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Basic Rules
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Cricket
Basic Rules
 Information about Cricket Basics
What is Cricket?
The Field
Equipments
Weather
How To Score Runs
How To Get Out
The Two Forms Of Cricket
Limited Duration
Limited Overs
What is Cricket?
Many people seem to find cricket to be a confusing game, but it is really quite simple to understand. Cricket is a bat and ball based game, with some basic similarities to baseball/softball/rounders. The essence of the game is that members of one team (the batting side) try to score runs, while members of the other team (the bowling, or fielding, side) try to get them out . The first team gets as many runs as they can before they all get out (or before the maximum time expires), then the second team try to get more runs than the first team managed. To grasp the game, it is really a matter of understanding the processes involved. That is, how do players score runs? And how do they get out? Everything else is just details, techniques and variations.
The Field
A cricket field is a roughly elliptical field of flat grass, ranging in size from about 90 to 150 meters (100-160yards) across, bounded by an obvious fence or other marker. There is no fixed size or shape for the field, through large deviations from a low-eccentricity ellipse are discouraged. In the center of the field, and usually aligned along the axis of the ellipse, is the pitch, a carefully prepare rectangle of closely mown and rolled grass over hard packed earth. It is marked with white lines, called creases.
Equipments
  Cricket Ball: Hard, cork and string ball, covered with lather and join into two hemispheres by a seam, with the stitching slightly raised. Red balls are used in day matches and white balls are used in games played under artificial light at night.
Circumference = 224 – 229 mm (8.81 to 9.00 inches)
Weight = 156 – 163 gms (5.5 to 5.75 ounces).
Cricket Bat: Blade made of willow, flat on one side, humped on the other for strength, attached to a sturdy cane handle.
Width = 108 mm (4.25 inches)
Length = 965 mm (38 inches)
Wickets: There are two wickets-wooden structures made up of a set of three stumps topped by a pair of bails.
Stumps: Three are wooden posts with spikes extending from their bottom end. They are hammered in to the ground in an evenly spaced row.
Diameter = 25 mm (1 inch)
Height = 813 mm (32 inches)
Distance between outermost stumps = 228 mm (9 inches)
Weather
Adverse & Conditions: Play is suspended at the umpire’s direction in case of rain or bad light. Light rain is usually tolerated, through nothing heavier, because of the possibility of damage to the pitch. The pitch is covered with waterproof material to protect it. The batsman can also appeal for bad light if thy have difficulty in seeing the ball.
How To Score Runs
Scoring runs is a very similar process to that of baseball. Firstly, there are two batters at any time, who stand at opposing ends of a narrow strip in the middle of the playing field, called the pitch. The batter tries to hit the ball as it is bowled to him/her by the bowler. When they do hit it, they can run up and down the wicket to score runs. Each time the two batters cross and successfully reach the other end of the wicket, a run is scored to the batter who hit the ball. Multiple runs can also be scored, by hitting the ball all the way to the boundary of the playing field - four runs to reach it, and six if the ball lands over it without hitting the ground. There are also a number of ways a team can score runs as penalties for illegal types of bowling and so on.
How To Get Out
Caught: If a fielder catches the ball on the full after the batsman has hit it with his bat.
Bowled: If the batsman misses the ball and it hits and breaks the wickets directly from the bowler's delivery. He is also out bowled if the ball breaks the wicket after deflecting from his bat or body. The batsman is not out if the wickets do not break.
Leg Before Wicket: If the batsman misses the ball with his bat, but intercepts it with part of his body when it would otherwise have hit the wicket. If the ball bounces outside an imaginary line drawn straight down the pitch from the outside edge of leg stump, then the batsman can not be out LBW. But if the bats man attempts to play a shot at the ball with his bat (and misses) he may only be given out LBW.
Stumped: If the bats man misses the ball and in attempting to play it steps out side his crease, he is out stumped if the wicket-keeper gathers the ball and breaks the wicket with it before the batsman can ground part of his body or his bat behind his crease.
Run out: If a bats man is attempting to take a run, and a fielder breaks that batsman’s wicket with the ball while he is out of the crease. The fielder may either break the wicket with a hand which holds the ball, or with the ball directly it possible for the non-striker to be run out if the sticker hits the ball straight down the pitch towards the non-striker’s wicket. But the ball must touch a part of the non-striker’s body.
Hit wicket: If, attempting to hit a ball or taking of f for a first run, the batsman touches and breaks the wicket. This includes with the bat or dislodged pieces of the batsman’s equipment-even a helmet or spectacles! Handling the Ball: If batsman touches the ball with a hand not currently holding the bat, Without the permission of the fielding side. This does not include being hit on the hand by a delivery, or any other non-deliberate action.
Obstructing the Field: If a batsman deliberately interferes with the efforts of fielders to gather the ball or effect a run out. This does not include running a path between the fielder and the wicket so that the fielder can not through the stumps down with the ball, which is quite legal, but does include any deliberate attempt to swat the ball away.
Hit the Ball twice: if a batsman hits a delivery with his bat and then deliberately hits the ball again for any reason other than to defend his wicket from being broken by the ball. If the ball is bouncing or rolling around near the stumps, the batsman is entitled to knock it away so as to avoid being bowled, but not to score runs.
Timed Out: If a new batsman takes longer than two minutes, from the time the previous wicket falls to appear on the field. If a batsman is out caught, bowled, LBW, stumped, or hit wicket, the bowler is credited with taking the wicket. No single person is credited with taking a wicket if its falls by any other method.
The Two Forms of Cricket
Test Matches:The test matches played over five days, with six hours play each day. Each day’s play is divided into three sessions of two hours each, with a 40 minutes break down the first two sessions for lunch, and a 20 minutes tea break between the last two sessions. As a short drinks break is taken once an hour. The scheduled closed of play time is called stumps. Test matches are rarely played under artificial lighting. Usually 90 over are bowled during the day. Each team has two innings. If by the end of the final day’s play all the innings are not completed, the game is draw. The order of innings alternates except when the follow-on is enforced This happens if the second team to bat in the first innings scores 200 or more runs fewer than the first team. Test matches are played with a red cricket ball. A new ball is used for the beginning of each innings. The same ball must be used for the beginning of each innings, being replaced only in the following case:-
    a. The captain of the following team may elect to take a new ball at any time after 80 over have been bowled with the previous ball.
b. If the ball is lost, it is replaced.
c. If the ball is damaged, either by the stitching coming undone or the ball becoming clearly non-spherical, it is replaced.
One day International: In one day international each team gets only of 50 over. Each innings is restricted to a maximum number of 50 over. Each innings is complete at the end of the stipulated number of over, no matter how many batsmen are out. Whichever team scores the most runs wins. A tied score stands. There is no draw result. If the match is washed out, So that the innings are not played, the game is declared a no-result. Incase of rain interruption the number of over for each innings is recalculated so that thy will be the same.
Limited Duration
Limited duration games are played within a set time frame of four or five days, usually with two innings per team. The highest level of this form of the game, played between countries, is known as the Test Match. Presently there are ten test-playing nations: Australia, England, South Africa, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Limited duration games are also played at First Class level in many countries, with games usually played between states, counties or regions within a country. The limited duration form is generally regarded among cricket traditionalists as the more highly skilled version of the game, but this is certainly debatable.The basic order of play is as follows. The captains toss a coin to de
Limited Overs
Limited overs cricket is often also referred to as one day cricket . When played between countries, the games are referred to as one day internation- als (or ODIs). Currently, in addition to the ten test playing nations listed above,there are several teams involved in ODIs, including several that played in the last World Cup. These new emerging teams include countries such as Scotland, Kenya and The Netherlands. The basic concepts of cricket remain in the limited overs form of the game, but the format of play makes for a very different game, requiring different skills and strategies. The game is also often played at night (under lights), and a white ball is used, to aid visibility. In one day cricket, the length of the match is limited to 50, 55 or 60 overs per side, in one innings. However many runs a team makes when its overs are finished is its total, no matter how many wickets have been taken. However, if the side is all out before the overs are used up, the innings is finished and the opponents still get the full amount of overs to make their required runs. One day internationals often tend to be very exciting and close-finishing games, with large crowds and exciting atmospheres.

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