Cricket - Introduction
Cricket rules are not that complicated to understand. Cricket involves five basic equipment - the ball, the bat, the wickets, stumps, and the bails. There are three main forms of cricket played at the international level – Test cricket, One-day international (ODI), and Twenty20 (T20) cricket. Test cricket consists of two innings per team, played over five days; while ODI and Twenty20 consist of a single innings per team. In Twenty20 and ODI matches, after the completion of both innings, the team that scored the most runs is declared the winner. In Test cricket, the winner is declared after totalling the net runs scored by the two teams in their two batting innings.
Cricket is played with two teams of 11 players each. Each team takes turns batting and playing the field, as in baseball. In cricket, the batter is a batsman and the pitcher is a bowler. The bowler tries to knock down the bail of the wicket. A batsman tries to prevent the bowler from hitting the wicket by hitting the ball. Two batsmen are on the pitch at the same time. The batsmen try to score ‘runs’. This is done by hitting the ball and running to the other end of the pitch before the fielder catches the ball and throws it back. The batters can run after the ball is hit. A run is scored each time they change places on the pitch. The team with the highest number of runs (typically in the hundreds) wins the match. A score of 6 runs is scored when a ball is hit out of the field on a fly, while 4 runs are scored with a ball hit out of the field on a bounce.
The wicket is the wooden frame consisting of three vertical members (stumps) and two horizontal ones (bails) resting across their tops. The bowler tries to get the ball past the batsman to dislodge the bails, rendering the batsman out. The bowler delivers the ball, overarm, at one of the batsmen who will try and hit the ball to score runs. One run is scored each time the batsmen cross and reach the set of stumps at the other end of the pitch. Four runs can be scored if the ball reaches the perimeter of the field or six runs if crosses the perimeter without bouncing.
The evolution of the wicket has been very gradual, and the history of it is very obscure, since different types of wickets seem to have existed simultaneously. In 1817 the dimensions now in use were finally settled, three stumps 27 in. high, and a wicket 8 in. wide. Larger wickets have occasionally been used by way of handicap or experiment. The distance between the wickets seems always, or at least as far back as 1700, to have been 22 yds.—one chain.
The wickets are pitched opposite and parallel to one another at a distance of 22 yds.; the "bowling crease" being marked with whitewash on the turf on a line with the stumps 8 ft. 8 in. in length, with short "return creases" at right angles to it at each end; but the "popping crease," marked parallel to the wicket and 4 ft. in front of it, is deemed of unlimited length. The captains of the opposing sides toss for choice of innings, and the winner of the toss, though occasionally, owing to the condition of the ground or the weather prospects, electing to put his adversaries in first, as a general rule elects for his own side to bat first. The captain of the batting side sends his eleven (or whatever the number of his team may be) in to bat in any order he thinks best, and much judgment is used in deciding what this order shall be.
Two batsmen with strong defensive powers and good nerve are usually selected to open the innings, the most brilliant run-getters immediately following them, and the weakest batsmen going in last. As there must always, except in the obsolete single-wicket cricket, be two batsmen in together, it follows that when ten of the side (in a side of eleven) have been put out, one of the final pair must be "not out"; that is to say, his innings is terminated without his getting out because there is none of his side left to become his partner. The batsman who is thus "not out" is said to "carry his bat," a phrase that recalls a period when two bats sufficed for the whole side, each retiring batsman leaving the implement on the ground for the use of his successor, till at the close of the innings the " not out " man carried it back to the tent or pavilion.
It should be observed that the term "wicket" is used by cricketers in a number of different senses. Besides being the name given to the set of three stumps with their two bails when pitched for a match, it is in an extended sense applied to that portion of the ground, also called the ," pitch," on which the stumps are pitched, as when it is described as being "a fast wicket," a "sticky wicket" and so forth. It also in several idiomatic expressions signifies the getting out of a batsman and even the batsman himself, as in the phrases: " Grace lost his wicket without scoring," " Grace went in first wicket down," "when Grace got out England lost their best wicket," " England beat Australia by two wickets.'
The umpires are required to decide questions arising in the course of play and to call the "overs," the "over" being a series of successive deliveries of the ball (usually six) by the bowler from one end of the pitch, the rest of the " out " side, or fielders, being stationed in various positions in the field according to well-defined principles. When an "over" has been bowled from one end a different bowler then bowls an " over " from the opposite end, the alternation being continued without interruption throughout the innings, and the bowlers being selected and changed from time to time by the captain of their side at his discretion. At the end of every over the fielders " change over" or otherwise rearrange their places to meet the batting from the other end. An over from which no runs are made off the bat is called a "maiden." A "run " is made when the two batsmen change places, each running from his own to the opposite wicket without being " run out." The aim of the batting side is to make as many runs as possible, while the object of the fielding side is to get their opponents out, and to prevent their making runs while in.
There are nine ways in which the batsman, or " striker," can be put out. Of these the following five are the most important. (1) The striker is " bowled " out if the bowler hits the wicket with the ball, when bowling, and dislodges the bail; (2) he is "caught " out if the ball after touching his bat or hand be held by any member of the fielding side before it touches the ground; (3) he is " stumped " out if the wicket-keeper dislodges the bail with the ball, or with his hand holding the ball, at a moment when the striker in playing at the ball has no part of his person or bat in contact with the ground behind the popping crease, i.e. when the batsman is "out of his ground"; (4) he is out "l.b.w." (leg before wicket) if he stops with any part of his person other than his hand, or arm below the elbow, a ball which in the umpire's judgment pitched straight between the wickets and would have bowled the striker's wicket; (5) if when the batsmen are attempting to make a run a wicket is put down (i.e. the bail dislodged) by the ball, or by the hand of any fieldsman holding the ball, at a moment when neither batsman has any part of his person or bat on the ground behind the popping crease, the nearer of the two batsmen to the wicket so put down is " run out." The remaining four ways in which a batsman may be dismissed are (6) hit wicket, (7) handling the ball, (8) hitting the ball more than once " with intent to score," and (9) obstructing the field.
The positions of the fieldsmen are those which experience proves to be best adapted for the purpose of saving runs and getting the batsmen caught out. During the middle of the 19th century these positions became almost stereotyped according to the pace of the bowler's delivery and whether the batsmen were right or left handed. A certain number of fielders stood on the " on" side, i.e. the side of the wicket on which the batsman stands, and a certain number on the opposite or " off " side, towards which the batsman faces. "Point" almost invariably was placed square with the striker's wicket some ten or a dozen yards distant on the "off" side; "cover point" to the right of "point" (as he is looking towards the batsman) and several yards deeper; " mid on " a few yards to the right of the bowler, and " mid off " in a corresponding position on his left, and so forth. Good captains at all times exercised judgment in modifying to some extent the arrangement of the field according to circumstances, but in this respect much was learnt from the Australians, who on their first visit to England in 1878 varied the positions of the field according to the idiosyncrasies of the batsmen and other exigencies to a degree not previously practised in England.
The perfection of wicket-keeping displayed by the Australian, McCarthy Blackham (b. 1835), taught English cricketers that on modern grounds the "long stop" could be altogether dispensed with; and this position, which in former days was considered a necessary and important one, has since been practically abolished. In many matches at the present day, owing to the character of modern bowling, no more than a single fieldsman is placed on the "on " side, while the number and positions of those "in the slips," i.e. behind the wicket on the " off " side, are subject to no sort of rule, but vary according to the nature of the bowling, the state of the ground, or any other circumstances that may influence the judgment of the captain of the fielding side. Charts such as were once common, showing the positions of the fielders for fast, slow and medium bowling respectively, would therefore to-day give no true idea of the actual practice; and much of the skill of modern captaincy is shown in placing the field.
The score is compiled by runs made by the batsman and by the addition of "extras," the latter consisting of "byes," "legbyes," " wides " and " no-balls." All these are included in the designation " runs," of which the total score is composed, though neither " wides " nor " no-balls " involve any actual run on the part of the batsmen. They are called by the umpire on his own initiative, in the one case if the bowler's delivery passes the batsman beyond the reach of his bat (" wide "), and in the other if he delivers the ball without having either foot touching the ground behind the "bowling crease" and within the "return crease," or if the ball be jerked or thrown instead of being bona fide " bowled." "Wides " and " no-balls " count as one " run" each, and all " extras " are added to the score of the side without being credited to any individual batsman. The batsman may, however, hit a " no-ball " and make runs off it, the runs so made being scored to the striker's credit instead of the "no-ball" being entered among the "extras." The batsman may be "run out " in attempting a run off a " no-ball," but cannot be put out off it in any other way. "Byes " are runs made off a ball which touches neither the bat nor the person of the batsman," leg-byes" off a ball which, without touching the bat or hand, touches any other part of his person. With the exception of these " extras" the score consists entirely of runs made off the bat.
Batting is the most scientific feature of the game. Proficiency in it, as in golf and tennis, depends in the first instance to a great Batting. extent on the player assuming a correct attitude for making his stroke, the position of leg, shoulder and elbow being a matter of importance; and although a quick and accurate eye may occasionally be sufficient by itself to make a tolerably successful run-getter, good style can never be acquired, and a consistently high level of achievement can seldom be gained, by a batsman who has neglected these rudiments. Good batting consists in a defence that is proof against all the bowler's •craft, combined with the skill to seize every opportunity for making runs that the latter may inadvertently offer. If the batsman's whole task consisted in keeping the ball out of his wicket, the accomplishment of his art would be comparatively simple; it is the necessity for doing this while at the same time he must prevent the ball from rising off his bat into the air in the -direction of any one of eleven skilfully-placed fielders, each eager to catch him out, that offers scope for the science of a Grace, a MacLaren or a Trumper. In early days when the wickets were low and the ball was trundled along the ground, the curved bats of the old pictures were probably well adapted for hitting, defence being neglected; but when the height of the wickets was raised, and bowlers began to pitch the ball closer to the batsman so that it would reach the wicket on the first bound, defence of the wicket became more necessary and more difficult. Hence the modern straight-bladed bat was produced, and a more scientific method of batting became possible.
Batting and bowling have in fact developed together, a new form of attack requiring a new form of defence. One of the first principles a young batsman has to learn is to play with a " a straight bat " when defending his wicket against straight balls. This means that the whole blade of the bat should be equally opposite to the line on which the ball is travelling towards him, in order that the ball, to whatever height it may bound from the ground, may meet the bat unless it rises altogether over the batsman's hands; the tendency of the untutored cricketer being on the contrary to hold the bat sloping outwards from the handle to the point, as the golf-player holds his "driver," so that the rise of the ball is apt to carry it clear of the blade. Standing then in a correct position and playing with a straight bat, the batsman's chief concern is to calculate accurately the " length " of the ball as soon as he sees it leave the bowler's hand. The " length " of the ball means the distance from the batsman at which it pitches, and "good length" is the first essential of the bowler's art. The distance that consitutes "good length " is not, however, to be defined by precise measurement; it depends on the condition of the ground, and on the reach of the batsman.
The fundamental law as to the proper mode of the bowler's delivering the ball is that the ball must be bowled, not thrown or jerked. When bowling underhand along the ground was superseded by "length bowling," it was found that the ball might be caused, by jerking, to travel at a pace which on the rough grounds was considered dangerous; hence the law against jerking, which was administered practically by chalking the inside of the bowler's elbow; if a chalk mark was found on his side, the ball was not allowed as fair. The necessity of keeping the elbow away from the side led gradually to the extension of the arm horizontally and to round-arm bowling, the invention of which is usually attributed to John Wills (or Willes; b. 1777) of Kent and Sussex. Nyren, however, says "Tom Walker (about 1700) began the system of throwing instead of bowling now so much the fashion".
Whatever the pace of bowling, accuracy is the essential point, or, more correctly, the power of accurately varying pace, pitch and direction, so that the batsman is never at peace. If the bowler is a mere machine, the batsman soon becomes his master; but the question as to which of the two is supreme depends very largely on the condition of the turf, whether it be hard and true, soft and wet, hard and rough or soft and drying: the first pair of conditions favour the batsmen, the second pair the bowler.
On the rough and fiery pitches of earlier days, on which a "long stop " was indispensable, the behaviour of the ball could not be reckoned upon by the batsman with any degree of confidence. The first ball of an " over " might be a " shooter," never rising as much as an inch off the ground, the next might bound over his head, and the third pursue some equally eccentric course. But on the best grounds of to-day, subject to the well-understood changes due to weather, the bound of the ball is so regular as to be calculable with reasonable certainty by the batsman. The result has been that in fine weather, when wickets are true and fast, bowlers have become increasingly powerless to defeat the batsmen. In other words the defence has been strengthened out of proportion to the attack. Bowlers have consequently to a great extent abandoned all attempt to bowl the wicket down, aiming instead at effecting their purpose by bowling close to but clear of the wicket, with the design of getting the batsman to give catches. Many batsmen of the stubbornly defensive type, known in cricket slang as " stonewallers," retaliated by leaving such balls alone together, or stopping them deliberately with the legs instead of the bat.
These tactics caused the game to become very slow; over after over was bowled without an attempt being made to score a run and without apparent prospect of getting a wicket. This not only injured the popularity of the game from the spectator's point of view, but, in conjunction with the enormous scores that became common in dry seasons, made it so difficult to finish a match within the three days to which first-class matches in England are invariably limited, that nearly 70% of the total number of fixtures in some seasons were drawn.
Vast differences exist in the nature of different grounds, and in the manner in which they are affected by climatic conditions. Some grounds dry much more quickly than others, and a knowledge of their peculiarities has to be taken into account in making a choice of innings. Granted good weather and fast wickets, there is no difficulty in deciding what to do; the difficulty only appears when the wickets are wet. Under these circumstances several important points demand consideration. The condition of the ground before the rainfall, the heaviness of the fall itself, the amount of subsequent sunshine, and the extent to which it has affected the turf, have all to be taken into account.
When, on the other hand, a considerable amount of rain has fallen, and penetrated to some depth below the surface, a problem of more difficulty presents itself. At first such a wicket is easy. The ball cuts through the turf and consequently keeps straight, and though run getting is a slow business, it is easy to maintain a defensive attitude, and to wait for the loose balls which must occasionally come from bowlers "labouring under serious disadvantages. If there is no prospect of sunshine, it is wise to take first innings, for the ground never becomes difficult. If, however, there is a prospect of bright sunshine there is a danger that the wicket may be reduced to that condition which delights the bowler's heart, and makes the most undaunted batsman quail.
The variety of wicket which is known as the caked or sticky wicket is generally produced by heavy rainfall overnight and a fierce sunshine in the morning. Under these conditions the batsman is completely at the bowler's mercy. The latter has a prime opportunity of exhibiting all his puzzling tricks, and aided by the sticky condition of the turf, can make the ball perform the strangest and most unexpected antics. Then it is that the ball “speaks,” and that, too, in language far from pleasant to the batsman's ears. On such a wicket it is always safe policy to make one's opponents bat first; on the principle that the condition of the turf cannot possibly be worse from the batsman's point of view, while there is a possibility of its improvement.
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