Stuart's 20/20 World Cup Series: 1 - A Primer on Cricket

The game of cricket dates back to the sixteenth century as far as written records go, though those records are scant and seem to indicate a game for school-children rather than the popular sport known today.

And it is popular. By followers and fans it is the second most followed sport in the world with estimates of 2.5 billion enjoying watching or listening. By participation it is the seventh most played and has participating memberships in a hundred and twenty five countries.

Like most sports the basic game-play is simple while terminology, technicalities and rules bring levels of obfuscation which can obscure things enough to prevent an average non-fans from casually engaging. But fighting through the obfuscation is well worth it.

The fundamentals of the game are: A bowler trying to send a ball down a pitch to hit a target, called the wicket; a batter trying to prevent the target being hit, while also hitting the ball so as to score points, called runs. The team who scores the most runs in the time-frame of the game, wins.

So far, so simple.

Now, a little more. Each game, or match, is played by two teams. Each team has eleven players (plus permitted substitutions for injury or relief).

During the game teams will take turns in being the fielding and batting team. The batting team has two players on the field, one at each end of the bowling pitch. The fielding team has all eleven players on the pitch, some of which will take turns being the bowler, all who will seek to catch the batter out, or restrict them from scoring runs.

The game is played on a cricket field which is generally oval in shape and has a diameter around 140-150 meters. Within this wider playing field there is the pitch, the area where the bowler and batter engage which each other. This is 20 meters long and at each end is the target being bowled at, called the wicket. The wicket comprises of three upright wooden stakes, called stumps, atop which sit two wooden crosspieces called bails.

The bowler bowls from not closer than a line level with the wickets at the opposite end of the pitch and, if the ball dislodges the bails so they fall from the stumps, the batsman is out and leaves the field of play to be replaced by a team mate who has not yet batted.

The batter can also be out if they strike the ball and, before it has touched the ground, is caught by the bowler or one of the bowlers team mates - collectively, the fielding team.

Another way the batter can be out is if the ball strikes their leg and is thus prevented from going on to hit the wicket, this is called Leg Before Wicket, generally shorted to LBW.

To score the batter strikes the ball and then runs to the opposite wicket before the ball is returned and the bails are removed from the stumps. If the ball is struck and reaches the extremity of the playing field, the boundary, having touched the ground the batter is credited with having scored four runs. If the ball reaches the boundary in the air, having not touched the ground, the batter is credited with six runs.

The scores of the individual batters are added together to create the team score and, when all batters are out or when the allotted bowling period has been reached, then the teams batting period, or ‘innings’ is over. At this point the teams switch and the team who batted first now bowl and field.

Bowling is done in limited spells called an ‘over’. Each over consists of six balls sent towards the batter. As said the ball must be released by the bowler no further forward than a line level with the wicket, this line is called the bowling crease.
Overs are alternated between two bowlers and they are bowled first from one end of the pitch, then the other.

This continual switching of where bowling occurs, and the changes it requires in where fielding players stand so as to be in the best position to prevent runs or catch balls, is often the area where non-fans begin to scratch their head and let their eyes glaze over. To help prevent that happening here, there’s just a little more to say.

There are two main forms of cricket: First Class and Limited Over.

First Class games are normally played over several days, with each day consisting of 90 overs. Each team will play two full innings. Domestic cricket is played by local teams within a nation - in England the local teams nominally represent a county and games are played over 4 days. The peak of the game is Test Cricket, which is played by teams representing a nation (or group of nations for the West Indies), matches are allowed five days for play.

Limited Over matches consist of a single innings for each team, and a set amount of overs or balls bowled. There are World Cups for 50 over and 20 over versions, where each side gets up to the 50 or 20 overs to bat - though if all eleven batters are out, the innings finishes. When both teams have batted and bowled, the game is finished.

And that’s the end of this primer on cricket. Folks who already know the game will appreciate how much more could have been said, folks who don’t may be sitting scratching their head. Feel free to ask questions if that second one is you - even if you have already looked at the Wikipedia page on the subject.

Later in the week I’ll do a dive into the T20 World Cup which starts on July 2nd, and then next weekend a primer on what teams are playing and who may be expected to do well in the tournament.

text by stuartcturnbull. image from OpenClipart-Vectors via Pixabay