Dynamic Yet Consistent

Today much of the world witnessed one of the greatest cricket matches of all time with England winning the ICC World Cup for the first time. The game featured two well balanced teams and multiple times the fate of the game came down to a single delivery. In the end, everything hinged on the last ball thrown and culminated with the cricket equivalent of Game 7 of the World Series with the winning run being thrown out at the plate with bases loaded, a full count and two outs. It was simply amazing. My greatest regret is that so many of my American friends could not take in such an incredible sporting event.

So… I am publishing a write up I did many years ago that explains the game of cricket in simple terms. First, let me admit that I am certainly not an expert on cricket, but after seven years in Africa following the Proteas of South Africa, I am now a huge fan. It took me a couple days of watching a tournament with a friend and asking a bunch of annoying questions to be able to “get it” and much longer to appreciate the nuance, but it was well worth it. There is nothing else like it because so often the tension constantly builds and the entire affair swings and pivots on essential plays in the closing period.

So for those who are interesting, here is my crash course guide to understanding cricket in 10 easy steps:

1. When watching, remember it is more about what the batter is doing than what the bowler (thrower) is doing. I used to think the main point was to knock down the wicket (sticks) behind the batter, but instead the main point is to pick up runs.
2. There are two sets of wickets separated by 20 meters and at any given time, two batters that stand opposite each other. The one having the ball delivered to him is considered “on strike.” Once the ball is hit, the batters can pick up runs by both simultaneously running back and forth between the wickets (switching sides)
3. The cricket field is usually a giant oval. If the ball is hit to the boundary is is automatic 4 runs. If it goes over the boundary in the air it is 6 runs.
4. Game play in cricket is similar to what baseball would be like if one team batted all 9 of their innings in a row and then the opposing team batted theirs. So what happens is one team sets a score and then the other team has to chase it.
5. The game is divided into innings and overs. An innings (ends with an “s” in the singular as well) is one team’s session at bat. An over is a set of six bowls (throws) thrown by one bowler. After each over, the bowler switches out and there is a limit to how many overs each bowler can throw so you see a lot of diversity in throwing style. The number of overs depends on the format of cricket being played. More on that later.
6. A batter remains in the game until they are out. In cricket an out is called a wicket and can occur in a number of ways:
   • A batter’s hit is caught in the air by a fielder.
   • When running across to the other wicket, the fielders are able to knock down the wickets before the runner gets there (similar to being thrown out in baseball).
   • The bowler is able to throw around the batter and hit the wicket.
   • The batter is hit by the ball (without making contact with the bat) and it is determined that ball would have hit the wickets (called “leg before wicket.”).
   • There are a couple others, but they are rare.
7. There are eleven men on a team. When one man gets out, the next man comes in and you bat in order until you are out of players (10 wickets) or out of overs. So you put your best batters first, and it is conceivable that one batter could play the entire innings.
8. There are three main forms of cricket, largely distinguished by the number of overs per innings. The classic form is called Test cricket and it lasts several days because each team bats until they are all out and they also play two full innings apiece with an aggregate score (I still struggle to follow this form of the game). The most exciting form to watch is called T20 because it is limited to just 20 overs per side (120 bowls) and lasts about 3 hours. This is not only more fast paced, but it encourages more aggressive play with lots of boundaries hit. There is also a form called ODI (one day international) that is limited to 50 overs.
9. The game is all about momentum : which batter is hot, which bowler is getting beat up on, how quick is the defense picking up wickets. Things can change very quickly. If you want to get a feel for it the game at its best, just tune in for the last quarter of a T20 match. At that point the first team would have already set the score and the best part is the tension of whether or not the chasing team is going to be able to catch them. I have seen some pretty incredible matches where it all came down to a team’s worst batter needing to pick up a boundary on the last bowl to get the win.
10. Cricket is like baseball in the fact that they love numbers. It is nuts sometimes how many different figures they will put on the screen. The important ones are the score, the number of wickets and where you are in the match. So if you see 145 | 15.2 (5) that means there have been 145 runs scored in 15 full overs plus two balls and five wickets have been picked up. There is also always a lot of talk of run rate (runs per over) as a mid-game indicator of how the team is doing.

There are plenty of other rules and procedures, but that is enough to get you started. If you do try and take in a cricket match, be sure to start with a T20. They are the most exciting and only take 2.5-3 hours.

People often consider cricket confusing, but that is just because it is foreign to most Americans.  Hopefully with just a bit of knowledge, others can enjoy this game that captivates so much of the world.