| Cricket, the favourite summertime sport of England, | | | | blocking the ball after the batsman strikes it, thus |
| remains a mystery in many other countries of the | | | | restricting the time available for the batsmen to run. |
| world. Here, we take a look at the basics to give you | | | | Runs can also be restricted by getting the batsman |
| a flavour of the game. | | | | 'out'. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, but |
| Cricket is a sport that has a massive worldwide | | | | chiefly by knocking over the bowler's stumps |
| following, largely among countries that were once | | | | ('bowled'), catching the ball after the batsman strikes |
| part of the British Empire. At international level, the | | | | it with his bat ('caught') or striking the batsman on his |
| major cricketing nations include England, Australia, | | | | leg when the ball would otherwise have hit the |
| New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa | | | | stumps ('leg before wicket'). |
| and the West Indies. | | | | Once the batting team lose 10 wickets (that is, they |
| There are a number of different formats of the | | | | have 10 batsmen out) or reach the end of their |
| game, which is part of what leads many to become | | | | allotted 50 overs, whichever comes the sooner, their |
| confused over the way that it is played. Let's take a | | | | innings is at an end. |
| look at the one-day version of the game. | | | | The opposition team then have their opportunity to |
| The game is a competition between two teams, | | | | bat, aiming to reach the total number of runs set |
| who each have the opportunity to bat during a | | | | both before the 50 overs is up and before they lose |
| match for a certain time period. That time period is | | | | 10 wickets. |
| defined by the number of balls (deliveries) that they | | | | This is, by necessity, an abridged version of the rules |
| face. | | | | of the game. The game itself has a large number of |
| Each time will face a maximum number of balls, | | | | intricacies and alterations that mean that it can seem |
| typically 300. In cricketing terminology, a member of | | | | more complicated. |
| the fielding team (the bowler) bowls six balls in | | | | Despite this, the beginner's guide should allow you to |
| succession (known as an 'over'). So the 300 balls is | | | | watch a game of cricket and have some |
| often expressed as 50 overs (50 lots of 6). | | | | understanding as to what is going on. You can learn |
| During the 50 overs, the batsmen attempt to score | | | | the different rules, variations and terms as you go |
| runs, while the fielding team attempt to restrict the | | | | along, but this should provide a starting point. |
| number of runs scored. They can achieve this by | | | | Good luck with enjoying the game of cricket! |