Guide for Ashes Cricket - Cricket 101

If you are unfamiliar with the game of Cricket, hopefully this information can help you to understand the basics of, what can be, a truly confusing and intricate sport.

What is Cricket?

Cricket is a team sport played outdoors. The object of the game is for your team to score more runs than the opposing team. It is the opposing teams job to restrict your score by dismissing your batsmen. Each team has 11 players with one of them appointed as Captain. Generally, teams also include a 12th player who can only field as a substitute for an injured player, they can not bat. The fielding team should have 11 players on the ground whilst the batting team can only have 2 batsmen on the ground at a time. Each team takes a turn (or two) batting, this is called an innings. A match is overseen by two on-field umpires who referee the teams.

Playing Environment

Cricket is played on a large, flat, circular or oval shaped Ground surrounded by a Boundary rope. The Pitch is generally in the centre of the ground and is made up of two Wickets at either end. Wickets are formed by three stumps with two bails placed spanning the top of the stumps. The wickets are 22 yards apart with white lines painted in front of them, these are known as the batting/bowling creases. Stumps are long, cylindrical wooden poles with a sharp point at one end. This end goes into the ground so the stumps stand upright. Bails are small, carved pieces of wood that sit on top of the three stumps. Removing the bails from the top of the stumps is how you get a batsman out.

Popular Terms

• Striker: The batsman facing the bowler is the striker, whilst the opposite end is known as the non-striker.
• Run: The basic unit of scoring. It is scored when the striking batsman hits the ball and runs between the two wickets with the non-striking batsman running the opposite direction. Usually these are counted in 1s, 2s and 3s.
• Four: The ball hit by the striking batsman hits or crosses the boundary rope having travelled along the ground, or having travelled through the air and hits the ground before the rope.
• Six: The ball hit by the striking batsman crosses the boundary rope without touching the ground before hand.
• No-ball: If the bowlers for lands beyond the crease whilst delivering the ball then it is called a no-ball. It can also be called a no ball if the ball is delivered and passes the batsman above waist height before hitting the ground. A batsman can not be given out if the delivery was called as a no ball.
• Out: When a batsman is dismissed they are out. Also known as losing a wicket. The next batsman comes on to the pitch. Once 10 of the 11 players are out that is the end of that innings.
• Bowled: The ball delivered by the bowler hits the stumps and dislodges the bails.
• Caught: The batsman hits the delivered ball and a fielder catches it whilst it is in the air and before it touches the ground. If the ball is caught by the wicket-keeper this is called caught-behind.
• LBW: Short for Leg-Before Wicket. The ball hits the batsman, generally, below the knee and would have gone on to hit the stumps if not for the batsmans leg.
• Run-out: A fielder throws the ball directly at the stumps and dislodges the bails whilst the batsmen are running between the wickets after hitting a delivery.
• Stumped: A batsman moves out of the crease to play a shot and misses, the wicket keeper catches the ball and hits the stumps with ball in hand dislodging the bails.
• Innings: A period of battting and bowling where either the batting team are all-out or the permissible number of overs to be bowled by the fielding team are completed.
• Over: A bowler delivers 6 legal deliveries to form an over. Once an over is complete, another bowler will begin an over at the opposite end of the pitch. The fielding team will change ends and the striking end of the previous over will become the non-striking end.

Match Types

• Test Match: A match played over a maximum of 5 days, with each team completing two innings. Overs are unlimited, but 90 are scheduled to be played each day. Team A bat first and score their runs. Their 1st innings is complete if they declare their innings complete, or all their batsmen are out. Team B begin their 1st innings and attempt to out score Team A. Once their innings is complete, Team A start their 2nd innings and try to set a target for Team B. Team B then begin their 2nd innings in an attempt to beat that target in the time left and overs to be bowled. If Team B are All-out during the chase in their 2nd innings, Team A is the winner, otherwise the match is declared a draw.
• One Day: A limited overs format where each team completes one Innings of no more than 50 overs. The team with the highest number of runs wins.
• T20: Also known as Twenty20. A limited overs format where each team completes one innings of no more than 20 overs. The team with the highest number of runs wins.

How to play Cricket

The two captains gather on the ground next to the pitch with the match referee for the coin toss. The Captain the wins the coin toss decides whether their team will bat or field first. Players wear an all-white attire for a test match but wear coloured kits in other formats. Umpires monitor the match and make the decisions as to whether a batsman is out, if a delivery is legal and ensure both teams are playing within the laws of the game. The game begins with the on-field umpire's declaration of "Let's play!"

Two batsmen for the batting side and all 11 players for the fielding side take their positions. Two umpires also join them, at either end of the pitch. One stands behind the stumps at the non-strikers end and the other stands away to the leg-side at the strikers end, so as not to get hit by the ball. The first two batsmen to take to the pitch are called the Opening-Batsmen. The game starts with a bowler from the fielding team bowling to the first batsman of the batting team, known as an Opening-Bowler. The batsmen attempt to hit the balls delievered at them to score runs. Fielders attempt to stop the balls and even catch them to get the batsman out. Each bowler bowls 6 legal deliveries per over, any non-legal deliveries do not count towards the total of 6.

The bowling and batting ends change at the end of every over. The non-striker at the end of every over becomes the striker at the start of the next over. The wicket-keeper changes ends after the completion of every over. Once a batsman is out they must leave the pitch and a new batsman comes out to replace them. An innings is completed if all the batsmen are out or, in the case of One Day/T20, the full quota of overs is completed. The teams then swap, the batting team become the bowling team and vice versa, beginning a new innings. Once all innings are complete, the team with the highest total of runs is declared the winner.

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