Reserch On Cricket

Research on Cricket

The origins of cricket are unclear, and there are several theories on how it was started. One is that shepherds used to play it to pass time, one would stand in front of the wicket gate to the sheep fold, and another would bowl a stone or something at him, and he would have to hit it with his stick, which is now referred to as a crook, or bat. Cricket is a team sport for two teams of eleven players each. A full single game of cricket can last anywhere from an afternoon to several days. Although the game play and rules are very different, the basic concept of cricket is similar to the sport of baseball. Teams bat in successive innings and attempt to score runs, while the opposing team fields and attempts to bring an end to the batting team's innings. After each team has batted an equal number of innings, which is normally either one or two, depending on conditions chosen before the game, the team with the most runs at the end of the game wins.

The regulations on equipment in Cricket are very specific, the ball is a hard, cork and string ball, covered in leather and it's approximately the size of a baseball, also the circumference of the ball has to be between 224 and 229 millimeters, and the ball must weigh between 156 and 163 grams. The bat is made of willow and is flat on one side, which is the side that that bat makes contact with the ball and humped on the other side for strength while hitting the ball. The blade is a maximum width of 108 millimeters and a maximum length of 965 millimeters. The stumps are three wooden posts 25 millimeters in width and 813 millimeters in height, the three stumps must be 228 millimeters apart from each other. Bails are two wooden cross pieces that sit in grooves on top of the stumps, together the stumps and bails make up what is called a wicket. A cricket field is a roughly oval field of flat grass, ranging in size from about 90 to 150 meters across, surrounded by a fence or other obvious marker. There is no fixed size or shape for the field. In the centre of the field, and usually aligned along the long axis is the pitch, a carefully prepared rectangle of neatly mown and rolled grass over hard packed earth. It is marked with white lines, called creases. The pitch is the only part of the field with distinct measurements and sizing. The Bowling crease is 264 centimeters wide, the return crease is 244 centimeters long, the popping crease is 366 centimeters wide, and the length between the two sets of wickets is 2012 centimeters long.

The order in which the teams bat is determined by a coin toss before the game begins. The captain of the side winning the toss may choose to bat or field first. All eleven players of the fielding team go out to field; two players of the batting team go out to bat. The remainder of the batting team wait off the field for their turn to bat. The fielding team spreads out around the field to positions designed to stop runs being scored or to get batsmen out. One fielder is the bowler; he takes the ball and stands at a certain distance behind one of the wickets and bowls the ball to the batsmen. Another fielder is the wicket-keeper, who wears a pair of webbed gloves made for catching the ball and he also wears protective pads covering the shins. He squats behind the opposite wicket to try and stop the ball if the batter misses it. The rest of the fielders have no special equipment, they must catch the ball with their bare hands. One batsman stands behind each popping crease, near a wicket. The batsman farthest from the bowler is the striker, the other is the non-striker. The striker stands before his wicket, on or near the popping crease, in a certain batting stance. The non-striker simply stands behind the other popping crease, waiting to run if necessary. The bowler takes a run-up from behind the non-striker's wicket. He passes to one side of the wicket, and when he reaches the non-striker's popping crease he bowls the ball towards the striker, usually bouncing the ball once on the pitch before it reaches the batter. The striker may then attempt to hit the ball with his bat. If he misses it, the wicket-keeper will catch it and the ball is completed. If he hits it, the two batsmen may score runs by running back and forth to each wicket. When the runs are completed, the ball is also considered completed. When one bowler has completed six balls that creates an over. A different member of the fielding team is given the ball and bowls the next over from the opposite end of the pitch. The batsmen do not change ends, so the roles of striker and non-striker swap after each over. Any member of the fielding team may bowl, so long as no bowler delivers two consecutive overs. Once a bowler begins an over, he must complete it, unless injured or suspended during the over. Another possibility during a ball is that a batsman may get out. There are ten different methods of being out: caught out, if a fielder catches the ball on the field after the batsman has hit it with his bat. Bowled out, if the batsman misses the ball and it hits and breaks the wicket directly from the bowler's delivery. 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. Stumped, if a batsman misses the ball and in attempting to play it steps outside 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 batsman is attempting to take a run, or to return to his crease after an aborted run, and a fielder breaks that batsman's wicket with the ball while he is out of the crease. Handle the ball, if a batsman touches the ball with a hand not currently holding the bat, without the permission of the fielding side. Obstructing the field, if a batsman deliberately interferes with the efforts of fielders to gather the ball or affect a run out. Hit the ball twice, if a batsman hits a delivery with his bat and then deliberately hits the ball again. 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 gets out, the ball is dead immediately, the out batsman leaves the field, and the next batsman in the team comes in to bat. The not out batsman remains on the field. The order in which batsmen come in to bat in innings is not fixed. The batting order may be changed by the team captain at any time, and the order does not have to be the same in each innings. When ten batsmen are out, no new batsmen remain to come in, and the innings is completed with one batsman remaining not out. The roles of the teams then swap, and the team which fielded first gets to bat through an innings. When both teams have completed