Cricket is a sport which has a huge fan following worldwide. It is a game with a set of rules and terminologies that you need to know beforehand. But watching it and playing cricket are two different things. Beginners should know when and where to begin so we will be outlining the major parts in this article.
Know the Basics
No one can begin a sport blindly without the rules. It is important to know the basics so that you do not break any rules unintentionally. It is also helpful to do your homework if you are going to be joining classes soon. Here are the basics you should know for starters:
• Cricket involves two teams with 11 players in each team. However, if there are just two people involved, they too can play the game.
• Officially, the game is played on a flat ground with close cropped grass. The playground is circular or oval with a pitch in the middle. Informally, cricket can be played in the backyard or an alley with makeshift boundaries.
• The two teams engage in a coin toss to know which team which bat or field. The winner gets to choose.
• The team which bats plays in pairs with both the batsmen at opposite ends of the pitches near the stumps. They score by running in between the wickets and touching base at the line in front of the wickets.
• Wickets are stumps which comprise three wooden sticks lined up vertically and thrust in the ground. The three posts are connected via smaller sticks balanced on top. These two smaller wooden sticks are called bails.
• The fielding team takes wickets and aims for a lower score to chase.
• Wickets can be taken by catching the ball, hitting the wickets directly, wicket-keeper hitting the stumps or the ball hitting the leg before wicket.
• There are three international formats of the game. One is of twenty overs, other is called one-day international or ODI and has 50 overs. Test cricket operates on different rules with no fixed overs.
• One over has six balls with repeated chances in case the baller does not ball according to set rules.
Know All the Equipment
If you have watched the matches, you must know the basic equipment required to play.
You would require a ball and a bat no matter where you are playing. Even in the most informal of scenarios, you will need these two things. In softball cricket or any other format, you will also require stumps.
Any store will supply you with good quality stumps and bails. The pitch needs to be well prepared for a good game which you will find on the ground of any cricket club. You can consult official resources to see more information.
Know the Functions
Now that you know the rules, it is time to be familiar with the functions of all the players and people present on the ground. There are 11 players on each team and the entire fielding team stays on the ground at any given time. Two batsmen from the batting team stay on the ground at the opposite end of the pitch.
Apart from these thirteen players, there are two umpires present on the ground at all times. So, a total of 15 people are on the ground in international matches. As a beginner, you will be choosing to either become a batsman or a bowler. The job of the umpires on the ground is to keep a close check on the players and whether they are following the rules.
The empires on the ground will be calling out the wickets and the boundaries aa and when they happen. If there is any confusion in the decision making, a third umpire can be called to help out. International matches have cameras so that the third umpire can make a fair decision when called for help.
Batting
The batting team has a single purpose: making runs. They can make runs by running between the wickets or by hitting the ball to cross the boundary. Boundaries give multiple rns at once which is why batsmen aim for it more than taking single runs. If the ball touches the boundary and crosses it, it gives four runs to the batting team.
If the batsman hits the ball in the air and it goes beyond the boundary without touching the rope on the ground, six runs are granted. The aim of the battle team is to make runs without losing wickets so that they can score as much as possible.
Bowling and Fielding
The fielding team will try the best to restrict the batsman in making runs. It is important for the bowlers to focus on taking wickets either by hitting the stumps or through catches.
The bowlers also should follow the rules of bowling. There is a wide ball and a no ball which should be avoided at all costs because it gives extra runs to the batting team.
Moreover, it is another disadvantage because that ball will not be counted and will have to be repeated. There are three different ways of taking wickets and the entire team works towards hitting as many wickets as possible. Fielders have to restrict the boundaries and also catch the ball if it is in the air.
The batsman will be out if the ball has been in the air ever since it went bad and directly ended up in the hands of the fielder. In case the bowler hits the leg of the batsman before the wicket, it will be declared as a dismissal of the batsman. If the batsman crosses the line in front of the stump and the wicket keeper catches the ball and hits the bails, it also classifies as a wicket.
The Takeaway
Once you start watching matches, you will learn a lot on your own. Cricket is a fun game to play and any beginner will enjoy the learning process.
