Cricket Rules
The Basics
- Cricket is played between two teams of 11 players each. There is also a reserve player for each team known as the twelfth man who is called into the game should a teammate become injured.
- One team is the batting team and the other team is the fielding team.
- The aim of the the game is to score runs when batting and when fielding, to get out, also known as dismiss, the batting team.
- One team will bat first and one team will field first. The batting team will try and score as many runs as possible in the allotted time whilst the bowling team will try and contain them by fielding the ball. The teams then swap and the second team batting will try and outscore the runs their opponents scored first.
SCORING RUNS
- The objective of the batsmen is to score runs
- Batsmen can score runs by running between the wickets to either end of of the pitch. Running from one end to other equates to 1 run.
- Batsmen can also score runs by hitting boundaries. A boundary scores either 4 or 6 runs
- A four is scored when the ball is hit past the outer boundary of the playing field after hitting the ground
- A six is scored when the ball is hit past the boundary before it hits the ground (on the full)
- Any score that has been physically ran by the batsmen does not count if four or six is scored, only the 4 or 6 runs will count depending on the boundary
- A 'no ball' can be declared for a variety of reasons
- If the bowler bowls from the wrong place
- When a dangerous ball is bowled
- When the ball bounces more than twice or rolls before reaching the batsman
- Batsmen can score runs off a no ball but cannot be out unless they are run out, handle the ball or obstruct the field
- A Wide Ball will be declared if the umpire thinks the batsman did not have a reasonable opportunity to score off the delivery
- A wide delivery will add one run to the batting team and any runs scored by the batsman
DISMISSALS
Batsmen can be given out for a variety of reasons with the most common being:
- Being bowled out is when ball bowled by the bowler hits the batsman's stumps
- Being caught is when a fielder catches the ball without it bouncing after the batsman has hit it
- Leg Before Wicket (LBW) is when the ball hits the batman's pads and obstructs its line towards the wickets
- Being stumped is when the wicket-keeper strikes the stumps with their gloves with ball in hand if the batsman is outside of their crease
- Being run out is when the batsman is outside of his crease and the ball strikes the wickets
BOWLING RULES
- Bowlers must keep their bowling arm fully extended (straight) while bowling
- Bowlers bowl 6 balls at a time. This is known as an over.
- All balls must be bowled from behind the crease line
- If a ball is bowled illegally, the umpire will deem it a no-ball
- If a ball is bowled wide, the umpire will deem the ball a wide
UMPIRE SIGNALS