Explain Cricket to Me

[dyehard5]

I love baseball and see similarities in cricket. It looks fun. Can someone break this game down to me in a short paragraph?

[Alice Bluegown]

The Rules of Cricket
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side thats been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay all out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!

First saw this printed on a tea towel, no idea who wrote it but I've always loved it - Alice

[John_Doe]

I think Alice explained it a bit, but here goes also:

You have two teams of 11 players (men or women). One side fields (like in baseball) and you have 2 batsman. The field is oval where in the middle their is the 'main pitch area'. This is a small horizontal strip of grass where the bowling/batting takes place. One of each bastman IN take sides, one at bowlers end, one at batting end. Each end has wickets (like 3 sticks up and two small bails of wood fixed to the top).

The bowler runs up and bowls the ball (different ways to bowl, but the ball has to bounce on the floor once on it's travel to the batsman usually by most, but you can get them where doesnt bounce at all by some bowlers, but at any speed, so get fast bowlers, and slow ones, and those that can make a ball turn after boucing to catch batsman out).

The batsman facing the ball has to hit the ball anywhere, in or out of the fielding oval. If the ball is hit, and they can run, then the two batsman swap places, so one at bowlers end runs to batting side, and vice versa etc, and can do this a number of times per ball played, depending on how many runs you can make. One run equals the batsman at bowlers end arriving at the batting end. Returning would equal 2 runs, again 3 runs etc. The one who originally faced the bowler is the one who picks up the number of runs against their name (the bowler running with him does not get any runs, until he faces the bowler and then makes runs)

If the batsman facing hits the ball out of the ground and it hits the ground on the way to reach the end of the oval pitch, then that is 4 runs automatically and dont have to run at all. If the ball is hit in the air and doesnt touch the ground before it arrives outside the oval pitch area, then that is 6 runs.

If the batsman hits the ball in the air, and doesnt touch the ground and a fielder out in the pitch area, or even bowler catches the ball, then that batter is out for however many runs he has made. If the batsman are running and havent reached the wickets end yet either both, or just one, and the ball is throwing by a fielder and hits the wickets and knocks the 'bails' off the top of the stumps then that batsman is OUT. If a bowler hits the stumps and knocks bails off without the batsman touching the ball as its bowled to him, then that batsman is OUT also.

This carries on until all 11 men have been in play, and only 1 man is left with 10 men out and that is end of innings. The team that bowled, are then in to bat next, and the batting side originally now bowl and field. In most games you get 1 innings each, which can last a day or more. Test Matches you get 2 innings each, and your scores combined, and the winning team is one who has most combined runs scored over two innings, which lasts for a maximum of 5 days.

Not sure if Ive confused you now, but thats the basics.

[niteowluk2003]

The best explanation of cricket I ever heard was as follows.

There are two sides one that's in and one that's out in the field. the team that's in sends out two batsman who are in until they are out and then they have to come in. When ten such batsman have been in and out the side that is out comes in and the side in goes out that is until; the side now in has sent out its eleven batsman to be in until out. AND THAT IS CRICKET.....

[John_Doe]

You forgot along with all the ins and outs, "and then they shake it all about" lol

Nice explanation though, although lost me after the first in and out.

[shady-one]

And someone questioned baseball being boring in another forum

[espana]

Cricket Warm sunday afternoons on the village green warm beer cold tea and cucumber sandwiches the sound of leather on willow.

[gary9998]

Cricket needs to be played or watched at length in order to understand the fundamentals. The biggest fundamental areas where it differs from baseball is that there are a wide range of ways to bowl (instead of pitch), different strokes to play when batting and places on the field to stand.

You can play cricket in your backyard with just two of you and every ball can be wildly different from the others, giving great variety in the simplest game. In baseball the variations in pitching, batting are much more subtle and I think fielding is pretty much standard for a whole game.

[frankuk]

Although I'm a brit I'd sooner watch baseball than cricket any day. Ever since I was a kid I've found it so boring to watch that I have never even attempted to play it.

[Landy]

Cricket "An infallible cure for insomnia!" I nearly watched 10 minutes of it once and my brother was the wicket keeper.

[yumfun]

Think of it as baseball, with a flat rather than a round bat. There is a target (3wooden stumps {at either end}) to aim at. The aim of the batsman (there are 2 {one at each end}) is to hit the ball and score runs (they run to either end), by running once, twice or three times. A ball hitting the ground before crossing the boundary is 4 runs. If it crosses without grounding, it is 6. The batsman can be out by the ball hitting the stumps (bowled), being caught (without the ball touching the ground), being run out or stumped (ball hitting stumps when batsman not in his ground). If the batsman misses the ball with his bat and it hits his leg (and would have hit the stumps), that is also out - leg before wicket (LBW).
The bowler (pitcher) bowls the ball, which must not be above waist high. The ball usually bounces before it gets to the batsman. The ball can bounce head high (at speeds up to 90mph. There are fast bowlers and spin bowlers. When a spinner bowls, the ball can change direction when it hits the ground, and is difficult for the batsman. Because spinners bowl slowly (50-60 mph) the batsman can try hitting out, but it is generally risky.
There is a lot more to it, but that's it in a nutshell. The game consists of "overs". An "over" is 6 legal deliveries. Test cricket (the purest {and slowest}) is played over 5 days, and is attritional. Each side bats twice. 50 over cricket lats for 1 day. Each side bats once. 20 over cricket is fast and furious. Each side bats once, and the game lasts for around 3 and a half hours. England are Test and 20 over world champions, while India hold the 50 over cup. Any questions - please ask. I hope that helps.

[justinInaam]

Cricket is the Best game in this World