A few, mostly Americans, have asked me to explain how cricket is played. OK then, are you ready for a novel? Before I begin, perhaps I should tell you that this is not all there is to say!
Cricket is a team game played during the summer in England and in several countries influenced by the British, such as Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies.
The game is played between two teams of 11 players on a grassy field, in the center of which are two wickets - the equivalent of baseball's bases. When a team is "in", the other team attempts to get each of them "out". Then the team that was "in" is "all out", and takes its place in the outfield. The team that was in the outfield in turn goes "in" until they too are "all out".
This process (an
innings) may be repeated once more (a match can last one day or take as many as five). 5-day matches are known as test matches.
The team with the highest number of
runs (points scored primarily by running between wickets after hitting the ball) wins the match.
Cricket freaks (like myself) will tell you that one subtle difference between their sport and baseball is that the ball can bounce before the
batsman hits it. This bouncing is called a pitch, but the player bouncing it is not called a pitcher like his baseball equivalent. He is the
bowler.
He must keep his arm straight when releasing the ball, which he aims at the batsman's wicket.
The wicket consists of three upright wooden sticks so placed that the ball cannot pass between them. Wooden
bails lie in grooves on top of them. When hit by the ball the whole or part of the arrangement collapses, indicating the batsman is out. When a team has lost 10 wickets, the innings is over. The 11th player (who is "not out") is not allowed to bat alone.
The act of bouncing the ball on its way to the batsman allows the bowler to impart movement to the ball with the intention of catching the batsman unaware. This movement may cause the batsman to missjudge the flight of the ball, resulting him to mis-hit into the waiting hands of a player from the opposite team, or even to miss it altogether.
As a batsman there are several ways to get out. The most common are caught, bowled, run out and leg before wicket.
A collection of six balls (deliveries) is called an
over.
According to the speed (pace) and movement of a ball, the batsman has various options. He may drive it along the ground, lift it into air, or flick it to the side or behind himself. Alternatively, he may use the safety pads on his legs (or arms) to stop or deflect the ball. This is risky because it will invariably prompt the bowler and his team to shout "Howwizzzahhtt"!
This means something like "How does that look to you Umpire - is he out"? and is often ignored by the umpire (referee) unless he judges that the ball would have continued on to hit the wicket. Then the batsman is given out (leg before wicket or lbw) and the bowler's team-mates smugly feel that their banshee scream was justified.
If the batsman is out without having scored a run, this is a
duck and his embarrassment is compounded.
On the edge of the field is the boundary. If a batsman hits the ball to this boundary he is awarded 4 runs. If it does not bounce before doing so it is 6 runs (and stands a good chance of hitting a spectator).
The field itself is divided into two halves, the
on side and the
off side. "On" is synonymous with "Leg", and represents the side of the field to the left of the batsman as he faces the bowler or opposite wicket, presuming that he is right-handed. If he is a left-hander, everything is reversed.
Fielders are placed at strategic positions (in order to both stop runs and to catch a batsman out if possible) and these positions have distinct names. For example, the
long off position is near the boundary, far away from the batsman to his front and right, while
silly mid-on represents a position of extreme danger, as the name might suggest, being as it is immediately to a batsman's left.
A
square leg says more about where one umpire stands rather than how he is standing, while
backward point or
deep fine leg says nothing about any mental or physical ability at all.
There are various other fielding positions. To name just a few:
slip,
gully and
cover point.
I could go on for hours, but it's time for me to say ....
Howzat!? ... and "Cricket is life, the rest is mere details".
Roland
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