It is not easy to pick up the game of cricket. Cricket has its own vocabulary, it has a unique ground layout, and the equipment of this game looks different. It is much easier to understand football (soccer) since there is one clear objective for both teams, but it is not easy to understand a game of cricket.
As a newcomer, how do you watch, understand, and enjoy this game? The first thing we will look at is the basic overview of a game of cricket.
The Basics:
Two teams of 11 players play a game of cricket. And a team wins the match by scoring the most runs in its inning.
Like baseball, a game of cricket is a bat-and-ball sport. However, the cricket ball is made of leather, string, and cork, and instead of a cylindrical bat, the bat is rectangular, long, and wooden.
Players play the game on a large circle or oval pitch. There is also a 22-yard pitch in the center and a field placement guide in the pitch. There is a set of wickets at each end of the pitch. Resting on top of the wickets is three long, wooden stumps with wooden bails.
There are separate events in a game of cricket known as balls, or a bowler delivers the cricket ball to the batsman. The inning of each team is either time-limited to a specific number of days, as in first-class and Test cricket, or limited to a certain number of six-balls, which is mostly 20 or 50. Six balls make one over.
The inning only continues when there are two batsmen on the field, and all bowling team’s 11 players must be at various parts of the pitch (unless they are the wicketkeeper or bowler).
The decisions on the field in regards to the rules of the game are made by two on-field umpires. There can also be a match referee or a third umpire, but this depends on the level of the match.
Scoring & Winning:
There are creases at either end of the field, so the two batsmen on the pitch must run between these white creases to score a run. The batsmen score a run when the ball is ‘in play’. This is the time between when the cricket ball leaves the hand of the bowler to when a fielder returns the ball to the bowler or wicket keeper.
The team can score more runs by hitting the cricket ball further away from any fielders. The award of the best shots reaching the field boundary is six runs if the ball does not bounce first or four runs if the ball bounces first.
Like baseball, the objective of a cricket game is to score more runs than the opponent, but with much higher scores and longer innings. There are just runs and wickers during the match, so there are no bonus points (the name given to getting a batsman out is “wicket”).
If the two teams finish with the same number of runs after they complete all of their innings, the matches result in a tie. A tie is not the same as a draw. If the teams did not complete all the expected innings, they declare the match a draw. This usually happens if the time runs out in Test and first-class matches.
Run of Play:
Once a bowler bowl the ball, the batsman on strike attempts to:
hit the cricket ball so that they can score runs;
prevent getting out.
The batsman is out if the bowler hits the wickets with the ball. This is known as being ‘bowled’. Stumped, run out, caught, leg before wicket (LBW), and bowled are the most common ways for dismissing a batsman.
The batting team attempts to score as many runs as possible in its innings, and the bowling team attempts to get all the opposing payers of the batting team out or restrict the runs of the batting team to as few runs as possible.
What to Watch For?
Types of bowling:
Spin bowlers bowl the ball slowly to make the cricket ball spin sideways off the pitch’s surface.
Fast bowlers attempt to generate as much ball speed as they can out of their hands by bowling off a long run-up
Common umpire signals:
No ball: the umpire extends one arm horizontally (usually when the bowler steps completely over the creases in the delivery side)
Wide ball: the umpire extends both arms horizontally
Out: the umpire raises an index finger on one hand
Six runs: the umpire raises both arms aloft
Four runs: the umpire moves their arm back and forth in front of their body
Numbers and statistics:
Scoring rates: A team can fall short of a competitive total if it scores too slowly, but the team takes more risks to score quickly. A good run rate in one-day math on average is five to six runs an over.
Batting and bowling milestones. Batsmen, who reach 50 or 100 runs in a single inning, are highly praised. However, a bowler does an exceptional effort if the bowler takes five wickets in an inning.
Fielding restrictions. Sometimes, the fielding team can restrict the number of players the team places outside the inner circle. It is usually around 40% of a limited-over inning. They restrict the number of players to make the game more exciting since it encourages the batsmen to take more risks and hit the cricket ball in the air.
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