WHAT IS CRICKET Cricket is a team sport for two teams of eleven players each.

The game of cricket is played on an oval field. The game is officiate by two umpires locally and three internationally; two of which is on the field, one standing and a square leg umpire. A formal game of cricket can last anything from an afternoon to several days. Although the game play and rules are very different, the basic concept of cricket is similar to that of baseball. Teams bat in successive innings and attempt to score runs, while the opposing team fields and attempts to bring an end to the batting team's innings. After each team has batted an equal number of innings (either one or two, depending on conditions chosen before the game), the team with the most runs wins. (Note: In cricket-speak the word "innings" is used for both the plural and the singular. "Inning" is a term used only in baseball.)

WAYS OF GETTING OUT Here is a full list of the ten different ways of getting out. But first, a few necessary definitions: The wicket is said to be broken if one or both of the bails have been dislodged and fallen to the ground. If the bails have fallen off for any reason and the ball is still in play, then breaking the wicket must be accomplished by pulling a stump completely out of the ground. If the wicket needs to be broken like this with the ball, the uprooting of the stump must be done with the ball in contact with the stump. The field is notionally split into two halves, along a line down the centre of the pitch. The half of the field in front of the striker is called the off side, the half behind is called the leg side, or sometimes the on side. Thus, standing at the bowler's wicket and looking towards a righthanded striker's wicket, the off side is to the left and the leg side to the right (and vice-versa for a left-handed striker). The stumps of the striker's wicket are called off stump, middle stump, and leg stump, depending on which side they are on. When a batsman gets out, no matter by what method, his wicket is said to have fallen, and the fielding team are said to have taken a wicket. Now, the ways of getting out: Caught: If a fielder catches the ball on the full after the batsman has hit it with his bat. However, if the fielder catches the ball, but either during the catch or immediately afterwards touches or steps over the boundary, then the batsman scores six runs and is not out. Bowled: If the batsman misses the ball and it hits and breaks the wicket directly from the bowler's delivery. The batsman is out whether or not he is behind his popping crease. He is also out bowled if the ball breaks the wicket after deflecting from his bat or body. The batsman is not out if the wicket does not break.

Leg Before Wicket: If the batsman misses the ball with his bat, but intercepts it with part of his body when it would otherwise have hit the wicket, and provided several other conditions (described below) are satisfied. An umpire must adjudicate such a decision, and will only do so if the fielding team appeal the decision. This is a question asked of the umpire, usually of the form "How's that?" (or "Howzat?"), and usually quite enthusiastic and loud. If the ball bounces outside an imaginary line drawn straight down the pitch from the outside edge of leg stump, then the batsman cannot be out LBW, no matter whether or not the ball would have hit the stumps. If the batsman attempts to play a shot at the ball with his bat (and misses) he may only be given out LBW if the ball strikes the batsman between imaginary lines drawn down the pitch from the outside edges of leg and off stumps (ie. directly in line with the wicket). If the batsman does not attempt to play the ball with his bat, then he may be given out LBW without satisfying this condition, as long as the umpire is convinced the ball would have hit the wicket. If the ball has hit the bat before the hitting the batsman, then he cannot be given out LBW. Stumped: If a batsman misses the ball and in attempting to play it steps outside his crease, he is out stumped if the wicket-keeper gathers the ball and breaks the wicket with it before the batsman can ground part of his body or his bat behind his crease. Run Out: If a batsman is attempting to take a run, or to return to his crease after an aborted run, and a fielder breaks that batsman's wicket with the ball while he is out of the crease. The fielder may either break the wicket with a hand which holds the ball, or with the ball directly. It is possible for the non-striker to be run out if the striker hits the ball straight down the pitch towards the non-striker's wicket, and the bowler deflects the ball on to the wicket while the non-striker is out of his crease. If the ball is hit directly on to the nonstriker's wicket, without being touched by a fielder, then the non-striker is not out. If the non-striker leaves his crease (in preparation to run) while the bowler is running up, the bowler may run him out without bowling the ball. Batsmen cannot be run out while the ball is dead - so they may confer in the middle of the pitch between deliveries if they desire.

Hit Wicket: If, in attempting to hit a ball or taking off for a first run, the batsman touches and breaks the wicket. This includes with the bat or dislodged pieces of the batsman's equipment even a helmet or spectacles! Handle The Ball: If a batsman touches the ball with a hand not currently holding the bat, without the permission of the fielding side. This does not include being hit on the hand by a delivery, or any other non-deliberate action. Obstructing The Field: If a batsman deliberately interferes with the efforts of fielders to gather the ball or effect a run out. This does not include running a path between the fielder and the wicket so that the fielder cannot throw the stumps down with the ball, which is quite legal, but does include any deliberate attempt to swat the ball away. Hit The Ball Twice: If a batsman hits a delivery with his bat and then deliberately hits the ball again for any reason other than to defend his wicket from being broken by the ball. If the ball is bouncing or rolling around near the stumps, the batsman is entitled to knock it away so as to avoid being bowled, but not to score runs. Timed Out: If a new batsman takes longer than two minutes, from the time the previous wicket falls, to appear on the field. These methods of getting out are listed in approximate order of how commonly they occur. The first five are reasonably common, the last five quite rare. The last three methods are almost never invoked. If a batsman is out caught, bowled, LBW, stumped, or hit wicket, then the bowler is credited with taking the wicket. No single person is credited with taking a wicket if it falls by any other method.

SCORING RUNS Whenever a batsman hits the ball during a delivery, he may score runs. A run is scored by the batsmen running between the popping creases, crossing over midway between them. When they both reach the opposite crease, one run is scored, and they may return for another run immediately. The fielding side attempts to prevent runs being scored by threatening to run out one of the batsmen. If the batsmen are attempting to take runs, and a fielder gathers the ball and hits a wicket with it, dislodging one or both bails, while no batsman is behind that wicket's popping crease, then the nearest batsman is run out. Specifically, the batsman must have some part of his body or his bat (provided he is holding it) grounded behind (not on) the crease. The batsmen carry their bats as they run, and turning for another run is accomplished by touching the ground beyond the crease with an outstretched bat. The batsmen do not have to run at any time they think it is unsafe - it is common to hit the ball and elect not to run. If the batsmen run one or three (or five! rare, but possible), then they have swapped ends and their striker/non-striker roles are reversed for the next ball (unless the ball just completed is the end of an over). In addition to scoring runs like this, if a batsman hits the ball so that it reaches the boundary fence, he scores four runs, without needing to actually run them. If a batsman hits the ball over the boundary on the full, he scores six runs. If a four or six is scored, the ball is completed and the batsmen cannot be run out. If a spectator encroaches on to the field and touches the ball, it is considered to have reached the boundary. If a fielder gathers the ball, but then steps outside or touches the boundary while still holding the ball, four runs are scored. If a fielder catches the ball on the full and, either during or immediately after the catch, steps outside or touches the boundary, six runs are scored. The batsmen usually stop taking runs when a fielder is throwing the ball back towards the pitch area. If no fielder near the pitch gathers the ball and it continues into the outfield again, the batsmen may take more runs. Such runs are called overthrows. If the ball reaches the boundary

on an overthrow, four runs are scored in addition to the runs taken before the overthrow occurred. Runs scored by a batsman, including all overthrows, are credited to him by the scorer. The number of runs scored by each batsman is an important statistic. If, while running multiple runs, a batsman does not touch the ground beyond the popping crease before he returns for the next run, then the umpire at that end will signal one short, and the number of runs scored is reduced by one.

EQUIPMENT Cricket Ball: Hard, cork and string ball, covered with leather. A bit like a baseball (in size and hardness), but the leather covering is thicker and joined in two hemispheres, not in a tennis ball pattern. The seam is thus like an equator, and the stitching is raised slightly. The circumference is between 224 and 229 millimetres (8.81 to 9.00 inches), and the ball weighs between 156 and 163 grams (5.5 to 5.75 ounces). Traditionally the ball is dyed red, with the stitching left white. Nowadays white balls are also used, for visibility in games played at night under artificial lighting. Cricket Bat: Blade made of willow, flat on one side, humped on the other for strength, attached to a sturdy cane handle. The blade has a maximum width of 108 millimetres (4.25 inches) and the whole bat has a maximum length of 965 millimetres (38 inches). Wickets: There are two wickets - wooden structures made up of a set of three stumps topped by a pair of bails. These are described below. Stumps: Three wooden posts, 25 millimetres (1 inch) in diameter and 813 millimetres (32 inches) high. They have have spikes extending from their bottom end and are hammered into the ground in an evenly spaced row, with the outside edges of the outermost stumps 228 millimetres (9 inches) apart. This means they are just close enough together that a cricket ball cannot pass between them. Bails: Two wooden crosspieces which sit in grooves atop the adjacent pairs of stumps.

A complete wicket looks like this: Protective Gear: Pads, gloves, helmet, etc for batsmen to wear to prevent injury when struck by the ball. Shoes: Leather, usually with spiked soles for grip on the grass. Clothing: Long pants, shirt (long or short sleeved depending on the weather), possibly a sleeveless or long-sleeved woollen pullover in cold weather. For games played with a red ball, the clothing must be white or cream. With a white ball, players usually wear uniforms in solid team colours. Add a hat or cap to keep the sun off. There are no regulations regarding identifying marks or numbers on clothing.

THE CRICKET PITCH A cricket field is a roughly elliptical field of flat grass, ranging in size from about 90 to 150 metres (100-160 yards) across, bounded by an obvious fence or other marker. There is no fixed size or shape for the field, although large deviations from a low-eccentricity ellipse are discouraged. In the centre of the field, and usually aligned along the long axis of the ellipse, is the pitch , a carefully prepared rectangle of closely mown and rolled grass over hard packed earth. It is marked with white lines, called creases, like this:

The dimensions are in centimetres (divide by 2.54 for inches).

STARTING CONDITIONS

The order in which the teams bat is determined by a coin toss. The captain of the side winning the toss may elect to bat or field first. All eleven players of the fielding team go out to field; two players of the batting team go out to bat. The remainder of the batting team waits off the field for their turn to bat. Each batsman wears protective gear and carries a cricket bat. The game progresses by the bowling of balls. The sequence of events which constitutes a ball follows: The fielding team disperses around the field, to positions designed to stop runs being scored or to get batsmen out. One fielder is the bowler. He takes the ball and stands some distance behind one of the wickets (i.e., away from the pitch). Another fielder is the wicket-keeper, who wears a pair of webbed gloves designed for catching the ball and protective pads covering the shins. He squats behind the opposite wicket. The rest of the fielders have no special equipment - gloves to assist catching the ball are not allowed to anyone but the wicket-keeper. One batsman stands behind each popping crease, near a wicket. The batsman farthest from the bowler is the striker, the other is the non-striker. The striker stands before his wicket, on or near the popping crease, in the batting stance.

UMPIRE SIGNALS

The umpires signal various events with gestures, as follows: Out: When a batsman is out, the umpire making the decision raises one hand above his head, with the index finger extended. Not Out: There is no formal signal to indicate that a batsman is not out. The umpire can either shake his head 'no' or not signal at all. Four: A four scored by the ball reaching the boundary is signalled by an arm extended horizontally and waved briefly back and forth in a horizontal arc. Six: A six is signalled by raising both arms straight over the head. No Ball: A no ball is signalled by holding an arm out horizontally. Wide: A wide is signalled by holding both arms out horizontally. Byes: Runs scored as byes are signalled by raising one arm over the head, palm open. Leg Byes: Leg byes are signalled by raising one leg and tapping the knee with one hand. Dead Ball: If the umpire has to signal dead ball to prevent the players from assuming that the ball is still alive, he waves both arms across each other in front of his abdomen. One Short: One short is signalled by touching the tip of one hand to the same shoulder.

TV Replay: If an umpire wishes the third umpire to make a decision based on a TV replay, he signals by drawing a large square shape in the air with both hands, spreading them out high in the air in front of him, bringing them down, and then together again.

Block: A defensive shot played with the bat vertical and angled down at the front, intended to stop the ball and drop it down quickly on to the pitch in front of the batsman. Drive: An offensive shot played with the bat sweeping down through the vertical. The ball travels swiftly along the ground in front of the striker. A drive can be an on drive, straight drive, off drive, or cover drive, depending in which direction it goes. Cut: A shot played with the bat close to horizontal, which hits the ball somewhere in the arc between cover and gully. Edge, or Glance: A shot played off the bat at a glancing angle, through the slips area. Leg Glance: A shot played at a glancing angle behind the legs, so that it goes in the direction of fine leg. Pull: A horizontal bat shot which pulls the ball around the batsman into the square leg area. Sweep: Like a pull shot, except played with the backmost knee on the ground, so as to hit balls which bounce low. Hook: Like a pull shot, but played to a bouncer and intended to hit the ball high in the air over square leg - hopefully for six runs. French Cut: An attempt at a cut shot which hits the bottom edge of the bat and goes into the area behind square leg. Reverse Sweep: A sweep with the bat reversed, into the point area. Most of these shots can also be lofted, in an attempt to hit the ball over the close fielders (or the boundary). The batting strokes can be divided into two categories: Straight bat and cross bat. The straight bat shots are played with the bat held close to the vertical, and are the blocks, drives and glances. Cross bat shots are played with the bat held more horizontally, like a baseball bat. These include cuts, pulls, sweeps and hooks.

The following terms are used more informally and are not standard: Hoik: A wild swing intended only to hit the ball as hard and as far as possible, usually with little or no control. Agricultural Shot: Any shot played with very little skill.

BLOCK SHOT

DRIVE

GLANCE

CUT SHOT

PULL SHOT

SWEEP

HOOK SHOT

REVERSE SWEEP

TYPES OF DELIVERIES

Deliveries can be delivered by fast bowlers or by spin bowlers. Fast bowlers tend to make the ball either move off the pitch ("seam") or move through the air ("swing"), while spinners make the ball "turn" either toward a right-handed batsman (as in the case of off spin and left-arm unorthodox spin) or away from him (as in the case of leg spin and left-arm orthodox spin). Leg break A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of off spinners. A leg break is bowled by holding the cricket ball in the palm of the hand with the seam running across under all the fingers. As the ball is released, the wrist is rotated to the left and the ball allowed to roll out of the hand over the ring finger, giving the ball an anti-clockwise spin as seen from behind. When the ball bounces on the pitch, the spin causes it to deviate towards the left from the bowler's perspective; this is to the right from the batsman's point of view, or towards the off side of a right-handed batsman. The ball spins away from the leg side, and this is where it gets the name leg break, meaning it breaks away from the leg. The turn is mostly when the ball pitches.
Off break

It is the attacking delivery of an off spin bowler. Off breaks are known as off spinners. An off break is bowled by holding the cricket ball in the palm of the hand with the seam running across under all the fingers. As the ball is released, the fingers roll down the right side of the ball (for a right-handed bowler), giving the ball a clockwise spin as seen from behind. When the ball bounces on thepitch, the spin causes it to deviate towards the right from the bowler's perspective, this is to the left from the batsman's point of view or towards the leg side of a right-handed batsman. The ball spinsaway from the off side.

INSWINGER

An in swinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam vertical and the first two fingers slightly across the seam so that it is angled a little to the leg side. Once the ball has worn and been polished so that one side is rougher than the other, the rough side is placed on the leg side. The ball is placed on the pad of the thumb. This thumb position locks the wrist in a position inclined to the leg side. AN OUT SWINGER
An outswinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam at an angle and the first two fingers running along either side of the seam. Once the ball has worn and been polished so that one side is rougher than the other, the rough side is placed on the left (as seen from the bowler's viewpoint). When the bowler delivers the ball, he angles the seam so that it points slightly to the left as well, and releases the ball rotating about a vertical axis with the seam along the rotational axis. The angle of the seam to the direction of motion produces an aerofoil effect as the ball moves through the air, pushing it to the left. This is enhanced by differential air pressure caused by movement of air over the rough and smooth surfaces, which also tends to push the ball to the left. The result is that the ball curves, or swings to the left.

TYPE OF ACTION

THE CRICKET FIELD