If you didn’t grow up in the United Kingdom, Europe, in Commonwealth countries, or in former colonies, it is safe to assume that you did not grow up playing or following the sport of cricket. As with any new sport, it is pretty intimidating to get into. Just keep in mind, little children from these countries play this sport. In fact it even started as a children’s game. It’s not that complicated to understand. Don’t let your unfamiliarity with cricket rules and the alien terms turn you off from enjoying the game. Cricket is actually a lot of fun and as exciting as all the other mainstream sports. It’s as fun as a trip to the casino. And better for your hear too because it keeps you active.
Starting Out
You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to begin playing cricket—just a field and several inexpensive equipment. If you don’t have access to the equipment, it’s very easy to improvise. All you need is a little ingenuity and creativity. Let’s begin, shall we? You will need a round space, ideally four hundred fifty by five hundred feet. That is for official cricket matches. For newbies you will not need a field that big. You will also need a ball and a bat. As mentioned, those are easy to improvise if you don’t have access to official equipment.
The Players
A cricket team is composed of eleven players for each team. Much like American baseball, the main objective of the sport is to score runs when it is your team’s turn to bat, and to get “outs” when it’s the other team’s turn to bat. There should also be two umpires to adjudicate the game. Easy so far, right?
The Game of Cricket
In cricket, the game is only composed of two innings. It does not sound like a lot compared to other sports, but you’ll soon find that two innings is long enough. The batsman is responsible for scoring a run and only two players at a time will be assigned as batsmen. The batsmen and the bowler, the one who will pitch the ball, are to stand in a narrow patch of rectangle in the middle of the field. This is aptly called the pitch.
The pitch is marked off by so-called creases. These indicate whether a batter is “outed” if he goes outside the creases. A wicket is three stumps on the ground that the batman guards. When the bowler pitches the ball, the batman must hit it away and prevent the ball from hitting the wicket. If he doesn’t defend it successfully, he is “outed”. If the opposing team manages to get ten “outs” they win the innings and the teams would have to exchange sides.
If you still have a hard time grasping the rules, try looking at videos of cricket matches and go to online casinos, which would have cricket as one of the sports you could gamble on. Online gambling on cricket matches will also give you an extra impetus to learn more about the sport and the teams playing it.