Changes

[[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.]]

[[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, normally in the local summer season. At international level, it exists primarily in two forms: Test cricket (played over five days) and one-day cricket (a shortened form of the game, with each team batting one innings of up to 50 overs). A recent innovation has been the "Twenty20" match (20 overs per side).

'''Cricket''' is a bat and ball game played between two teams of eleven, normally in the local summer season. At international level, it is played primarily in three forms: Test cricket (played over five days) and one-day cricket (a shortened form of the game, with each team batting one innings of up to 50 overs). A recent innovation has been the "Twenty20" match (20 overs per side).

Cricket is also played at provincial and county levels, and traditional matches between village and [[public house]] teams are still played in summer on the [[village green]]s of [[England]].

Cricket is also played at provincial and county levels, and traditional matches between village and [[public house]] teams are still played in summer on the [[village green]]s of [[England]].

*A return crease is drawn on each side of each set of the stumps, 4 feet 4 inches (1.32 m) either side of and parallel to the imaginary line joining the centres of the two middle stumps. The return creases are primarily used to determine whether the bowler has bowled a no ball. To avoid a no ball, some part of the bowler's back foot in the delivery stride must land within and not touching the return crease.

*A return crease is drawn on each side of each set of the stumps, 4 feet 4 inches (1.32 m) either side of and parallel to the imaginary line joining the centres of the two middle stumps. The return creases are primarily used to determine whether the bowler has bowled a no ball. To avoid a no ball, some part of the bowler's back foot in the delivery stride must land within and not touching the return crease.

As imperfections in the playing surface may affect the behavior of the ball, the green is considered high-maintenance as it has to be regularly rolled, watered and cut to ensure suitability for play. A [[groundskeeper]] is usually employed for this purpose.  

As imperfections in the playing surface may affect the behavior of the ball, the pitch is considered high-maintenance as it has to be regularly rolled, watered and cut to ensure suitability for play. A [[groundskeeper]] is usually employed for this purpose.  

An ideal pitch has fine grass growing in the turf to retain the consistency of the pitch and to prevent cracking, yet its grass has been cut so that the underlying ground is fully exposed.

An ideal pitch has fine grass growing in the turf to retain the consistency of the pitch and to prevent cracking, yet its grass has been cut so that the underlying ground is fully exposed.