Cricket is a bat and ball sport in which two teams of eleven players, play against each other. It is very similar to baseball in the sense that the player of one team hits the ball with a bat and tries to get runs, while the other team has to prevent it. It is played on a grass field, more or less oval, whose extension should not be less than that of a soccer field.
It is a very popular sport in many countries like Australia, England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and other countries in Asia and the Indian continent. It is one of the national sports of the United Kingdom and especially popular in the 53 countries that make up the British Commonwealth of Nations.
The main objective in cricket games is to make runs, quite similar to those of baseball, in times determined by innings or innings that usually range from one to two and that according to the rules of some leagues have time-outs or breaks for technical guidance. On the other hand, the development of cricket matches is done mainly in a field of dimensions similar to those of a baseball field, this with the purpose that the slippery ball has a large field of action and allows the game to be done with greater freedom.
How is Cricket played?
The batting team is the one that scores the runs. The batsmen play in pairs, one at one end of the cricket field (pitch) from where the ball is batted (striker end) and the other from where the ball is bowled (non-striker end). The batsman currently at the striker end must hit the ball as far as possible to allow time for both batsmen to run to the other end before the ball is returned to either end. The act of both batters reaching the other end produces a run. If the ball is batted far enough, more runs can be scored going back and forth to the other end until the ball is returned. The batter who ends up at the striker end is the one who faces the next ball.
The pitching team tries not only to restrict the number of runs but also to remove the opposing team’s batsmen. The ball is thrown from the non-striker end by the pitcher and is picked up by a fielder. A set of six pitches constitutes an over. Once a pitcher finishes an over, another pitcher takes over and throws another over from the other end of the pitch; the batters remain on the side they were left on. Each time a batter is removed (out), a new batter comes in to pair with the batter who has not been removed.
The inning ends when it is not possible to form another pair; usually when ten batters are out of the eleven batters. One batter is not out. Once the inning is over, the roles are switched and the team that bowled becomes the batter and vice versa.
