( 
)Cricket is a ball game very similar to Baseball played between 2 teams
comprising of 11 players each. The traditional game of cricket is
played for a duration of 5 days and is called a "test match" and a
match can end in 3 different ways - a win/loss for a team, a "draw" or
a "tie". The other popular type of game is the " 1 day International"
which is a limited overs game - each team bats only for one innings and
for a maximum of 50 overs. No draw is possible in this game.
There are a pair of batsmen who prevent the "bowler" from getting them out and they can be out in a variety of ways. An out or a dismissal is effected by a)Bowled - when the ball delivered by the bowler hits the wickets , b)Caught - when the ball struck by the batsmen is caught by a fielder on the full, c)Leg Before Wicket - When in the opinion of the umpire (referee of which there are 2), the ball would have hit the stumps but for the obstructing portion of the batsmens body (commonly the leg) which came in the way, d) Run Out - when the batsmen failed to make his crease during the process of making a run, e)Stumped - when the batsmen fails to get into the crease while attempting to strike the ball and the wicket keeper removes the bails. The bowler bowls the ball (an over the shoulder action with the elbow being straight at the moment of delivery, which is different from Baseball where the pitcher throws the ball). The distance between the wickets is 22 yards and is manned on both ends by batsmen, one of whom will receive the ball and is called the striker while the other is called the non-striker.
The objective is to hit the ball and while the ball is in play, runs are scored by the batsmen crossing over to the other end. Runs are also deemed declared if the ball goes out of the playing area which is typically a circle or an oval. If the ball goes outside the boundary ropes without touching the ground, 6 runs will be accrued to the striker while 4 runs would be scored if it goes along the ground. Runs scored via the batsmen crossing over also accrue to the striker. An "over" is when the bowler has delivered 6 legitimate balls - i.e. when the bowler is not penalized for bowling illegally as in stepping over the bowling crease or bowling wide of the stumps etc. After an "over" has been completed, the next bowler will come onto to bowl from the other end of the wickets and the fielders would also change ends. A team normally has about 4 bowlers, a wicket keeper, and six batsmen comprising of 11 players. The inning continues on till 10 batsmen are "out" and the total runs scored is the total for the team for that innings. A match comprises of two innings each per side. The winning team scores more runs in both the innings put together and bowls the other team out twice. In the event that the innings of both teams cannot be complted in the allotted 5 days, the match peters into a draw. If the scores are level at the end of the two innings, then the match ends in a "tie" - this is a rarity in the 5 day variety and there have been a total of 2 ties in the long history of the game.
A century occurs when a batsmen accumulates more than a 100 runs in an innings. Along the same lines, a double and triple century are possible although their probabilities get slimmer. There has been only one instance of a batsmen scoring a quadruple century - Brian Lara of the West Indies scored 400 not out in a test against England. On the other end of the spectrun is a bowler who claims 5 or more wickets in an innings - all the 10 wickets of an innings have been claimed by a bowler only twice - the most recent occurrence being the time Anil Kumble of India scalped all the wickets of the Pakistani team. The men on the field at any given time are the two batsmen, the 11 fielders of the opposing team and the two umpires - the straight umpire who adjuducates on all decisions except the stumped and the run outs at the batsmens end which are adjudicated by the "square-leg" umpire who stands in line with the crease at the batsmans end square of the wicket on the leg side. The two sides of the cricket field which is cut by the line between the stumps is often called the "off" side and the "on"/"leg" side with the on/off being with respect to the batsmen who can bat from the left or right side. The left or right handedness of the batsman is determined by the natural inclination of the batsmen and his preference. A Left handed batsman is generally a south paw who holds the bat with the bottom hand being the left hand and faces the bowler with his right leg leading the way.
The bowler can also bowl with the left arm or the right arm and are classified as such. Bowlers are further classified by the type - either fast bowlers or slow bowlers. A fast bowler is one who has the capability to hurl the ball at the batsman at speeds in excess of 80 kmph while a medium fast bowler or trundler would do so at speeds of 30 - 40 kmph. A slow bowler or spinner is one who tweaks the ball and makes it turn after pitching making the ball to swerve thereby making it tougher to predict the line of the ball so as to make it difficult for the batsman to hit it. Unlike baseball, where the ball is delivered on the full, in cricket it is generally made to pitch once before it reaches the batsmen. The ball can swing/cut/break either way after pitching or can hold its own. Generally when a fast bowler is operating, there will be keeper who will stand a couple of metres behind the wicket, a couple of slip fielders to the "off" side (though there is rarely a "leg" slip as well), a fielder wide of the slips almost in line with the stumps called the gully fieldsman, a cover fielder (one who is stationed between the wickets at a distance of about 30 feet on the off side, a mid off (one who is stationed behind the bowler on the off side making an angle of 30 degrees with the stumps), a mid on which is on the other side of the bowler similar to the mid-off fieldsman, a mid wicket which as the name suggests is in the line in the middle of the wickets on the leg side at a distance of about 30 feet, a square leg which is along the crease at the batsmens end on the leg side (adjacent to the leg umpire), a fine leg which is on the boundary to the left of the wicket keeper. The other common positions are the extra-cover, point which is very close to the gully, long leg which is on the boundary in line with the square leg, long on and long off which are essentially the projections of the mid-off and mid-on onto the boundary lines. Australia and England were the founding countries that took part in the first match as early as the late 19th century. The other countries that form the elite core of cricket's test playing nations are the West Indies, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. The ODI (One Day International) teams are the former countries plus Kenya.
Some of the popular and productive strokes in a batsman's repertoire are the Drive - the batsman comes forward to a well pitched ball and take it on the half volley or on the rise and guides it or pushes it. The Drive can be a full blooded shot and is best illustrated by Sunil Gavaskar and it can race to the boundary from the cover region to the midwicket region in an arc. The Pull and Hook Shot - When the ball is short pitched and rises above the batsman's waist, the batsman goes back and swivels on the hip and literally pulls the ball in a region from mid-on to long leg. This stroke can be hit in the air as well for a 6 as well as along the ground for a 4. Vivian Richards is a batsman who comes to mind that epitomises the pull shot and the hook which is assayed for a ball above the shoulders and generally goes in the air in the direction of square leg/fine leg. The Cut shot is generally attemped for a ball that is outside the off stump ( the three wickets are named the off,middle and the leg stumps) and a bit short of length wherein the batsman goes back and diverts the ball in the region beyond the slips and upto point. A Square cut is a full blooded shot played square of the off stump where the bats comes in a horizontal arc and slaps the ball towards the point boundary. Gordon Greenidge was an expert square cutter as was Gundappa Vishwanath. From a bowler's perspective is the stock ball of a fast bowler that pitches in line with the off stump and moves away towards the slip fielders. If the length of the ball is 3/4 of the pitch, then the batsman would be committed to the front foot and chances that he would edge the ball either to the wicket keeper or the slip fielders is very high. The same ball can be delivered with a small variance - one that comes in after pitching can be a devastating off-cutter that would be prone to dislodge the stumps. This was the standard mode of dismissal of the fast bowling legends Dennis Lillee amd Coutney Walsh. The bouncer is a wicked delivery which if bowled properly has the tendency to do a lot of damage, both physically as well as metaphorically. Andy Roberts was clearly an expert in this area and he delivered the bouncer at two speeds - one at a slower speed to soften the batsman and the other at express speed which had the potential to knock the head off.
There are a pair of batsmen who prevent the "bowler" from getting them out and they can be out in a variety of ways. An out or a dismissal is effected by a)Bowled - when the ball delivered by the bowler hits the wickets , b)Caught - when the ball struck by the batsmen is caught by a fielder on the full, c)Leg Before Wicket - When in the opinion of the umpire (referee of which there are 2), the ball would have hit the stumps but for the obstructing portion of the batsmens body (commonly the leg) which came in the way, d) Run Out - when the batsmen failed to make his crease during the process of making a run, e)Stumped - when the batsmen fails to get into the crease while attempting to strike the ball and the wicket keeper removes the bails. The bowler bowls the ball (an over the shoulder action with the elbow being straight at the moment of delivery, which is different from Baseball where the pitcher throws the ball). The distance between the wickets is 22 yards and is manned on both ends by batsmen, one of whom will receive the ball and is called the striker while the other is called the non-striker.
The objective is to hit the ball and while the ball is in play, runs are scored by the batsmen crossing over to the other end. Runs are also deemed declared if the ball goes out of the playing area which is typically a circle or an oval. If the ball goes outside the boundary ropes without touching the ground, 6 runs will be accrued to the striker while 4 runs would be scored if it goes along the ground. Runs scored via the batsmen crossing over also accrue to the striker. An "over" is when the bowler has delivered 6 legitimate balls - i.e. when the bowler is not penalized for bowling illegally as in stepping over the bowling crease or bowling wide of the stumps etc. After an "over" has been completed, the next bowler will come onto to bowl from the other end of the wickets and the fielders would also change ends. A team normally has about 4 bowlers, a wicket keeper, and six batsmen comprising of 11 players. The inning continues on till 10 batsmen are "out" and the total runs scored is the total for the team for that innings. A match comprises of two innings each per side. The winning team scores more runs in both the innings put together and bowls the other team out twice. In the event that the innings of both teams cannot be complted in the allotted 5 days, the match peters into a draw. If the scores are level at the end of the two innings, then the match ends in a "tie" - this is a rarity in the 5 day variety and there have been a total of 2 ties in the long history of the game.
A century occurs when a batsmen accumulates more than a 100 runs in an innings. Along the same lines, a double and triple century are possible although their probabilities get slimmer. There has been only one instance of a batsmen scoring a quadruple century - Brian Lara of the West Indies scored 400 not out in a test against England. On the other end of the spectrun is a bowler who claims 5 or more wickets in an innings - all the 10 wickets of an innings have been claimed by a bowler only twice - the most recent occurrence being the time Anil Kumble of India scalped all the wickets of the Pakistani team. The men on the field at any given time are the two batsmen, the 11 fielders of the opposing team and the two umpires - the straight umpire who adjuducates on all decisions except the stumped and the run outs at the batsmens end which are adjudicated by the "square-leg" umpire who stands in line with the crease at the batsmans end square of the wicket on the leg side. The two sides of the cricket field which is cut by the line between the stumps is often called the "off" side and the "on"/"leg" side with the on/off being with respect to the batsmen who can bat from the left or right side. The left or right handedness of the batsman is determined by the natural inclination of the batsmen and his preference. A Left handed batsman is generally a south paw who holds the bat with the bottom hand being the left hand and faces the bowler with his right leg leading the way.
The bowler can also bowl with the left arm or the right arm and are classified as such. Bowlers are further classified by the type - either fast bowlers or slow bowlers. A fast bowler is one who has the capability to hurl the ball at the batsman at speeds in excess of 80 kmph while a medium fast bowler or trundler would do so at speeds of 30 - 40 kmph. A slow bowler or spinner is one who tweaks the ball and makes it turn after pitching making the ball to swerve thereby making it tougher to predict the line of the ball so as to make it difficult for the batsman to hit it. Unlike baseball, where the ball is delivered on the full, in cricket it is generally made to pitch once before it reaches the batsmen. The ball can swing/cut/break either way after pitching or can hold its own. Generally when a fast bowler is operating, there will be keeper who will stand a couple of metres behind the wicket, a couple of slip fielders to the "off" side (though there is rarely a "leg" slip as well), a fielder wide of the slips almost in line with the stumps called the gully fieldsman, a cover fielder (one who is stationed between the wickets at a distance of about 30 feet on the off side, a mid off (one who is stationed behind the bowler on the off side making an angle of 30 degrees with the stumps), a mid on which is on the other side of the bowler similar to the mid-off fieldsman, a mid wicket which as the name suggests is in the line in the middle of the wickets on the leg side at a distance of about 30 feet, a square leg which is along the crease at the batsmens end on the leg side (adjacent to the leg umpire), a fine leg which is on the boundary to the left of the wicket keeper. The other common positions are the extra-cover, point which is very close to the gully, long leg which is on the boundary in line with the square leg, long on and long off which are essentially the projections of the mid-off and mid-on onto the boundary lines. Australia and England were the founding countries that took part in the first match as early as the late 19th century. The other countries that form the elite core of cricket's test playing nations are the West Indies, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. The ODI (One Day International) teams are the former countries plus Kenya.
Some of the popular and productive strokes in a batsman's repertoire are the Drive - the batsman comes forward to a well pitched ball and take it on the half volley or on the rise and guides it or pushes it. The Drive can be a full blooded shot and is best illustrated by Sunil Gavaskar and it can race to the boundary from the cover region to the midwicket region in an arc. The Pull and Hook Shot - When the ball is short pitched and rises above the batsman's waist, the batsman goes back and swivels on the hip and literally pulls the ball in a region from mid-on to long leg. This stroke can be hit in the air as well for a 6 as well as along the ground for a 4. Vivian Richards is a batsman who comes to mind that epitomises the pull shot and the hook which is assayed for a ball above the shoulders and generally goes in the air in the direction of square leg/fine leg. The Cut shot is generally attemped for a ball that is outside the off stump ( the three wickets are named the off,middle and the leg stumps) and a bit short of length wherein the batsman goes back and diverts the ball in the region beyond the slips and upto point. A Square cut is a full blooded shot played square of the off stump where the bats comes in a horizontal arc and slaps the ball towards the point boundary. Gordon Greenidge was an expert square cutter as was Gundappa Vishwanath. From a bowler's perspective is the stock ball of a fast bowler that pitches in line with the off stump and moves away towards the slip fielders. If the length of the ball is 3/4 of the pitch, then the batsman would be committed to the front foot and chances that he would edge the ball either to the wicket keeper or the slip fielders is very high. The same ball can be delivered with a small variance - one that comes in after pitching can be a devastating off-cutter that would be prone to dislodge the stumps. This was the standard mode of dismissal of the fast bowling legends Dennis Lillee amd Coutney Walsh. The bouncer is a wicked delivery which if bowled properly has the tendency to do a lot of damage, both physically as well as metaphorically. Andy Roberts was clearly an expert in this area and he delivered the bouncer at two speeds - one at a slower speed to soften the batsman and the other at express speed which had the potential to knock the head off.
Guide created: 09/15/05 (updated 03/11/08)
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