Cricket

Cricket is a bat -and-ball game played bet ween t wo t eams of eleven players on a field at t he
cent re of which is a 22-yard (20-met re) pit ch wit h a wicket at each end, each comprising t wo
bails balanced on t hree st umps. The game proceeds when a player on t he fielding t eam, called
t he bowler, "bowls" (propels) t he ball from one end of t he pit ch t owards t he wicket at t he ot her
end. The bat t ing side's players score runs by st riking t he bowled ball wit h a bat and running
bet ween t he wicket s, while t he fielding side t ries t o prevent t his by keeping t he ball wit hin t he
field and get t ing it t o eit her wicket , and also t ries t o dismiss each bat t er (so t hey are "out ").
Means of dismissal include being bowled, when t he ball hit s t he st umps and dislodges t he bails,
and by t he fielding side eit her cat ching a hit ball before it t ouches t he ground, or hit t ing a wicket
wit h t he ball before a bat t er can cross t he crease line in front of t he wicket t o complet e a run.
When t en bat t ers have been dismissed, t he innings ends and t he t eams swap roles. The game is
adjudicat ed by t wo umpires, aided by a t hird umpire and mat ch referee in int ernat ional mat ches.
 Cricket

Eden Gardens, India under floodlights during 2016 ICC World Twenty20 Final

Highest governing body International Cricket Council

First played 16th century; South-East England

Characteristics

Contact No

Team members 11 players per side (substitutes permitted in

some circumstances)

Mixed gender No, separate competitions

Type Team sport, Bat-and-Ball

Equipment Cricket ball, Cricket bat, Wicket (Stumps, Bails),

Protective equipment

Venue Cricket field

Glossary Glossary of cricket terms

Presence

Country or region Worldwide (most popular in Commonwealth,

British territories, and especially in South Asia)

Olympic (1900 Summer Olympics only)

Forms of cricket range from Twent y20, wit h each t eam bat t ing for a single innings of 20 overs
and t he game generally last ing t hree hours, t o Test mat ches played over five days. Tradit ionally
cricket ers play in all-whit e kit , but in limit ed overs cricket t hey wear club or t eam colours. In
addit ion t o t he basic kit , some players wear prot ect ive gear t o prevent injury caused by t he ball,
which is a hard, solid spheroid made of compressed leat her wit h a slight ly raised sewn seam
enclosing a cork core layered wit h t ight ly wound st ring.

The earliest reference t o cricket is in Sout h East England in t he mid-16t h cent ury. It spread
globally wit h t he expansion of t he Brit ish Empire, wit h t he first int ernat ional mat ches in t he
second half of t he 19t h cent ury. The game's governing body is t he Int ernat ional Cricket Council
(ICC), which has over 100 members, t welve of which are full members who play Test mat ches.
The game's rules, t he Laws of Cricket , are maint ained by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in
London. The sport is followed primarily in Sout h Asia, Aust ralasia, t he Unit ed Kingdom, sout hern
Africa and t he West Indies.[1] Women's cricket , which is organised and played separat ely, has also
achieved int ernat ional st andard. The most successful side playing int ernat ional cricket is
Aust ralia, which has won seven One Day Int ernat ional t rophies, including five World Cups, more
t han any ot her count ry and has been t he t op-rat ed Test side more t han any ot her count ry.

History

Origins

A medieval "club ball" game involving an underhand bowl towards a batter. Ball catchers are shown positioning themselves
to catch a ball. Detail from the Canticles of Holy Mary, 13th century.

Cricket is one of many games in t he "club ball" sphere t hat basically involve hit t ing a ball wit h a
hand-held implement ; ot hers include baseball (which shares many similarit ies wit h cricket , bot h
belonging in t he more specific bat -and-ball games cat egory[2]), golf, hockey, t ennis, squash,
Growth of amateur and professional cricket in England

Evolution of the cricket bat. The original "hockey stick" (left) evolved into the straight bat from c. 1760 when pitched delivery
bowling began.

Alt hough t he main object of t he game has always been t o score t he most runs, t he early form of
cricket differed from t he modern game in cert ain key t echnical aspect s; t he Nort h American
variant of cricket known as wicket ret ained many of t hese aspect s.[14] The ball was bowled
underarm by t he bowler and along t he ground t owards a bat t er armed wit h a bat t hat in shape
resembled a hockey st ick; t he bat t er defended a low, t wo-st ump wicket ; and runs were called
not ches because t he scorers recorded t hem by not ching t ally st icks.[15][16][17]

In 1611, t he year Cot grave's dict ionary was published, ecclesiast ical court records at Sidlesham
in Sussex st at e t hat t wo parishioners, Bart holomew Wyat t and Richard Lat t er, failed t o at t end
church on East er Sunday because t hey were playing cricket . They were fined 12d each and
ordered t o do penance.[18] This is t he earliest ment ion of adult part icipat ion in cricket and it was
around t he same t ime t hat t he earliest known organised int er-parish or village mat ch was played
– at Chevening, Kent .[6][19] In 1624, a player called Jasper Vinall died aft er he was accident ally
st ruck on t he head during a mat ch bet ween t wo parish t eams in Sussex.[20]

Cricket remained a low-key local pursuit for much of t he 17t h cent ury.[10] It is known, t hrough
numerous references found in t he records of ecclesiast ical court cases, t o have been proscribed
at t imes by t he Purit ans before and during t he Commonwealt h.[21][22] The problem was nearly
always t he issue of Sunday play as t he Purit ans considered cricket t o be "profane" if played on
t he Sabbat h, especially if large crowds or gambling were involved.[23][24]
Francis Cotes, The Young Cricketer, 1768

The game underwent major development in t he 18t h cent ury t o become England's nat ional sport .
It s success was underwrit t en by t he t win necessit ies of pat ronage and bet t ing.[36] Cricket was
prominent in London as early as 1707 and, in t he middle years of t he cent ury, large crowds
flocked t o mat ches on t he Art illery Ground in Finsbury. The single wicket form of t he sport
at t ract ed huge crowds and wagers t o mat ch, it s popularit y peaking in t he 1748 season.[37]
Bowling underwent an evolut ion around 1760 when bowlers began t o pit ch t he ball inst ead of
rolling or skimming it t owards t he bat t er. This caused a revolut ion in bat design because, t o deal
wit h t he bouncing ball, it was necessary t o int roduce t he modern st raight bat in place of t he old
"hockey st ick" shape.[38]

The Hambledon Club was founded in t he 1760s and, for t he next t went y years unt il t he
format ion of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and t he opening of Lord's Old Ground in 1787,
Hambledon was bot h t he game's great est club and it s focal point . MCC quickly became t he
sport 's premier club and t he cust odian of t he Laws of Cricket. New Laws int roduced in t he lat t er
part of t he 18t h cent ury included t he t hree st ump wicket and leg before wicket (lbw).[39]

The 19t h cent ury saw underarm bowling superseded by first roundarm and t hen overarm bowling.
Bot h development s were cont roversial.[40] Organisat ion of t he game at count y level led t o t he
creat ion of t he count y clubs, st art ing wit h Sussex in 1839.[41] In December 1889, t he eight
leading count y clubs formed t he official Count y Championship, which began in 1890.[42]

The most famous player of t he 19t h cent ury was W. G. Grace, who st art ed his long and influent ial
career in 1865. It was especially during t he career of Grace t hat t he dist inct ion bet ween
amat eurs and professionals became blurred by t he exist ence of players like him who were
nominally amat eur but , in t erms of t heir financial gain, de facto professional. Grace himself was
said t o have been paid more money for playing cricket t han any professional.

The last t wo decades before t he First World War have been called t he "Golden Age of cricket ".
It is a nost algic name prompt ed by t he collect ive sense of loss result ing from t he war, but t he
period did produce some great players and memorable mat ches, especially as organised
compet it ion at count y and Test level developed.[43]

Cricket becomes an international sport

The first English team to tour overseas, on board ship to North America, 1859

In 1844, t he first -ever int ernat ional mat ch t ook place bet ween t he Unit ed St at es and Canada.[44]
In 1859, a t eam of English players went t o Nort h America on t he first overseas t our.[45]
Meanwhile, t he Brit ish Empire had been inst rument al in spreading t he game overseas and by t he
middle of t he 19t h cent ury it had become well est ablished in Aust ralia, t he Caribbean, India,
Pakist an, New Zealand, Nort h America and Sout h Africa.[46]

In 1862, an English t eam made t he first t our of Aust ralia.[47] The first Aust ralian t eam t o t ravel
overseas consist ed of Aboriginal st ockmen who t oured England in 1868.[48] The first One Day
Int ernat ional mat ch was played on 5 January 1971 bet ween Aust ralia and England at t he
Melbourne Cricket Ground.[49]

In 1876–77, an England t eam t ook part in what was ret rospect ively recognised as t he first -ever
Test mat ch at t he Melbourne Cricket Ground against Aust ralia.[50] The rivalry bet ween England
and Aust ralia gave birt h t o The Ashes in 1882, and t his has remained Test cricket 's most famous
cont est .[51] Test cricket began t o expand in 1888–89 when Sout h Africa played England.

World cricket in the 20th century

Don Bradman of Australia had a record Test batting average of 99.94.

The int er-war years were dominat ed by Aust ralia's Don Bradman, st at ist ically t he great est Test
bat t er of all t ime. Test cricket cont inued t o expand during t he 20t h cent ury wit h t he addit ion of
t he West Indies (1928), New Zealand (1930) and India (1932) before t he Second World War and
t hen Pakist an (1952), Sri Lanka (1982), Zimbabwe (1992), Bangladesh (2000), Ireland and
Afghanist an (bot h 2018) in t he post -war period.[52][53] Sout h Africa was banned from int ernat ional
cricket from 1970 t o 1992 as part of t he apart heid boycot t .[54]

The rise of limited overs cricket

Cricket ent ered a new era in 1963 when English count ies int roduced t he limit ed overs variant .[55]
As it was sure t o produce a result , limit ed overs cricket was lucrat ive and t he number of mat ches
increased.[56] The first Limit ed Overs Int ernat ional was played in 1971 and t he governing
Int ernat ional Cricket Council (ICC), seeing it s pot ent ial, st aged t he first limit ed overs Cricket
World Cup in 1975.[57] In t he 21st cent ury, a new limit ed overs form, Twent y20, made an
immediat e impact . On 22 June 2017, Afghanist an and Ireland became t he 11t h and 12t h ICC full
members, enabling t hem t o play Test cricket .[58][59]
 Laws and gameplay

A typical cricket field.

In cricket , t he rules of t he game are specified in a code called The Laws of Cricket (hereinaft er
called "t he Laws") which has a global remit . There are 42 Laws (always writ t en wit h a capit al "L").
The earliest known version of t he code was draft ed in 1744 and, since 1788, it has been owned
and maint ained by it s cust odian, t he Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London.[60]

Playing area

Cricket is a bat -and-ball game played on a cricket field (see image, right ) bet ween t wo t eams of
eleven players each.[61] The field is usually circular or oval in shape and t he edge of t he playing
area is marked by a boundary, which may be a fence, part of t he st ands, a rope, a paint ed line or a
combinat ion of t hese; t he boundary must if possible be marked along it s ent ire lengt h.[62]

In t he approximat e cent re of t he field is a rect angular pit ch (see image, below) on which a
wooden t arget called a wicket is sit ed at each end; t he wicket s are placed 22 yards (20 m)
apart .[63] The pit ch is a flat surface 10 feet (3.0 m) wide, wit h very short grass t hat t ends t o be
worn away as t he game progresses (cricket can also be played on art ificial surfaces, not ably
mat t ing). Each wicket is made of t hree wooden st umps t opped by t wo bails.[64]
Cricket pitch and creases

As illust rat ed above, t he pit ch is marked at each end wit h four whit e paint ed lines: a bowling
crease, a popping crease and t wo ret urn creases. The t hree st umps are aligned cent rally on t he
bowling crease, which is eight feet eight inches long. The popping crease is drawn four feet in
front of t he bowling crease and parallel t o it ; alt hough it is drawn as a t welve-foot line (six feet
eit her side of t he wicket ), it is, in fact , unlimit ed in lengt h. The ret urn creases are drawn at right
angles t o t he popping crease so t hat t hey int ersect t he ends of t he bowling crease; each ret urn
crease is drawn as an eight -foot line, so t hat it ext ends four feet behind t he bowling crease, but
is also, in fact , unlimit ed in lengt h.[65]

Match structure and closure

A modern SG cricket bat (back view).

have been bowled. At t his point , anot her bowler is deployed at t he ot her end, and t he fielding
side changes ends while t he bat t ers do not . A bowler cannot bowl t wo successive overs,
alt hough a bowler can (and usually does) bowl alt ernat e overs, from t he same end, for several
overs which are t ermed a "spell". The bat t ers do not change ends at t he end of t he over, and so
t he one who was non-st riker is now t he st riker and vice versa. The umpires also change posit ions
so t hat t he one who was at "square leg" now st ands behind t he wicket at t he non-st riker's end
and vice versa.[74]

Clothing and equipment

English cricketer W. G. Grace "taking guard" in 1883. His pads and bat are very similar to those used today. The gloves
have evolved somewhat. Many modern players use more defensive equipment than were available to Grace, most notably
helmets and arm guards.

The wicket -keeper (a specialised fielder behind t he bat t er) and t he bat t ers wear prot ect ive gear
because of t he hardness of t he ball, which can be delivered at speeds of more t han 145
kilomet res per hour (90 mph) and present s a major healt h and safet y concern. Prot ect ive
clot hing includes pads (designed t o prot ect t he knees and shins), bat t ing gloves or wicket -
keeper's gloves for t he hands, a safet y helmet for t he head and a box for male players inside t he
t rousers (t o prot ect t he crot ch area).[75] Some bat t ers wear addit ional padding inside t heir shirt s
and t rousers such as t high pads, arm pads, rib prot ect ors and shoulder pads. The only fielders
allowed t o wear prot ect ive gear are t hose in posit ions very close t o t he bat t er (i.e., if t hey are
alongside or in front of him), but t hey cannot wear gloves or ext ernal leg guards.[76]

Subject t o cert ain variat ions, on-field clot hing generally includes a collared shirt wit h short or
long sleeves; long t rousers; woolen pullover (if needed); cricket cap (for fielding) or a safet y
helmet ; and spiked shoes or boot s t o increase t ract ion. The kit is t radit ionally all whit e and t his
remains t he case in Test and first -class cricket but , in limit ed overs cricket , t eam colours are
worn inst ead.[77]

Bat and ball

Two types of cricket ball, both of the same size:

i) A used white ball. White balls are mainly used in limited overs cricket, especially in matches played at night, under
floodlights (left).

ii) A used red ball. Red balls are used in Test cricket, first-class cricket and some other forms of cricket (right).

The essence of t he sport is t hat a bowler delivers (i.e., bowls) t he ball from his or her end of t he
pit ch t owards t he bat t er who, armed wit h a bat , is "on st rike" at t he ot her end (see next sub-
sect ion: Basic gameplay).

The bat is made of wood, usually Salix alba (whit e willow), and has t he shape of a blade t opped
by a cylindrical handle. The blade must not be more t han 4.25 inches (10.8 cm) wide and t he t ot al
lengt h of t he bat not more t han 38 inches (97 cm). There is no st andard for t he weight , which is
usually bet ween 2 lb 7 oz and 3 lb (1.1 and 1.4 kg).[78][79]

The ball is a hard leat her-seamed spheroid, wit h a circumference of 9 inches (23 cm). The ball
has a "seam": six rows of st it ches at t aching t he leat her shell of t he ball t o t he st ring and cork
int erior. The seam on a new ball is prominent and helps t he bowler propel it in a less predict able