Cricket may not be as popular as other ball games, but it still attracts much attention from various people worldwide due to its niched nature. You can say that the sport combines bowling and baseball, but how does that work?
If you want to learn more, here’s an easy guide to how cricket works and what events you can follow if you’re planning to watch an event.
How Does Cricket Work?
Like any other sport, cricket also encompasses rules that make it work. It can be confusing initially, but it’s not rocket science. For starters, cricket requires a bowl, bat, and a field, and two teams of 11 players will face each other in an event where they play at one time.
Fans can keep a closer look at the game by betting on every event online. You can place a wager on your favorite team on sites like Betway Cricket to secure your bet.
Cricket’s primary objective is to score as many runs against the other team, but before that, here are the basic rules of cricket to further understand how this works.
- The rules and laws of cricket are enforced by the umpires, who monitor the proceedings. They’re the ones who will decide whether the batter can keep on playing or is out and decide on no-ball. The game also officially starts after the umpire’s signal.
- Two batsmen from the same team from the batting side and the players from the fielding side will take positions. Two umpires will join them, each standing at the pitch and the other on the leg side.
- The teams will then call for their players to stand as the opening bowler and the opening batsman. Then, start the innings.
- The batters will hit the balls bowled at them and score runs. Meanwhile, the fielders will try to stop the balls and catch them to oust the batters.
- Each bowler bowls six legal deliveries before calling it an over. Then, the initial bowling and batting ends and changes every after the over.
- The wicket cover changes as well, and they stand far from the stumps when the bowler bowls and go closer to the stumps when a spinner is on the move.
- Once the batsman is out, the keeper must walk out of the field until a new one enters. An inning is complete after all the batters of Team B are out of the team or when Team A has bowled their overs. Then, the roles reverse for the second innings.
The batsman will attempt to hit the bowled ball before it hits the wicket. After each team completes their chances, they will then exchange roles. To score a run, the batsman must run from their wicket to the other remaining as many times as possible, just like in a regular baseball game.
What Are the Formats of Cricket?
Cricket is played in different formats, depending on the standard of play, the level of formality, and the duration of the game varies. They can be equally exciting depending on your preference as well. To reel you in, here are the different formats of crickets.
- Test Cricket. It’s a five-day format that has two innings each. Compared to the other two, teams play longer in this format. The games can be considered a test of endurance, temperament, and technique. Moreover, Test Cricket is considered the first-class game that’s played at an international level.
- One Day Internationals (ODI). It’s a form of cricket that only has limited overs that’s also played at an international status. ODI is a fast-paced cricket game that comprises one inning with matches of 50 overs per side. As mentioned above, this event is played in the ICC Cricket World Cup.
- Twenty20 Internationals. Twenty20 Internationals or T20 is the shortest and fastest format of cricket. It’s also relatively new compared to the other two. It comprises 20 overs on every side, and the match is usually completed in three hours.
What Are the Major Events of Cricket?
Cricket fans also look forward to several huge events every year. Aside from the local events in their countries, many international cricket games take place to showcase and present the best cricket teams.
If you’re getting familiar with the cricket scene, here are five of the many major events of the sport that you should look forward to.
- ICC Cricket World Cup. This event is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. This is also known as the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. The International Cricket Council organizes that, and it takes place every four years. The event will have its 13th edition this year, from October 5, 2023, to November 19 in India.
- Women’s Cricket World Cup. This event is the counterpart for women’s cricket teams. It’s also cricket’s oldest world championship, with the first tournament dating back to England in 1973. ICC organizes the event, and it takes place every four years.
- ICC Champions Trophy. Hosted by ICC, the Champions Trophy is also an ODI cricket tournament. The next ICC Champions TRophy event will occur between February to March 2025 in Pakistan. The top eight ODI teams will be qualified to play and participate. Further details will be announced in the future.
- Ashes Series. This event is a Test cricket series that’s exclusively played between Australia and England. The Series entails five Tests, and the countries take turns hosting the events at least once every two years. The 2023 Ashes series will take place in June and July 2023.
Final Thoughts
Cricket can be challenging to understand at first glance, but once you discover how fun it can be, you’re in for many surprises. Understanding the objectives and the basic rules above will allow you to pretty much follow the game. You no longer have to worry about getting confused in the middle of the game.