From a casual hit on the beach or in the backyard to the intensity and endurance of an international Test match, cricket is played and loved by tens of millions of people around the world, and watched by even more. Thrilling, crushing, intriguing, it is a game unique in character and ever growing in popularity.
Cricket is a game of strategy between two teams. Each team bats and fields in turn – the batters try to score runs; the fielders try to stop them. The team with the most runs wins.
A run is scored when the striking batsman (the batsman that the bowler is bowling to) runs from one crease line to the other, after hitting the ball.
It’s easy to start a game of cricket in the backyard, street or even the beach – all that’s needed is a ball, a bat and some stumps – which can be anything from a bin to 3 sticks stuck in the ground, as long as acts as the stumps.
Each team is made up of 11 players consisting of batters, bowlers and a wicket keeper. Learn more about cricket players.
The coin toss is done at the start of the game to decide who will be given the choice to either bat or bowl first.
Australian Captain Ricky Ponting and England Captain Andrew Strauss toss the coin to start the 2009 Ashes series in Cardiff, Wales.
Photograph by Philip Brown
Cricket has been developed over the years and is now played formally in three formats;
Test: The elite form of the game played over five days for men and four days for women
One Day: Played over about six hours
Twenty20: Each team bats for 20 overs and is completed within three hours
The game of cricket is governed by an extensive code of laws. Formalised at Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London in the late 1700s, the laws regulate all aspects of the game, from the responsibilities of the captain to the correct way to dry a wet ball.
The MCC remains custodian of the Laws of Cricket. It has sole authority for making amendments to the laws, and each year answers queries from around the world and makes rulings on interpretation.
Equally important is the Spirit of the Game, a spirit of respect for the game and its values.
Learn more about the game of cricket – explore and discover more about cricket balls, cricket bats, cricket players, umpires and scorers, grounds around the world, the oval and fielders.
Want to learn more about the game of cricket? Then check out the links below:
