Cricket is a bat and ball team game.
A cricket match is played between two teams of 11 players.
One team is on the field with one player bowling the ball.
The other team has two batters trying to stop a wicket being hit.
A wicket is 3 short poles with small bridges called bails on top.
Cricket games can be for men or women.
Cricket is a team game using bat and ball. It is played in world competitions and in many countries in local competitions, in schools, on beaches, in parks and even in the streets!
A country cricket match. ©Getty Images
Cricket pitch and wickets
Cricket is played on a pitch with wickets at each end.
The ball has hit the wicket and one of the bails is flying off. The batter is out. Image©Dreamstime
The pitch is a rectangular strip between the wickets. The wickets are made up of three 71.1 centimetre high wooden stumps, with two wooden bails placed like a bridge across the top.
The game of cricket
A cricket match is between two teams of eleven players. Umpires at each end of the pitch make sure that the players obey the rules of the game.
The cricket ball hits the stumps behind the player’s back. The bails go flying. The player is out! ©iStock
The game begins with a coin toss and the winning captain chooses to bat or field. Two batters defend their wickets against the fielding team's bowlers.
When one batter hits the ball, each batter runs to the opposite wicket to score a run. If the batter hits the ball to the boundary, a four is scored, meaning four runs are scored without the batters having to run. A six is scored if the ball goes over the boundary 'on the full' or without touching the ground.
The bowler runs along and bowls the ball. A batter is waiting at the other end, ready to hit the ball. ©Dreamstime
The bowler bowls a series of six deliveries, called an over. The bowler and the fielders try to get the batters out by knocking down the wicket with the ball, or by catching a hit ball. A batter is also out if the ball hits their pads while they are in front of their stumps; leg before wicket (LBW).
When bowled by a fast bowler, the hard ball can travel at a speed of up to 161 kph (kilometres per hour)!
When a player is out, another player takes their place. The game continues until ten batters are out, which is the end of an innings. Then the opposing team has its innings.
The team that scores the most runs wins.
There are cricket competitions for teams of both men and women ©iStock
History of cricket
Cricket-like games, called club ball and stool ball, were played in England more than 500 years ago. In club ball, a batter used a stick to hit a leather-covered ball. In stool ball, a stool was used as a wicket. The bowler tried to hit the stool with the ball and the batter hit the ball using a bare hand.
A modern addition to the game: a helmet with face guard protects the batter from being injured if hit by the hard ball, which travels at quite a speed when bowled. Image©Dreamstime
Today, international cricket is controlled by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
These countries play international cricket: England, Australia, West Indies, South Africa, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
It’s a good idea to get information from more than one source!
Read about the rules of cricket and how to play the game:
http://www.kidspot.co.nz/article+487+60+Cricket.htm
Read some quick facts and watch a video of the science involved in the game of cricket
https://easyscienceforkids.com/the-science-of-cricket-video-for-kids/
Read the basic rules of the game
https://www.rookieroad.com/cricket/basic-rules-for-kids/
