What is cricket

Cricket is a team sport usually played between twoparlance as the West Indies. There are also well
teams of eleven players each. It is a bat-and-ballestablished amateur club competitions in countries as
game played on a roughly elliptical grass field, in thediverse as the Netherlands, Kenya, Nepal, and
centre of which is a flat strip of ground 20.12 m (22Argentina (see also: International Cricket Council).
yards) long, called a pitch. At each end of the pitch isThe length of the game — a match can
a set of wooden stumps, called a wicket. A playerlast six or more hours a day for up to five days in
from the fielding team (the bowler) propels a hard,one form of the game — the numerous
fist-sized cork-centred leather ball from one wicketintervals for lunch and tea and the rich terminology
towards the other. The ball usually bounces onceare notable aspects that can often confuse those
before reaching a player from the opposing teamnot familiar with the sport. For its fans, the sport and
(the batsman), who defends the wicket from the ballthe intense rivalries between top cricketing nations
with a wooden cricket bat. Another batsman (theprovide passionate entertainment and outstanding
"non-striker") stands in an inactive role near thesporting achievements. It has even occasionally given
bowler's wicket.rise to diplomatic outrage, the most notorious being
Generally, the batsman attempts to strike the ballthe Basil D'Oliveira affair which led to the banning of
with the bat and run to the other end of the pitch,South Africa from sporting events. Other examples
exchanging places with his partner, scoring a run.include the Bodyline series played between England
However, he can attempt to run without hitting theand Australia in the early 1930s, or the 1981 underarm
ball, and vice versa. While the batting team scores asbowling incident involving Australia and New Zealand.
many runs as it can, the bowling team returns the ballCricket is a bat and ball sport. The objective of the
to either wicket. If the ball strikes a wicket withgame is to score more runs than the opposing team.
enough force to knock a bail off before the batsmanA match is divided into innings during which one team
nearer to that wicket has reached safety, then thebats and one team fields. The word "innings" is both
batsman is out, or "dismissed". The batsman can alsosingular and plural in cricket usage.
be out in a number of other ways, such as failing toIf the team batting last is dismissed while their total
stop the bowled ball from knocking the bails off, or ifscore is n runs less than that of their opponents,
a fielder catches the ball before it touches thethey are said to have lost by n runs. If, in a
ground. Once the batsmen are not attempting totwo-innings match, one team is dismissed twice with
score any more runs, the ball is "dead" and is bowleda combined first- and second-innings score less than
again.their opponents' first-innings score, then the winning
Once out, a batsman is replaced by the nextteam has no requirement to bat again and they are
batsman in the team. As there must always be twosaid to have won by an innings and n runs, where n
batsmen on the field, the team's innings ends whenis the difference in score between the teams. If the
ten batsmen are out, and the teams exchange roles.team batting last is dismissed with the scores exactly
The number of innings, and possible restrictions onequal then the match is a tie; a tie is a rare result,
the number of balls in each, depend on the type ofparticularly in matches of two innings a side. If the
game played. At the end of the match—ofteam batting last reaches their target, they are said
which there are several definitions—theto have won by n wickets, where n is the number of
team that has scored more runs wins. In first-classwickets the opposition still needed to take in order to
cricket, a draw can result if the team to bat last failsdismiss them. If the time allotted for the match
to match the required total before a time limit isfinishes before either side can win, then the game is
reached. This can add interest to one-sided games bya draw.
giving the team in the worse position an incentive toIf the match has only a single innings per side, then a
play for a draw. This is distinct from a tie, whichmaximum number of deliveries for each innings is
results if scores are level at the completion of bothoften imposed. In this case the side scoring more
teams' innings.runs wins regardless of the number of wickets lost,
Cricket has been an established team sport forso that a draw cannot occur. If this kind of match is
several centuries. It originated in its modern form intemporarily interrupted by bad weather, then a
England and is popular mainly in the present andcomplex mathematical formula known as the
former members of the Commonwealth. In someDuckworth-Lewis method is often used to recalculate
countries in South Asia, including India, Pakistan,a new target score. A one-day match can be
Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, cricket is by far the mostdeclared a "No-Result" if fewer than a previously
popular sport. Cricket is also a major sport in Englandagreed number of overs have been bowled by either
and Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,team. This can occur if an interruption makes a
Zimbabwe and the English-speaking countries of theresumption of play impossible, for example an
Caribbean, which are collectively known in cricketingextended period of bad weather.