About Cricket

Cricket is a popular team sport originating in England as early as the early 1300s; the sport is not played worldwide. Several variants of the sport exist, from Test cricket at the professional level to one day or one inning games at the international, club and scholastic levels of play. The cricket match has two teams opposing each other consisting of 11 players, and about a 20-meter long pitch with wooden wickets placed at each end of the pitch.

History

Confirmed history places the game of cricket back to the Tudor reign in 16th century England, but likely sprang from similar games as early as 1300. The earliest recorded cricket matches of great significance are from the late 17th century in the Sussex area of England in 1697. Throughout the 18th century, cricket became the national sport of England with the introduction of major clubs, the adoption of the modern straight bat, the pitching of the ball by the bowler vice skipping, and the expansion of the popularity of the sport. As the sport evolved into the 19th century, overarm bowling became popular as well as the spread of the sport throughout the British Empire. The first international match occurred between the U.S. and Canada in 1844. The first English test match against Australia occurred in 1876 and 1877. Throughout the remainder of the 19th and 20th centuries play of cricket would continue to expand with formalized leagues and international test matches adopted between the major cricket playing countries.

Objectives

Each cricket match pits two teams that consist of 11 players against each other. The only limitation on the measurement of the field is the pitch, with a reasonable boundary for the field surrounding the pitch. The primary objective of each team in cricket is to outscore the other team in number of runs. A run is scored in cricket when the batsman runs from one wicket to another on the pitch after hitting the ball. He or she can continue to run between the wickets if the ball is still being played in the field in order to score greater runs. Once each batsman on the team up to hit is out, then the two teams switch positions. The positions on the cricket field are the bowler (who pitches or bowls the ball to the batsman), the wicketkeeper (similar to the catcher in American baseball), and nine fielders. At bat are two batsmen, the striker and non-striker.

Dismissals

In standard cricket there are 10 methods by which a batsman can be declared out or dismissed. The 10 methods for being out are:
1. Bowled: This occurs when the ball hits the wicket and dislodged at least one bail from the top of the wicket.
2. Caught: Occurs when ball is caught in the air by a fielder.
3. Leg before the wicket: If the ball would have hit the wicket potentially bowling out the batsman if it had not hit his or her leg
4. Run-Out: Where a member of the fielding team has knocked down a wicket while a batsman was attempting to run.
5. Stumped: When the wicketkeeper knocks the wicket down if the batsman has stepped out of his defined area.
6. Hit wicket: If he knocks a bail off of the wicket with his body, bat, or body part.
7. Hit the ball twice: If a batsman hits a ball twice to do anything but keep it from hitting the wicket.
8. Obstructed the field: If a batsman is determined to get in the way of a fielder on purpose.
9: Handled the ball. If a batsman deliberately uses his hand to keep the ball from hitting the wicket.
10. Timed Out: If the next batsman up does not arrive within two minutes of the previous being declared out.

Types

There are two fundamental types of cricket: 1: First-Class Cricket, and 2: Limited overs cricket. In first-class cricket each team has two innings each for the match. In a two inning match, play is typically limited to six hours a day between the two teams and take between three and five days to complete the game. In Limited overs cricket each team plays one inning and has a limit on the number of overs bowled which is normally set at 50. In this type of match, it is intended for the game to be over in one day unless delayed due to weather or other unusual circumstance. The term Test Match or Test Cricket is used to refer to a first-class cricket match occurring between teams that are representing countries which have full membership in the International Cricket Council.

Potential

Although cricket has never caught on in the United States beyond the club level, it has continued to remain popular throughout the world at all levels of play and continues to expand. The international governing body of cricket is the International Cricket Council, (ICC) which is based in Dubai, U.A.E. There are 104 nations that are members of the ICC, with 10 that are full members who may play Test matches, 34 Associate Members, and 60 Affiliate members. Although cricket requires more equipment to play than a soccer match, a lot of its popularity internationally is that the amount of gear to play a match at the recreational level is fairly minimal beyond a ball and one bat. Future expansion will look to increase the number of overall members in the ICC and ultimately the total number of full members that may qualify for test matches and ultimately the Cricket World Cup.

Resources

• International Rules of Cricket
• BBC Guide to Cricket Objects and Rules