a professional
level. The top level games are international Test matches, played between
countries. There are also domestic first class cricket competitions. First
class matches are of limited duration. Test matches will be described first,
then any differences for other first class matches will be described.Test
matches are played over five days, with six hours of play each day. Each day's
play is divided into three sessions of two hours each, with a 40
minute break between the first two session for lunch, and a 20 minute tea break
between the last two sessions. A short drinks break is taken once an hour, or
more often in very hot weather. Play usually goes from 11:00 local time to
18:00, although this may be varied if sunset occurs early. The scheduled close
of play time is called stumps. Test matches are never played under
artificial lighting.Each team has two innings, usually played in alternating
order. Each innings is over when either ten batsmen are out, or the captain of
the batting side declares the innings closed (for strategic reasons,
more later). When all the innings are completed, the team with the most runs
wins. If there is a tie, the result stands (this is rare - it has only ever
happened twice).If by the end of the final day's play all the innings are not
completed, the game is a draw, no matter who appeared to be
"winning". Thus the strategic importance of sometimes declaring an
innings closed, in order to have enough time to dismiss the other team and so
win the game.The order of the innings alternates except when
the follow-on is enforced. This can occur if the second team to bat
in the first innings scores 200 or more runs fewer than the first team. The
captain of the first team may then ask the second team to follow on: to bat its
second innings immediately, and defer his own team's second innings until
afterwards.Whenever a change of innings occurs during a session, a ten minute
break is taken. If the end of an innings occurs within ten minutes of the end
of the first or second sessions, the ten minute break is lost and the scheduled
interval is shifted to begin immediately. If the end of an innings occurs
within ten minutes of stumps, the day's play ends early.Test matches are played
with a red cricket ball. A new ball is used for the beginning of each innings.
The same ball must be used throughout the innings, being replaced only in the
following cases:So
right handed spinners fall into two classes: off-spinners, with their simple
off-spin and arm-ball deliveries; and leg-spinners, with their leg-spinners,
top-spinners, wrong 'uns, and flippers. Leg-spinners are naturally much more
difficult to bat against, because of the great variety of balls they can
produce, but they are actually rarer than off-spinners because it is so much
more difficult to bowl reasonably accurately with the leg-spin hand action.For
left-handed spin bowlers there is a whole different system of nomenclature!A
left-handed bowler who uses the same action as an off-spinner is called
an orthodox spinner. Such bowlers are not uncommon. A left-hander who
bowls with the same action as a leg-spinner is called
an unorthodox spinner - and these are the rarest bowlers in cricket.
The left-handed analogue of the leg-spin delivery (which spins the opposite
way, of course) is called an unorthodox spinner. The top-spinner and flipper
retain their names. And the left-handed analogue of the wrong 'un is called
a Chinaman .Typical bowling speeds are:Fast bowler:130-140 km/h
(80-90 mph)Medium pace bowler:100-130 km/h (60-80 mph)Spin bowler:70-90 km/h
(45-55 mph)Bowlers also make use of the state of the pitch, which is quite
crucial to the game, and is one of the things the commentators look at in great
detail before the game begins. Because it's a natural surface, there are
usually small inconsistencies in its flatness, hardness and elasticity. Over a
multi-day game, or even over a single day, these become more pronounced, so it
often gets more difficult to bat as the game progresses. Spin bowlers in
particular often find that they get much more spin from an old pitch than a
freshly prepared one.Some of the different types of balls bowled have special
names:Bouncer:A ball bounced short so that it bounces high, usually chest
height or higher as it passes the batsman.Yorker:A ball bounced very close to
the batsman's crease. This is difficult to score from and often gets batsmen
out, but is difficult to bowl without accidentally bowling a full toss.Batsman's ShotsThe
different types of shots a batsman can play are described by names: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.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.More Weird NamesIf
a bowler completes an over without any runs being scored from it, it is termed
a maiden.If a batsman gets out without scoring any runs, he is said to be
out for a duck . The origin of this term is unclear, but commonly
rumoured to be because the '0' next to his name on the scorecard resembles a
duck egg. A batsman out for a duck while facing his first delivery of the
innings is out for a golden duck.The runs scored while two batsmen bat
together are called their partnership. There are ten partnerships per
completed innings, labelled from first-wicket
partnership to tenth-wicket partnership, in
order.A nightwatchman is a batsman who comes in to bat out of order
towards the end of a day's play in a multi-day game, in order to 'protect'
better batsmen. To elucidate, the batting order in an innings is usually
arranged with two specialists openers who begin the innings, then the
rest of the batsmen in order of skill, best to worst. The job of the openers is
to bat for a while against the new ball. A brand new ball is very hard and
bouncy, and fast bowlers can use this to great advantage and can often get
batsmen out. So it is harder to bat against a new ball. It is also somewhat
difficult to begin batting. A new batsman is more likely to get out than one
who has been on the field and scoring runs for a while.Now, in a multi-day
game, it sometimes happens that a team's innings will have only a few men out
towards the end of the day's play. If a batsman gets out with about half an
hour or less until stumps, the batting captain will sometimes send in a poor
batsman next instead of a good one. The idea is that the poor batsman (the
nightwatchman) will last 20 minutes and so protect the good batsman from having
to make a fresh start that evening and again the next morning. It is
essentially a sacrifice ploy. Of course, it can backfire dangerously if the
nightwatchman does get out before stumps. The nightwatchman is a tactic that is
used about 50% of the time when the appropriate situation arises (which itself
occurs perhaps once every 4 or 5 games). It just depends on how the captain
feels at the time.A sightscreen is a large screen positioned on the
boundary so that it forms a backdrop behind the bowler, so that the striker can
see the ball clearly. Sightscreens are white when a red ball is used, and black
for a white ball.A rabbit is a player (almost invariably a bowler,
but sometimes a wicket-keeper) who is a very poor batsman.
A ferret is an extremely poor batsman (so called
because he "goes in after the rabbits").Statistics and Good
PerformancesThe following statistics are
recorded:Batsmen:number of runs scored, time spent batting, number of balls
faced, how out (and by which bowler and catcher if appropriate).Bowlers:number
of overs bowled, number of maidens bowled, number of wickets taken, number of
runs conceded (i.e., scored off his bowling).Team:extras, total runs, wickets
fallen, overs bowled, total at each fall of wicket.A single innings scorecard
might look like this:Australia - 1st InningsM. Taylor c Richardson b Snell 12M.
Slater lbw Donald 57D. Boon b de Villiers 68M. Waugh not out 184A. Border c
Rhodes b Donald 0S. Waugh c Snell b de Villiers 34I. Healy c Snell b de
Villiers 6S. Warne run out 35M. Hughes st Richardson b Cronje 10C. McDermott b
de Villiers 41G. McGrath lbw de Villiers 9 Extras 16 Total 141 overs
10 for 472 Bowling - South Africa O M R WA. Donald 40 5 106 2F. de
Villiers 37 7 85 5R. Snell 32 3 126 1C. Simons 15 0 82 0H. Cronje 17 2 73 1FOW:
25, 99, 164, 164, 225, 238, 315, 345, 446, 472 The abbreviations are:b
bowled byc caught byst stumped byO oversM maidensR runsW wicketsFOW fall of
wicketThe team score is usually given as "(number of wickets) for (number
of runs)" in Australia. In England, New Zealand, and some other countries
it is given as "(number of runs) for (number of wickets)". Bowling
figures are sometimes printed in shortened form, for example: Donald
40-5-106-2, de Villiers 37-7-85-5, etc.The partnership scores can be seen from
the differences between successive fall of wicket scores.Good performances are
considered to be:
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