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Home , Batting (cricket), Boundary (cricket), Bowled, Crease (cricket), Cricket field, Cricket pitch

NIRSA Intramural Fundamentals

1. Equipment. Cricket requires some equipment similar to . Two (six stumps and four bails), two cricket bats, and a ball are required. Safety gear for the -keeper is also encouraged. Bat: Flat on one side and convex on the other for strength. The ball should be hit with the flat part of the bat. Ball: NIRSA encourages using a heavy tennis ball or an air-ball . Taped balls are also commonly used. Wicket-keeper’s equipment: Similar to a baseball catcher: webbed mitts, optional shin guards, and a helmet.

2. Field and Pitch. Cricket is played on a large, oval-shaped field. The field has a rectangular strip in the center, called the pitch. A line should be clearly marked all around the outside edge of the field. A doesn't strictly have to be oval, but it usually is. There is no standard size requirement for the field, only the pitch. ***If played indoors, you can make the walls or netting the boundary – if the ball is hit and touches the boundary before bouncing, that would count as six. If the ball bounces and then hits the boundary, that would then be four (in standard cricket ). Based on the NIRSA Cricket Rules Template, you can adjust these rules to fit your facility space.

Pitch: Where the bowler (similar to a pitcher) bowls the ball to the other team's striker (batter). Regulation play has the pitch at 22 yards long by 10 feet – this is the only part of the entire cricket field that is inflexible. Wickets: Central pieces of the . Wickets stand on the opposite ends of the pitch.

Creases: The pitch is divided into segments by lines called “creases.” There are four creases: The popping (or crease): Marks the boundary beyond which the batter is no longer safe from being out (taken out of play by the , or defending, team). Two return creases: The return creases run the length of the pitch, parallel to one another (not shown in diagram below). The crease: Runs parallel to the popping crease between the two return creases. The bowler must stand at or behind the bowling crease before he bowls. This crease is at the back of the pitch, and is also where the wickets are placed.

***Aside from the boundary marker and the pitch, the rest of the cricket field is not marked. 3. Rules. Cricket is a game that champions sportsmanship. The rules are set up so that the game is played with respect. a. Goal of cricket: Score points against the opposing team by running from one point to another before the play can be ended or you're by the defenders (called the fielding team). The team at bat is called the batting team. b. Gameplay: Based on your facility space and number of participants, you can use the NIRSA Rules Template to determine the number of players on each team. For test (professional) cricket, they play with 12 players per side (including a reserve). For the fielding side, 11 players would take the field. For the batting side, two batsmen would take the field – on opposite ends of the pitch. One batsman tries to hit the ball when it is . If he/she hits the ball, the two batsmen then switch positions without getting an out to score points. c. Game Structure: Cricket uses specific terms to describe sections of the game. Each batting team gets one inning. Each inning contains 8-10 overs.

Overs: Every time a bowler bowls the ball, whether or not it is hit by the striker, a tally is counted. Once a bowler has bowled the ball 6 times in one direction, an “” is declared. (You can also adjust the number of bowls-per-over to change the length of games). At the over, the bowler must be replaced with a new bowler. When there's an over, the position of the bowler changes from one end of the pitch to the other. The striker can change between overs also, depending on which end of the pitch he/she is when the over is called. Strikers also change depending on how many runs are completed, since the bowler doesn't change position except at an over. For example, if only one run is completed, the striker and non-striker have switched ends of the pitch, making the non-striker the striker for the next bowl.

Innings: Any time a batsman is declared out, s/he must leave the field and be replaced by a teammate. Outs (dismissals) are determined by the number of players per-side. If you are playing 7v7, then there would be 6 outs. If you are playing 8v8, then there would be 7 outs. And so forth. This is under the assumption that teams do not have a reserve player for injury. If the fielding team manages to score (for example) 10 outs in an inning, the inning is over, as there are no more batsmen to fill in the second spot on the pitch. Again, this can be adjusted based on the number of players-per-side that your rules determine. Each inning is a period of gameplay for the entire batting team. A set number of overs are allowed to each team per inning; once that number is reached, the inning ends even if the fielding team hasn't made 10 outs. Once an inning ends, the fielding team and batting team switch roles, and the for the fielding (now batting) team begins.

A bowler cannot bowl consecutive overs, so there should be at least two bowlers on each team, so that they can switch between overs. More bowlers are allowed to be in the rotation as well. An over is a set of six bowls (pitches) Once an over is complete, the bowler and batsmen switch sides of the pitch. Each inning consists of 8-10 overs. That means there is a maximum of 48-60 bowls per IM Cricket match Dismissals are different than overs – once a batsman is dismissed, they cannot bat again. If all batsmen are dismissed within the 48-60 bowls, then the inning is also over. Two ways to end an inning: complete all of the overs, or dismiss all of the batsmen by getting them out.

Twenty20 cricket allows one inning per team with a maximum of 20 overs per inning. We built the rules for NIRSA Cricket from this format, but adjusted the number of overs per inning.

4. Types of Outs. - Outs by Wicket: Wickets are a central strategic piece of cricket. The fielding team will use the wickets and other strategies to get a batsman out. - Bowled Out: bowler directly hit the wicket and breaks it. - Run Out: While a batsman is outside either popping crease of the pitch (running back and forth after a hit), a defender (including the bowler) can break the wicket by hitting it with the ball in his/her hand or break the wicket by throwing the ball directly at it. Non-striking batsmen can be run out by the bowler as well. If they edge away and leave the popping crease (like a baseball player stealing a base) the bowler can stop his bowl and break the wicket before he/she returns to the crease. - (LBW): The striker is out if they intentionally uses any part of their body to block the ball from hitting the wicket. - : if the striker hits his own wicket by accident and breaks it. Any part of the striker’s body, padding, or bat can cause this, but a batsman MUST be trying to hit the ball or has hit the ball and is attempting to run to the other end of the pitch. If the striker has hit the ball and it directly flies into the non-striker's wicket, the non-striker isn't out. The bowler can still pick up the ball and redirect it at the non-striker's wicket to run him out. - Out: If the striking batsman misses the ball while trying to hit and steps out of the popping crease, the wicket keeper (catcher) can break the striker’s wicket by catching the bowl cleanly and striking the wicket with the ball.

*This is a photo of a batsman being stumped out

- Out: If a member of the fielding team catches the ball before it hits the . If a defender catches a ball and then steps over the boundary line or catches the ball past the boundary, this is still 6 points for the batsman. - Handling the Ball: A batsman is out if they ever touch the ball on purpose with their non-batting hand - : A batsman is out if they use anything to interfere with the fielding team trying to cause an out. However, a is allowed to run with his/her body between the fielder holding the ball and his/her wicket. - : If the next batsman doesn’t take his/her place within two minutes after the previous batsman is called out - Other types of outs: The striker is out if they on a single bowl, unless they are trying to nudge the ball away from his/her wicket. A batsman cannot hit a ball twice to confuse fielders.

5. Points. There are four types of extra points No Ball: A no ball is called if the bowler oversteps the bowling crease or bowls a ball that is above the batsman’s waist (when it passes him, and before bouncing), or over his shoulder after a bounce. A no ball may also be called if the bowler is deemed to be throwing (if his elbow bends or straightens visibly as he delivers the ball). An extra run is awarded for a no ball and the ball must be bowled again. A no ball will be considered an illegal . Wide: (like a ball in baseball), this is when a bowl is delivered too wide in one direction for the batsman to hit the ball Byes & Leg Byes: If a legal delivery (i.e. a ball that is not a no ball or a wide ball) passes the batsman, the batsman can run and score, and this is declared a . If runs are scored after the ball hits any part of the batsman, excluding the bat or the hands holding the bat, they are declared leg byes. Byes will be recorded as runs for the team.

6. Playing the Game. The illustrated diagram on the first page shows the positions of the players at a pitch. Notice where the official stands, in regard to the two batsmen, the bowler, and the wicket-keeper. The other members of the fielding team can stand in any configuration at any time, as long as they stay outside the pitch.

- The wicket-keeper crouches behind the striker's wicket and the bowling crease. His/her job is to catch the ball should the striker miss or decline to hit the bowl. When the wicket-keeper successfully catches a ball, the striker is normally declared out. - The bowler starts behind the bowling crease, and bowls the ball before reaching the popping crease by moving forward and throwing the ball. A cricket bowl is always performed over-the-shoulder, with a completely straight arm. The ball should bounce on the pitch once before reaching the striker. - If the bowler steps past the popping crease during the bowl, the play is called a “no ball”. The batsman can still run as though they hit the ball, and can only be out by run out, handling the ball, obstructing the field, or hitting the ball twice.

Bowlers have different styles, similar to different pitching styles. The bowl must reach the striker at or below the waist. If it's higher, or it sails out past the sides of the pitch, it is called a “wide” ball, or a “no ball,” especially in cases where the ball isn't far from the striker but is too high to hit.

There are also different types of batting strategies. Once the striker has hit the ball, he and the non-striker can choose to run from end to end of the pitch, exchanging places. If both batsmen manage to run safely to the other side of the pitch, one run is declared, and one point is scored. If either batsman is declared out while trying to reach the far side of the pitch, no point is scored. - Batsmen don't have to run when they hit the ball. As long as they stay behind their popping lines, they're safe from most outs, so sometimes it's the best option. - Batsmen who successfully score a run can turn around immediately and try to score another run, as many times as they think they can get away with it before the fielding team can run one of them out. - If a batsman hits the ball out of bounds and the ball bounced at least once on its way out, 4 runs are awarded automatically. If the ball didn't bounce before it landed out of bounds, 6 runs are awarded instead.

If you have any further questions or want have a more visual understanding of the game, please refer to the NIRSA Cricket Connect Page. Also, feel free to reach out if there is anything that is unclear.

Thank you for reading, and have a blast playing cricket!

*This information was collected from https://www.wikihow.com/Play-Cricket and edited for clarity and length