Cricket is played by two teams of 11. The batting team scores runs by hitting the ball and running between the wickets, while the other team tries to get the batters out.
Basics
- Two teams of 11 players.
- Played on an oval field with a 22 yard pitch and two wickets.
- Teams take turns to bat and bowl.
Scoring
Batters score runs by hitting the ball and running between wickets, or by hitting a four or a six.
Getting out
Bowled, caught, leg before wicket (LBW), run out and stumped.
Formats
- Test: up to 5 days.
- One Day International: 50 overs per side.
- Twenty20: 20 overs per side.
Teams and field
Two teams of 11 players play on an oval field with a 22 yard (20.12 meter) pitch in the center. One team bats and the other bowls and fields.
Basic play
A bowler delivers a ball to a batter, who tries to hit it and run between two sets of three wooden stumps and two bails, called wickets, to score runs.
Ways to score
- Run: each completed run between the wickets is 1.
- Four: the ball crosses the boundary after touching the ground.
- Six: the ball crosses the boundary on the full.
- Extras: wides, no balls, byes and leg byes.
Ways to be out
Bowled, caught, leg before wicket (LBW), run out, stumped, hit wicket and others. After 10 wickets, an innings ends.
Overs
An over is six legal balls delivered by one bowler. Another bowler takes the next over from the other end.
Test cricket
Played over up to 5 days, with two innings per team. The result can be a win, loss, draw or tie.
One Day Internationals
Each team bats once for up to 50 overs. Matches last about 7 to 8 hours.
Twenty20
Each team has 20 overs, and a game lasts about 3 hours. The Indian Premier League is among the most popular T20 competitions.
Popularity
Cricket has around 2.5 billion fans worldwide according to the International Cricket Council, mostly in South Asia, Australia, England, the Caribbean and Africa.
Equipment
A bat of willow wood, a hard leather ball weighing about 156 to 163 grams, pads, gloves and helmets.
The Laws
The Laws of Cricket are maintained by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London.
Scoring and dismissals
Cricket is played between two teams of 11 on an oval field with a 22 yard (20.12 meter) pitch in the center, with a wicket of three stumps and two bails at each end. The batting team scores runs by hitting the ball and running between the wickets, or by hitting boundaries: four runs if the ball crosses the boundary after bouncing and six if it clears the boundary in the air. A batter is out if bowled, caught, leg before wicket (LBW), run out, stumped or hit wicket. An over consists of six legal deliveries from one bowler.
Formats and popularity
Test cricket is played over up to five days with two innings per side, One Day Internationals have 50 overs per side, and Twenty20 (T20) has 20 overs per side and lasts about 3 hours. The sport is governed by the International Cricket Council, and the Indian Premier League is among the world’s richest leagues. Cricket has an estimated global following of around 2.5 billion fans, mostly in South Asia. It will return to the Olympics at the 2028 Los Angeles Games in the T20 format. Equipment includes a bat, a hard leather ball, pads, gloves and helmets.
Based on data from the International Cricket Council and the Marylebone Cricket Club
