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All sports have rules, or a code of conduct, but proper cricket conduct is especially important. Cricketers are expected to keep their cool in every situation, to always follow the rules and to respect their rivals for challenging them to be their very best.
Cricket is a very competitive, physical and fast sport, with plenty of action and drama. But above all it is about friendship and fair play.
"It's not cricket"
In England there is a saying, "It's not cricket," meaning somebody is breaking the rules or being unfair. Cricketers don't do that.
Batters and bowlers
Cricket is a bat-and-ball sport played by two teams of eleven players each. A cricket match is played on a grass field, roughly oval in shape. In the centre of the field is a flat strip, 66 feet (20.12 m) long, called a "pitch." A "wicket" stands at each end of the pitch. The wicket consists of three vertical elements, called "stumps," surmounted by two horizontal pieces, called "bails."
The teams take turns batting and fielding, just like in baseball. One big difference, though, is that in cricket two batters stand on the pitch at a time, one by each wicket. It is the batter's job to defend his wicket.
Baseball teams have pitchers; cricket teams have "bowlers". The bowler throws - or bowls - a ball (which is a little larger, heavier and harder than a baseball) from one wicket toward the wicket at the opposite end of the pitch.
The ball is allowed to bounce once or twice before reaching the opposite wicket, or it can be a "full toss" as in baseball. The batter at the striking end uses a flat-faced wooden bat to hit the ball away from the wicket.
Fielders
Spread out around the field are the other ten members of the bowler's team. Their purpose is similar to baseball fielders: Stop the ball from reaching the boundary, catch it, and throw the ball back into either one of the wickets to stop the batter scoring runs or create a run-out.
Running between wickets
After a batter hits the ball, both batters can run to exchange ends of the pitch. They can exchange ends repeatedly to score one, two or more runs. When one batter runs, the other must also run.
Boundaries
If the batter has hit the ball in the air so it passes over the boundary at the outer edge of the field, the batter can stop running and will receive six runs added to his score. If he has hit the ball so hard that it crosses the boundary, but it touches the ground on its way, the batter is awarded four runs.
How to get a batter out
There are five common ways to get a batter out:
- Caught - when the batter hits the ball in the air and a fielder catches it before it hits the ground.
- Bowled - when the bowler gets the ball past the batter's defense and it hits the stumps and knocks off the bails. The batter can also be bowled out if he deflects the ball onto the stumps from his bat or his leg pad.
- Leg before wicket - when the ball misses the bat, but hits the batters pads. If the umpire thinks the ball would have hit the wicket, he can call the batsman out.
- Run-out - When the batters are going for a run, but fall short of the batting crease - a line that's 4 ft 3 in (1.3 m) in front of each wicket - when the bails are knocked off the stumps by the fielding team.
- Stumped - A stumping happens when the batter has advanced down the pitch toward the bowler, misses the ball, and the player behind the stumps - the wicket keeper - knocks the bails off before the batter returns to his crease.
Innings
The batters stay in and keep accumulating runs until the fielding team gets them out. When all eleven batters on a team have completed their batting, it's called the end of the "innings." In test cricket, each team plays two innings. In one-day cricket, each team plays one innings. After the first team has completed its innings, the two teams change roles and the batting team becomes the fielding team.
Bowling a "maiden over"
The bowler has six bowls per "over." He delivers each of these bowls from one end of the pitch. After six bowls, a new bowler bowls an over or six deliveries, from the opposite end of the pitch. If the batter does not score any runs during an over, it is called a "maiden over."
In one-day cricket, the two teams agree on how many overs each will bowl. In test cricket there is no limit, but the match must end after five days or it is called a draw. In one-day cricket, the team with the most runs at the end of the day is the winner.
Illustrations supplied courtesy of England and Wales Cricket Board
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