Cricket - A Bluffers Guide

Cricket is a team sport that originated in its organised form in England and is popular mainly in the countries of the Commonwealth. In countries of South Asia, such as India and Pakistan, it is the major mass participation and spectator sport, while in certain other countries, such as England and Australia it is the major summer sport. In terms of number of spectators, cricket ranks second only to football (soccer) as the most popular sport in the world.

Description of cricket ground and pitch

Fielding positionsThe game is played on a large (usually grassy) expanse of oval-shaped or circular ground. There are no fixed dimensions for the grounds, but most international-standard grounds are considerably larger in area than a football (soccer) pitch. In the centre of the ground is a length of close-cut, heavily rolled grass, called the pitch (although, commonly, incorrectly and confusingly, the pitch is often called the wicket). Some club cricket is played on pitches made from synthetic grass, and some matches are played on matting surfaces. This is the main action arena.

At each end of the pitch is placed a wicket, composed of three stumps and two bails. The stumps are upright sticks placed adjacent to each other, with the width between two stumps not exceeding the diameter of the cricket ball. Above each set of stumps are placed two small crosspieces called bails. The umpires may dispense with the bails if they feel that the bails would tend to fly off due to windy conditions. The regulation distance between the wickets is twenty-two yards.

A chalk line drawn on the pitch is called a crease. The crease in front of each set of stumps is the popping crease. Another crease is drawn so that the stumps pass through it, called the bowling crease. Finally, a return crease is drawn on each side of the stumps, perpendicular to the popping and bowling creases.

Cricket teams and officials

The game is played between two teams, usually of eleven players on each side, comprised of players with a mixture of skills, some batsmen who specialise in batting, some bowlers who specialise in bowling, occasionally some all-rounders who excel in both capacities, and one highly specialist player who acts as wicket-keeper. There is also a captain of each team, who plays a more major role in the game than captains in other sports like football.

One side bats while the other side fields. Batsmen on the batting side play in pairs, each within the area defined by the creases at the ends of the pitch, and the remainder of the batting side wait off the playing area.

The fielding team occupies the rest of the grounds. When not engaged in their speciality as bowler or wicket-keeper, the other players on the fielding team act as fielders. See fielding positions in cricket for more information

The game is refereed by two on-field umpires who can at times refer decision to an off-field third umpire who has the aid of television replays. There may also be an off-field match referee who ensures that the game is played within the rules and the spirit of the game. Match referees may penalize players who breach the code of conduct, for instance by arguing with the umpires.

Each team should have an off-field scorer who is responsible for keeping a written record of the game on a score-sheet. The scorer usually records, amongst other things, who scores runs, who is involved in taking wickets, and how many runs are scored by each player and each team.

Structure of a match
The match is divided into innings. In each innings (the word is both the singular and plural) one team bats (this team is in, and it is their innings) and the other team fields. The main object for the members of the batting side is to hit the ball with their cricket bats so as to score the highest number of runs (points) before the fielding side have dismissed them (get them all out). The main object for the fielding side is to dismiss the batsmen for as low a score as possible. To get the batting team all out, the fielding team need only dismiss ten batsmen; the single remaining batsman is not out.

Each innings is subdivided into overs which consist of six balls (previously, when each country could decide the length of the over, overs varied in length from four to eight balls) bowled to one end of the wicket. At the end of an over, the fielding team must switch bowlers and bowl to the other end of the wicket, and hence to the other member of the batting pair.

A match may consist of one innings per team (typically in one-day or limited-overs cricket) where the team that scores the most runs in their innings wins. In two innings cricket (as in county or international Test-match cricket), play can continue for up to five days. The winning team must not only score the most runs, but also must have dismissed the opposing team in both innings, otherwise the game is drawn.

Dismissal of a batsman
Dismissal of the batsmen, also known as taking a wicket or getting the batsman out, can occur in a number of ways, the most common being bowled, caught, LBW, stumped and run out. Much rarer are hit wicket, hit the ball twice, handled the ball, obstructing the field and timed out. See dismissal for more information.

A player may also be retired, not out (more commonly known as retired hurt) in which case he still has the option to return after treatment, though he would have to wait for a teammate to be given out. The umpire has discretion over whether to allow a batsman to retire hurt. If a batsman still intends to go off the field without the umpire's consent he may do so, but he is then retired, out and cannot return to the field of play (this is extremely rare in Test cricket: only two individuals—Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene—have retired, out, both in the same match playing for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in September 2001).

Scoring

Cricket shots' names.Runs can be scored in a number of ways. The batsman gets credit for runs scored "off his bat": that is to say, when he hits the ball with his bat or with a glove holding the bat and the batsmen run. A batsman who scores 100 runs in an innings is said to have scored a century, a highly respectable and demanding achievement in cricket. A half-century (50 runs) is a rather more common achievement, especially in shorter limited-overs matches and club cricket, although it is by no means easy. Similarly, players can score double centuries, triple centuries, quadruple centuries (achieved once in Test cricket), or quintuple centuries (achieved only once in all first-class cricket). The only quadruple century in Test cricket and the only quintuple century in first-class cricket were both achieved by the same man, Brian Lara of the West Indies.

The batsman and his team get credit for runs scored as follows:

Each time that the batting pair is able to run between the wickets after a ball has been bowled (and before the stumps are or potentially can be touched with the ball, with the bails being caused to fall), a run is scored. If one run is scored on a ball, the term single designates the scoring; if two runs are scored, the term double is employed; if three runs are scored, the term triple is utilized. There are no special designations for running more than three runs.
If the ball travels outside of the playing area, and it has touched the ground prior to leaving the playing area, four runs are scored. The scoring is referred to as a four, or a boundary four. If the ball does not touch the ground on its way out, six runs are scored. The terms six, boundary six, and sixer are used to refer to the achievement.
In addition, runs (known as extras) can be accrued through the failure of the bowler to correctly deliver the ball. Other than runs scored off the bat from a no ball, a batsman is not given credit for extras and the extras are tallied separately on the scorecard. The four common types of extras are: no ball, wide, bye and leg bye. Extra penalty runs can also be awarded in certain cirucmstances (if the ball is lost, hits a fielder's helmet while it is not being used, or various other infractions) but these are rarely seen in practice.

Laws of cricket
The laws of cricket are a set of rules framed by the Marylebone Cricket Club which serve to standardise the format of matches across the world to ensure uniformity and fairness in the game throughout the globe.

The MCC have also released a humorous summary of the rules of cricket:

You have two sides: One out in the field and one in.
Each man that's in the side that's in goes out and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.
When they are all out the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in out.
Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When both sides have been in and out including the not outs,
That's the end of the game.
See Laws of Cricket for more information

Conduct
The sport of cricket requires gentlemanly conduct from all players. Under the ICC regulations, players may be fined a percentage of the salary, banned for number of matches, or even banned for a number of years or life.

The ICC appoints a match referee for each Test match and One-day International. The match referee has no power during the game, and is more of a disciplinary official. The match referee has the power to receive complaints from players, team officials, or umpires, hold hearings and set penalties for most offences, such as fining players a percentage of their "match fee" or banning players for a limited number of matches. For more serious offences, the match referee can recommend a hearing by a higher panel, which can go as far as banning a player for life.

Forms of cricket

Test cricket
Test cricket—a form of international cricket—started in 1877 during the 1876/77 English cricket team's tour of Australia. The first Test match began on 15th March, 1877 and had a timeless format with 4 balls per over. It ended on 19th March, 1877 with Australia winning by 45 runs.

Since then, over 1600 Test matches have been played and the number of Test match playing teams has increased to 10 with Bangladesh, the 10th international Test team, making its debut in 2000. Test matches are now played continuously over a period of 5 days with no rest day.

On 10 June 2004, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union agreed Zimbabwe would not play any further Test matches in 2004, after a dispute between administrators and players meant that it could not field a team of adequate quality, although Zimbabwe's status as an official Test nation was not affected.

One nation, Kenya, has "one-day international status." While Kenya still cannot play Test cricket, it is, like the Test nations, exempt from qualifying tournaments for the World Cup. Kenya has applied to gain Test status.

First-class cricket
A first-class match is a high-level international or domestic match that takes place over at least three days on natural (as opposed to artificial) turf. The status of a match depends on the status of the teams contesting it. All Test-playing nations are allowed to play first-class matches, as are their regional, state, provincial or county teams. Kenya, one of the foremost non-Test-playing nations, is also considered a first-class level team. Generally speaking, a match can be considered first-class only if both teams have first-class status. Thus, a match between two Test nations, between two domestic teams, or between a Test nation and another Test nation's domestic team may be considered first class. (A Test match is always also a first-class match, though it is not normally spoken of as such.)

In some circumstances, where the individual teams do not have first-class status, the match may still be considered first-class. Matches between Scotland and Ireland are first class, as are matches between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. In 2004, the ICC specially awarded first-class status to a match between the United States and Canada.

One-day cricket
Due to the growing demands of commercial television for a shorter and more dramatic form of cricket, the experiment of one-day cricket was introduced. In one-day cricket, each team bats for only one innings, and it is limited to a number of overs, usually fifty in international matches. Since spectators did not need to commit five days of their time, due to innovations such as matches at night under floodlights, as well as the colored clothing (opposed to the somber white uniforms of Test cricketers), and finally because of the greater sense of urgency in the new form of the game, one-day cricket has gained many supporters. Meanwhile, many traditionalists have objected that Test cricket involves more strategy and encompasses all the aspects of the game, while one-day cricket, by limiting the number of overs, puts an undue emphasis on the quick scoring of runs. One-day cricket is not classified as first-class.

Short form cricket
Cricket is also played in several different shortened forms, designed to pack as much action as possible into an hour or two. Such forms have evolved since the 1990s, and take cricket an additional step beyond one-day cricket.

See short form cricket for details about specific types of short form cricket.

List A cricket is to one-day cricket as first-class is to Tests. Most cricketing nations have some form of domestic List A competition. The over limits range from forty to sixty. The categorization of "List A" is not one endorsed by the ICC; the Association of Cricket Historians and Statisticians created it for the purpose of providing a parallel to first-class cricket in their record books.

Club cricket
Club cricket is amateur, but still formal, cricket. The games are almost always Limited Overs, with each innings usually lasting between thirty and forty-five overs. Club cricket is played extensively in cricketing nations, and also by immigrants from cricketing nations. Club cricket often takes place on an artificial turf pitch, though the rest of actual field may be natural grass.

Other forms of cricket
Indoor cricket is a variation of the game designed for indoor play.

Kwik cricket is a high-speed version of the game, aimed mainly at encouraging youngsters to take part.

Beach cricket is a term applied to all informal cricket, regardless of the actual location. The rules are often made up on the spot, and the subtle and complex laws of cricket, such as those involving leg before wicket, penalty runs, and others, are ignored or modified.

French cricket is a game in which the ball is bowled at the legs of the batsman, with the batsman's legs forming the wicket.

Governance of cricket
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has always been the Framer of the Laws of Cricket. However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) regulates international cricket. Each cricketing nation also has a body that selects international teams for that country as well as governs domestic competition. The ICC currently has 89 members, comprising the 10 Test-playing members and 79 members who compete in minor international tournaments.

The governing bodies in the 10 Test-playing nations (listed in the order in which their national cricket team gained Test status) are:

England: England and Wales Cricket Board
Australia: Cricket Australia
South Africa: United Cricket Board of South Africa
West Indies: West Indies Cricket Board
New Zealand: New Zealand Cricket
India: Board of Control for Cricket in India
Pakistan: Pakistan Cricket Board
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka Cricket
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Cricket Union
Bangladesh: Bangladesh Cricket Board

International structure of cricket
International cricket has historically had no fixed form or structure. It has always been traditional for the countries, without any interference from a body such as the ICC, to organize for themselves the various cricket matches. Recently, however, the ICC has committed the Test playing nations to play each other in a programme of matches over a period of a few years. This was set up to encourage some of the better established countries to play the lesser nations more frequently.

In addition to the one-day series and tournaments organized by the nations themselves, the ICC organizes two tournaments. The World Cup is held every four years; it involves all the Test-playing nations, Kenya, and also a number of qualifying nations. The Champion's Trophy, also known as the ICC Knockout Cup, is held every two years in between World Cups. In the Champion's Trophy, a single loss eliminates a team from the tournament.

In addition to the Test-playing teams and Kenya, teams to have played in One-day International Tournaments include Canada, United Arab Emirates, Scotland, Netherlands, Namibia and East Africa (a side comprising Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan players). Additionally, the various cricket events include teams from Argentina, Chile, Hong Kong, Israel, Singapore, and United States, although the game does not have a high profile in most of those countries.

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