Cricket is a sport that has fans all over the world. Some people are crazy about it, they live for it. Numerous tournaments and leagues are played all year round domestically or internationally. The origin of cricket goes way back to the 16th century and was first played in England. Cricket as known to us today started developing in the 19th century, with the International Cricket Council (ICC) being founded in 1909. There are three forms of cricket that are played – Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty 20 (T20).
Basic rules of cricket
No matter the form, the basic rules of cricket remain the same. Be it any league or tournament, all of them follow these basic rules of cricket:
- In each team, there are 11 players that actively participate in the match. Your team may have more players, but ultimately only the lineup of 11 players is the one that will definitely play in the match. In total 2 teams and 22 players participated in the match.
- Every cricket match has certain overs that are played. 1 Over has 6 balls that will be played. After the completion of the delivery of 6 balls, and over is considered complete. Every set of 6 deliveries forms an over.
- Professional tournaments have a fixed time period within which the match needs to be completed. The teams may be charged a penalty fee if the match runs overtime in their innings. Other than professional matches, the participating teams can decide upon the duration of the match and overs to be played.
- When a batsman hits the ball, it could land anywhere on the field. But if the ball happens to touch the boundary line or cross it, the batting team gets 4 runs for it.
- In cricket, runs are scored when the batsmen run between the two stumps. A run is awarded only when the batsman runs between the stumps with the bat in his hand. Many times a batsman may touch his bat to the stump line if he’s not gonna make it to the line in time; this also qualifies for a run.
- In case the fielder fails to catch the ball by the time the batsman has completed one run, he can keep running between the stumps to score more runs until the ball reaches the bowler.
- The umpire is the one who takes the call for who is out in a match. He reviews the gameplay and decides if a point is to be given and whether a player is out or not. Whatever the umpire decides is the final decision, it cannot be overthrown.
- A batsman is out when:
- a ball played by him is caught by the fielder
- he fails to reach the stumps before the bowler knocks the bells
- the wicket is hit by the bowler
- if the ball hits the batsman’s leg before the wicket
- The match ends if the set number of overs have been completed or the wicket of all 10 batsmen has been taken.
- The match comprises two innings, where both teams take turns bowling and batting.