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/* Batting and fielding */
[[Image:Cricket_match.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Australia vs India, Sydney Cricket Ground, January 2004. Note how the pitch being used is merely one of many that can be in various stages of preparation.]]
'''Cricket''' is a bat and ball game played between two teams of eleven (with a "12th man" on hand in case of injury), normally in the local summer season. At international level, it is played primarily in three forms: Test cricket (played over five days), oneOne-day Day International (ODI) cricket (a shortened form of the game, with each team batting one innings of up to 50 overs), and recently innovated "Twenty20" matches (T20) cricket (20 overs per side; this version allows a match to finish in roughly 3–4 hours making it suitable for media broadcast).
Cricket is also played at state, provincial and county levels, and traditional matches between club, village and public house teams are still played in summer on the village greens of [[England]] and the playing fields, parks, school grounds and even, on a less formal level, the streets, backyards and beaches of cricket playing nations. See (see also: [[Backyard backyard cricket]]).
==International Game==
==Equipment==
Cricket balls are made from [[cork]] with a [[leather]] cover, and are traditionally red (, but white balls in limited over cricket (ODI's and Twenty20's). Bats are [[willow]] treated with linseed oil.
The normal clothing for cricketers is white, or it may coloured for limited over matches:
A normal cricketer's cap has a small beak at the front. Members of national teams are 'capped' (given their own team cap) when they are picked for their team. In recent times, it is normal to have cricketers optionally wearing a soft, canvas, broad-brimmed hat (often colloquially called a "floppy"
In recent years, team member's shirts often bear a number [[enbroidery|embroidered]] below the national or team crest. This number is their 'cap' ranking, their number in the players who have been selected to play, since the national, state, or county first played (perhaps as early as the 1800s.) For example: the former Australian team captain, [[Ricky Rexona Ponting]], wears wore number 366 in the national side and 123 for Australia's One Day International team.<ref>[http://www.cricket.com.au/default.aspx?s=playersmendetails&profileid=30 Ponting], Cricket Australia, accessed 16 February 2008</ref>.
The batsman uses pads (shin, arm and body guards), padded gloves, a 'box' (a protection for the groin), and protective headgear in response to the hazards of modern fast-bowling techniques.
===Getting Out===
A batsman can be dismissed ('''''given out''''') in a number of different ways. These are:
* '''Bowled''' – the ball hits the stumps (wicket) and removes the bails direct from the bowler’s bowler's delivery, or after hitting only the bat or the batsman's hands (gloves) which are on the bat handle.
* '''Caught''' – the batsman hits the ball and it is caught by the fielding side before it touches the ground.
* '''LBW''' (leg before wicket) – the batsman fails to hit the ball and it strikes him in such a way that the umpire judges it would have gone on to hit the stumps. Note: This mode of dismissal depends on a number of other factors.
===Batting and fielding===
The batting side must always have two batsmen operating in partnership, and each member of the batting team is allowed to bat once and only once in an innings(the term is both singular and plural). Thus, although they have eleven players, once ten wickets have fallen they are '''''all out''''' and their '''''innings''''' is over. The batting and fielding sides then swap roles and this cycle is repeated so that both teams have two opportunities to bat.
The game begins with the toss of a coin between the two captains, supervised by the field umpires. The winning captain then elects to bat or field.
The batsmen can run any number of runs at any time, even if the ball has not been struck.
The batsman aims to hit the ball in such a way that he and his fellow batsman can run safely to the other end and ground his bat, or a piece of his body (foot, hand, etc.), within the popping crease before the fielding side can effect a run out. Hitting the ball well into the outfield causes the fielding side to chase the ball and throw it back to the wicket keeper or another player who 'backs up' at the bowling end of the pitch.
Long hits to poorly defended parts of the ground may allow the batsmen to run four, or the ball may get to the fence for four.
Bowlers come in three types: Quick, Medium, and Slow (or 'spin'). A top-level team will normally have a bowling attack with two or three quick bowlers, one specialist slow (spin) bowler, and several general players capable of medium pace bowling.
'''Quick''' or fast bowlers may be delivering balls travelling at 136 to 150 kmh (85 to 95 mph). The ball is intended to either:
*hit the pitch on the seam (between the two halves of the leather) and thereby to bounce (un)predictably, or
*swing in the air towards or away from the bat.
===Fielding positions===
The fielding team has eleven players on the field. One is the bowler, and one the wicket-keeper, leaving nine players to be distributed around the field in such a way as to maximise the fielding team's chances of preventing runs being scored and/or taking a wicket. Different situations call for different distributions, and part of the tactical and strategic skill of cricket (sometimes referred to as its chess-like nature) is to position the fielders to maximum advantage. Each position has a name, and some of the names (such as "silly mid off" and "short fine leg") can seem amusing to non-cricketers. Only the wicket-keeper is permitted to wear gloves, though some of the close in fieldsman will often wear other protective equipment such as helmets or leg pads. <ref>[http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ABOUT_CRICKET/fielding-positions.pdf Diagram of fielding positions from cricinfo.com]</ref>
===Scoring===
The batsman’s batsman's aim is to score '''''runs''''' whilst protecting his wicket. Generally speaking, in order to score a run, he must first hit the ball. He and his partner must then decide whether or not they can run to each other’s other's end of the pitch before the fielding side have time to break either wicket with the ball. They may run as many times as they are able per hit and the ''on strike'' batsman scores one run for his team each time they do so.
If the ball reaches the boundary rope, the batsman automatically scores four runs. If it clears the rope without first touching the ground, it scores six runs. (If a fielder is in contact with the ball when they touch the fence/rope then it is counted as a four or six depending on whether the ball has previously touched the ground or would have carried over the fence/rope.)
A 'bye' is a run scored when the ball is not hit. This may occur when the ball hits the batsman's apparel (clothes or protective equipment) and is deflected off into the field of play, or when a bowler delivers a ball that the wicket keeper fails to gather up. Batsmen may either 'run' or, if the ball goes to the boundary, a 'four' may be awarded even if the batsmen have run fewer.
The notation for scoring leads to a particular term, 'dot ball', as in the scoring sheet a ball that does not get a run is noted with a dot. Accordingly, an over with a single, dot, no ball, dot, three, dot, single, would be marked 1.nb.3.1 (six 'legal' deliveries) and the score has increased by 6 runs including one for the no ball. Also a batsman who is not out at the end of the innings has his score marked with an asterisk (e.g. 112*).
====Example of Match Scoring====
The scoring of matches, and especially the way results are presented, can sometimes be confusing. As an example, let us imagine that, at the end of the first day’s day's play, Sri Lanka have scored 286 runs and have lost 5 wickets. This would be written as '''286-5'''.
Playing Australia, the match pans out as follows:
If at the end of the fifth day's play Australia were 350-8, they would not yet have reached their target, and Sri Lanka would not yet have taken 10 wickets. In this instance both teams would have failed to win and the game would be declared a draw. This occurrence is not uncommon.
===Test playing nations===
Only countries approved by the International Cricket Council may compete in test cricket. The following ten teams currently have that status:
* England (since 1877)
* Australia (1877)
* South Africa (1889)
* West Indies (1928)
* New Zealand (1930)
* India (1932)
* Pakistan (1952)
* Sri Lanka (1982)
* Zimbabwe (1992)
* Bangladesh (2000)
* Ireland (2018)
* Afghanistan (2018)
NOTES: The England team includes Wales, the Ireland team includes Northern Ireland, and the West Indies are a group of 15 Caribbean countries and territories.
Not all these teams have had continuous tenure among the test playing nations. South Africa, for example, were excluded in response to their [[apartheid]] policy. Ireland have recently expressed the desire to become full ICC members and get to test status.
==Other aspects of the game==
===Other formats===
In addition to the traditional format there are also the following formats:
*One Day International (ODI), each team has one innings consisting of 50 overs
*Twenty20 (T20), each team has one innings consisting of 20 overs; this format has become popular as it can be completed within the traditional three-hour window slotted for a sporting event (major T20 leagues include the Indian Premier League and the Caribbean Premier League)
*T10, each team has one innings consisting of 10 overs
===Grounds===
Grounds in different parts of one country, let along different parts of the world, play differently: Wickets in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, are renowned for being 'hard'; English wickets are 'green' (have grass obvious in the playing surface); the ground in [[Perth, Western Australia]] has a daily sea breeze in the afternoon.
*The "Lord's" ground, the home of the Marylebone Cricket Club (established 1787) in London, has a slant of about 2.5m (8 feet) from one side of the ground to the other, so a shot made 'down the hill' typically goes further into the field than a shot made 'up the hill'.
*Grounds in the West Indies and India often have hundreds of people sitting in or hanging from trees in order to get an unobstructed view.
*"The Gabba" ground (at Woolloongabba in [[Brisbane, Queensland]]) has cantilevered spectator stands that protrude over the surrounding streets.<ref>[http://www.onesteel.com/images/db_images/casestudies/sports17cbp.pdf Structural Steel Casebook, Issue 17, October 2000, pp4/6/8, OneSteel, accessed 5 January 2008]</ref>.
*The cricket ground at [[Scarborough]] in [[Yorkshire]] is inside the walls of the town's medieval castle, and this leads to a number of "local" rules; for example, if a ball is caught by a spectator the batsman is given out if he is batting at the "town" end of the ground, but is awarded six runs of he is at the "sea" end.
===Winter===
Cricket grounds are generally of a size that allows them to be marked out during winter for playing football: [[soccer]], [[Rugby]], [[Rugby Union]], or [[Australian RulesFootball]].
===Women's Cricket===
===Duckworth-Lewis scoring===
In the event that a limited over match is affected by rain or other stops to play, a system of score amendment is used developed by statisticians Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis. This allows the umpires to calculate a new score target to win for the second side batting for any given amount of time remaining for normal play, less an allowance for the ratio of runs scored to wickets remaining, corrected for the number of minutes remaining until sunset. If a game may be rain affected, it is in the interests of the first side batting to score at a rapid and even rate, so that a revised target is difficult for the following side to achieve. The Duckworth-Lewis system is also used in Twenty20, however due to the short nature of the game the required targets are almost always a major point of confusion.
==Famous Cricketers==
*Sanath Jayasuriya (1969-), Sri Lankan- "The Matara Mauler" (Batting - Tests: 6,973 runs @ 40.07 av; ODI: 12,785 runs @32.69. Bowling - Tests: 98 wickets @ 34.34; ODIs: 310 wickets @ 36.55)<ref>http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/player/49209.html</ref>
*Jacques Kallis (1975-), South Africa. (Batting - Tests: ~9,700 runs @ 55.46; ODI: ~9,600 runs @ 44.69. Bowling - Tests: 240 wickets @ 31.22, ODI: 243 wickets @ 31.38). Still playing <ref>http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/southafrica/content/player/45789.html</ref>
*Brendon McCullum - captain of the New Zealand cricket team
*Brian Lara, West Indies - holds records for individual highest score in first-class cricket (501*), Test cricket (400*; he also held a previous record of 375), and most runs in a single over in a Test match (28).
===Bowlers===
''The Opening Batsmen:''
1. Sir John Berry 'Jack' Hobbs (1882-1963) (England) - The Greatest Opener, and the first English cricket player to be [[knight|knighted]] ed (1953)
2. [[Sunil Gavaskar]] (India) - The Most Difficult Batsman to Dismiss, and a Fine Opener
11. [[Sydney Barnes]] (England) - A Fast-bowling Legend
==See also==
* [[British Inventions]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.cricket.com.au 'Cricket Australia']
* [http://stats.rleague.com/tc/players/player_index.html Player statistics (index)] - by country
* [http://www.championships.vbca.org.au/ Vision Australia 29th National 'Blind Cricket' Championships, 29 December 2007 - 11 January 2008] ==References==<references/>
[[Category:England]]
[[Category:Cricket]]
