Basics of Cricket

Cricket is an outdoor game originated in England in the late 16th century.It consists of a bat(wooden stick) and a ball which weighs 5.75 ounces/ 163g and has a circumference of 9 inches (23 cm). It is a team sport consisting of two teams of eleven players each. It is generally played on a cricket field. The field is usually oval or circular in shape and its circumference is called its boundary. The centre of the field is a rectangular pitch of 22 yards (20m) with wickets on each end. Each team comprises of a batsman, a bowler,and a fielder. It also has an all-rounder which can both bat and ball.

A set of six balls is called an over. The competitive matches can be of different formats, like one-day international(50-over format),T20i(20-over format).There is also another format called the "Test" where it is played over 5-days with 90 overs per day in which each team bats for a maximum two times. Cricket is played when a player from the fielding team, called the bowler,"bowls" the bowl from one end of the pitch towards the wicket at the other end. The batting side has one player on each end of the pitch, with the player at the opposite end of the pitch from the bowler aiming to strike the ball with a bat. The batting side scores runs either when the ball reaches the boundary of the field, or when the two batters swap ends of the pitch, which results in one run. The fielding side's aim is to prevent run-scoring and dismiss each batter. Means of dismissal iclude being bowled, when the bowled ball hits the stumps and dislodges the bails(two bails are balanced on three stumps), and by the fielding side either catching a hit ball before it touches the ground, or hitting a wicket with the ball before a batter can cross the crease line in front of the wicket to complete a run. When ten batters have been dismissed, the innings ends and the teams swap roles. The game is adjudicated by two umpires, aided by a third umpire and match referee in international matches.