Cricket

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:For information regarding the insect, see Cricket (insect). For other uses, see Cricket (disambiguation).

Related Topics:
Cricket (insect) - Cricket (disambiguation)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cricket is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players each. It is a bat-and-ball game played on a roughly elliptical grass field, in the centre of which is a hard, flat strip of ground some 22 yards long, called the pitch.

Related Topics:
Team sport - Yard - Pitch

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At each end of the pitch stand a set of wooden poles called a wicket. A player from one team (the bowler) propels a hard, fist-sized ball from one wicket towards the other. A player from the opposing team (the batsman) attempts to defend the ball from hitting the wicket with a wooden cricket bat. Another batsman stands in an inactive role near the bowler's wicket.

Related Topics:
Wicket - Bowler - Ball - Batsman - Cricket bat

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If the batsman hits the ball with his bat, he may run to the other wicket, exchanging places with the other batsman. This scores a run. The batting team attempts to score as many runs as it can, while members of the bowling team gather the ball and return it to either wicket. If the ball strikes a wicket while the nearest batsman is still running, the batsman is out. Batsmen can also be out by other means, such as failing to defend the bowled ball from hitting the wicket, or hitting a catch to a fielder.

Related Topics:
Run - Out - Bowled - Catch

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Once out, a batsman is replaced by the next batsman in the team. As there must always be two batsmen on the field, if and when the tenth batsman is out, the team's turn to bat, or innings (always with a terminal "s" in cricket usage), is over, and the other team may bat while the first team takes the field. Depending on the specific rules of the match, one or two innings may be played, possibly with a fixed number of legally bowled balls defining the end of an innings rather than ten batsmen having been dismissed. At the end of the match, the winner is the team that has scored the most runs.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cricket has been an established team sport for several centuries. It originated in its modern form in England, and is popular mainly in the countries of the Commonwealth. In some countries in South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, cricket is by far the most popular sport. Cricket is also a major sport in England and Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean, which are known in cricketing parlance as the West Indies.

Related Topics:
England - Commonwealth - South Asia - India - Pakistan - Bangladesh - Sri Lanka - Wales - Australia - New Zealand - South Africa - Zimbabwe - English - Caribbean - West Indies

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The length of the game — a match can last six or more hours a day for up to five days in one form of the game — the numerous intervals for lunch and tea, and the rich terminology are notable aspects which can often confuse those not familiar with the sport. For its fans, the sport and the intense rivalries between top cricketing nations provide passionate entertainment and outstanding sporting achievements. It has even occasionally given rise to diplomatic outrage, the most infamous being the Bodyline series played between England and Australia.

Related Topics:
Length of the game - Tea - Terminology - Diplomatic - Bodyline - England - Australia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~