While most people are familiar with football, baseball, and basketball, few are familiar with cricket. It is, nonetheless, one of the most popular sports in the world, second only to soccer! When you break it down, like any other famous international sport, cricket is a really simple game to play. One player will toss the ball, while another will attempt to hit it.
It started in southeast England and became the country’s national sport in the 18th century before spreading worldwide in the 19th and 20th centuries. International matches such as the Ashes Series have been played since 1882.
You might believe cricket is similar to baseball since it involves a bat and a ball. While the two certainly have some similarities, cricket has its own distinct equipment, field, laws, and terminology that might be complicated and perplexing to learn.
If you’re new to cricket and want to find out more, this article will aim to remove some of the game’s intricacies. After reading until the end, you should have a basic knowledge of how the game works.
Cricket Basics
Cricket is a team sport played by two teams of 11 players each. Two judges oversee the matches, and their decisions are final. In the same way that baseball is played, one team will bat while the other takes the field. The goal of the game is to score more runs than your opponent—yes, it’s that easy!
Key Players
In a game, a player performs three important functions: batting, bowling, and fielding. It begins with the leaders of each team tossing a coin to choose which side will bat first. The side that wins the coin toss decides whether to bat or bowl first in cricket.
- Batting – A batter is a player who’s currently batting on the pitch. A batsman is a player who has the ability to hit the ball with a bat to score runs or prevent his wicket from being taken. The order in which the 11 players will bat is frequently revealed before the start of a cricket match. This sequence may be changed by the captain at any time throughout the game.
- Bowling – A bowler is a player who’s responsible for delivering the ball to the batter. In cricket, there are three kinds of bowlers: fast bowlers, swing and seam bowlers, and spin bowlers. The major advantage of fast bowlers is speed, while swing and seam bowlers alter the direction of the ball as it travels in the air or bounces. On the other hand, spin bowlers impart an angle to the ball by throwing the ball slowly, making it curve at an angle while bouncing off the field.
Basic Terminology
- Innings – This is how a game is divided. Innings pertain to the period it takes for a team to bat. Each team bats twice in a test match, which lasts four innings. Other sorts of matches will only have two innings, with each team batting once.
- Wicket – The wicket refers to the three posts at the end of a pitch. A batsman should bat in front of every wicket to protect it. Their goal is to keep the ball from hitting the wicket.
- Run – Simply put, this is the cricket scoring unit. When a batsman makes a run after a nice hit, a run is recorded or tallied.
- Dismissal – Equivalent to an out in baseball, this refers to the end of a batman’s batting cycle. The fielding team’s objective is to remove 10 players to finish the inning.
Cricket Matches
At the elite level, there are three main styles of cricket matches to play: Test match, One-Day match, and Twenty20.
- Test Match – This is the longest game, with a possible duration of up to five days. For a total of four innings, both sides will go through their batting lineups twice. For comparison, one inning may last around a day. A test match will include 90 overs; an over is defined as six bowls or pitches delivered by a bowler, the person who throws the ball.
- One-Day Match – This match will only last one day, as the name implies. With 50 overs apiece, each team bats once.
- Twenty20 – This is the fastest type of match. Because each side only has 20 overs, matches may be completed in under three hours.
Scoring
Since you’ve gone over the basics of cricket, it’s time to take a look at how you score in cricket and how teams win a match. When the game starts, the batters attempt to score runs. This is accomplished by striking the ball and sprinting to the opposite end of the pitch before the fielder collects it and tosses it back. This counts as one run.
It’s also possible to score by hitting the ball beyond the boundary. If the ball flies over the boundary after striking the ground inside the boundary, four runs are scored, and six runs are awarded if the ball flies past the boundary without even touching the ground inside the boundary once.
Final Thoughts
Similar to other international sports, cricket is a relatively easy game to play. Yet, there are some regulations to learn and follow.
Cricket is a popular sport with a large fan base. Now that you understand the basic cricket rules and terminology, you can go ahead and start spectating matches and perhaps even betting with your friends.
