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Cricket Basics

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world, followed by billions of fans across countries such as India, England, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, and the West Indies. However, for beginners, cricket can feel complex due to its unique rules, scoring system, and match formats.

This Cricket Basics guide is designed to explain the game from the ground up. Whether you are watching cricket for the first time or want a clear refresher, this page will help you understand how cricket works, how matches are played, and how teams score runs and take wickets.

WHAT IS CRICKET?

Cricket is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of eleven players each. The objective is simple:

One team bats to score runs
The other team bowls and fields to restrict runs and take wickets
Teams switch roles during the match
The team with the most runs wins

Cricket is played on a large oval-shaped field with a rectangular strip in the center called the pitch.

HOW A CRICKET MATCH WORKS

A cricket match is divided into innings.

One team bats while the other bowls
An innings ends when:
- All batters are out, or
- The allotted overs are completed (in limited-overs cricket)

After the first innings, teams swap roles.

THE CRICKET PITCH EXPLAINED

The pitch is the most important part of the field.

Length: 22 yards (20.12 meters)
At each end of the pitch are three wooden sticks called stumps
The stumps together form a wicket

The pitch affects:

Ball movement
Bounce
Match strategy

HOW RUNS ARE SCORED

Runs can be scored in several ways:

Running between the wickets

Batters run between the two wickets to score runs.

Boundaries

Four runs: Ball reaches the boundary after touching the ground
Six runs: Ball clears the boundary without bouncing

Extras

Runs awarded without a shot:

No-ball
Wide
Bye
Leg-bye

WHAT IS A WICKET?

A wicket can mean:

The set of stumps
The dismissal of a batter

Common ways a batter gets out:

Bowled
Caught
LBW (Leg Before Wicket)
Run Out
Stumped

OVERS & BALLS EXPLAINED

An over consists of 6 legal deliveries
One bowler bowls one over at a time
Bowlers rotate after each over

Overs control:

Match length
Bowling strategy
Field placements

BASIC PLAYER ROLES

Batsman

Scores runs and protects the wicket.

Bowler

Delivers the ball to dismiss batters.

Wicketkeeper

Stands behind the stumps and catches the ball.

All-Rounder

Can bat and bowl effectively.

CRICKET FIELD POSITIONS

Fielders are placed strategically to:

Stop runs
Take catches
Create pressure

Positions include:

Slip
Point
Cover
Mid-off
Mid-on