Cricket is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 11 players on a large grass field. The objective is for the batting team to score runs by hitting a ball bowled at them into the outfield before running between wickets, while the fielding team tries to get batters out by hitting the wicket with the ball or catching a hit ball before it touches the ground. Key elements of cricket include the pitch where batting takes place, wickets consisting of three stumps topped with two bails that must be knocked off for an out, and specialized fielding positions for each player.

1. 66 feet
Crease
Long off
Crease
How to play cricket!
The playing field
Fielders
The ball
Infield
Outfield
Pitch
Wicket
Pitch
Long on
Mid-wicket
Mid-on
Mid-off
Traditional
positions
Cover
Point Gully Slips
Third Man
Fine leg
Bowler
Wicket keeper
A bowler’s primary mission is to get the
batsman out. He throws a small ball towards
the batsman, bouncing it once before it
arrives. Skilled bowlers can release the ball
with so much spin it jumps off the ground in
a different direction, fooling
the batsman.
Run up Stride Mid-bound Back foot contact Front foot contact Release Follow though
The cricket
ball is similar
to a baseball:
a core of cork,
wound tightly with string and
covered in leather with a
slightly raised sewn seam. The
ball is traditionally dyed red.
White cricket balls have been
used at night under floodlights.
The game of cricket is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams,
usually of 11 players each. It is thought to be the second-most popular sport
on the planet, behind football (soccer). It has been played for hundreds of
years, the modern form originating in England and spread across the British
Commonwealth. It is wildly popular in England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Australia and New Zealand, among others. Here is a quick look at the game:
Two batsmen, at opposite ends of the
pitch, use a flat bat of willow wood to
hit the ball. Only one batsman is
thrown to — the other waits for the
ball to put in play so he
can score runs. The
batsman tries to
prevent a pitch from
hitting the wicket
and if possible, hit
the ball into the
field. Once a hit
is in play, the
batsmen run
to the
opposite
crease —
past each
other —
scoring
runs. They
can do
this as
many times
as possible
before the
fielding team
throws the ball
back to the
pitch.
28”
Bowling
What a wind-up!
Scoring runs, getting outs
Wicket
Bails
Stumps
Wickets are three
stumps hammered
into the ground at
each end of the
pitch. The vertical
‘stumps’, hold two
small ‘bails’ on
top. The bowler
attempts to knock
the bails off by
striking the wicket
and the batsman
tried to stop the
ball from hitting
the wicket.
Cricket
Football
(Soccer)
American Football
A large, oval, grassy space with a diameter between 450 and 500 feet.
A cricket bowler starts with a run...
A ball is bowled,
bouncing
once in
front of
the
batter. An out is
recorded
if the ball
hits a wicket,
knocking
loose a bail.
If the batsman hits
the ball in play...
...he runs to the other crease, scoring a run. The fielders
will get the ball back to their wicket keeper who will try to
knock off a bail before the batsman gets back to the crease.
Batsman