Cricket for Baseball Players
- There are
TWO teams, with eleven players each (instead of nine as in baseball).
of four bases, there are only two; in the middle of the field,
22 yards apart (66 feet).
- All running
is between these two bases... the ball can be hit in front, behind
or, in ANY direction.
of rotating batting for nine innings each, EACH team does all
its batting in a SINGLE inning, or one of two innings, depending
on the format of the game.
- The team
scoring more runs wins the game.
- The fielding
team works with TWO pitchers at the same time.
first pitcher bowls (throws) from one base to the other.
six balls have been bowled (thrown), the wicket-keeper (catcher)
moves around behind the first pitcher's base, pitcher #2
makes six throws in the opposite direction (i.e. towards
the starting pitcher's base).
two pitchers keep alternating like this, until one or both
of them are relieved.
six-pitch set is called an -over-, and pitchers are called
-bowlers- in cricket. So, to say -Doe bowled seven overs-,
is saying Doe threw 42 pitches, in (alternating) sets of
- The MAJOR
DIFFERENCE from baseball is that batters can hit in ANY direction.
- Also, THE
BATTER CAN RUN WHEN HE CHOOSES TO, NOT every time he hits the
ball, as in baseball.
- He is safe
as long as he protects his wickets WITH HIS BAT (NOT his feet
or hands) and makes no other errors.
- As long
as the batter can protect his base, he is free to keep batting,
and scoring, as long as he can!
- The batter
(or -batsman-) is OUT only if;
- any of
the three sticks marking his base (called -wickets-) are hit
by the pitcher --he is -bowled- (like being struck out, except
that once is enough).
if: the ball is hit into a fielder's hand without touching
the ground, he is -caught- (like baseball's pop fly except
cricketer's catch with their bare hands).
if: he is running between the bases, and a fielder can touch
the base he is running to (by dislodging the bails from the
stumps) before the runner crosses the -safe line- in front
of the wickets, he is -run out-
(like a tag, except in cricket you tag the base, not the runner).
A cricket batter could be out on the first pitch, BUT would
go on batting until someone puts him -out-
batters can stay on base for hours, scoring 50, 100 runs or
- A batter
(or -batsman-) can score in cricket by hitting the ball, deciding
to run, then running safely between the two bases.
- Once across
(from one base, to the opposite one) is a -single-, scoring 1
- There and
back is a -double-, scoring 2 runs.
- There, back
and there again is a -triple-, scoring 3 runs.
- A hit that
reaches the fence scores four runs.
- A hit that
flies over the fence is a six, scoring 6 runs.
- Before the
game starts, the opposing captains toss a coin, to decide who
is to bat first... or second.
- The game
- TWO batters
are sent in, one for each base (they are called -batsmen- in cricket).
(I.e. the bases are -loaded- to start a team's batting, and have
to stay that way.)
- As one batter
is put out, the next person in the batting order goes in.
- In the USA,
each team is allowed 10 outs OR a maximum number of overs....say
40 overs (i.e. 240 pitches)... to bat.
- The inning
when 10 outs have occurred ( i.e. 1 man is left on base, out
of the 11 in the team),
- OR when
the over limit has been reached.
one team finishes batting, there is a tea (actually, sandwiches,
beer and pop) break.
- Now the
team which has been fielding gets its chance to bat.
- Say the
team batting first scored 120 runs. If the team batting second
scores only 100 runs in its 40 overs, it has lost by 20 runs.
if it reaches 121 runs for (say)only 6 outs within its allowed
40 overs, it wins by 4 -wickets- ( meaning, the number of
outs it had left when it passed the first team's score).
- In the USA,
a typical cricket game takes about as long as a weekend baseball
- In fact,
this is a useful way of looking at cricket if you understand baseball:
- Each team's
batting takes about as long, and has as many things happen, as
a complete baseball game.
- A typical
cricket game in the USA might take 5 to 6 hours. This could consist
of 4 to 5 hours of actual play, and the rest of the time for lunch,
tea, refreshment breaks and other pauses.
- This is
about average. There CAN be low-scoring games that are over in
2 or 3 hours...
- On the other
hand, if both teams score 200 to 300 runs each, these VERY high-scoring
games last seven hours... or more.
- It all depends---on
the day, the teams, the mood and the playing conditions.