Cricket for Beginners

Cricket is a ball game played by two teams of 11 players. Although there are many differences, cricket is most readily comparable to American baseball. Beginners have a lot to learn; the rules of cricket are complicated. Like baseball, cricket is played in a series of innings during which pitching or bowling sides alternate with batting sides. There are no bases in cricket. Instead, two batsmen rush to switch places with one another within a small rectangle in the middle of the field. Each time they successfully switch places, they have scored a run.

  1. Selecting a Team

    • Since all players will need to hit the ball as well as "bowl" the ball, it is important to select players who can do both or at least who excel at one. Even more important for beginners is to assemble a team with at least some members who understand the complicated rules of cricket.

    Set Up the Playing Field

    • A proper cricket ground is in the shape of an oval with a narrow rectangular box in the middle in which the two batsmen--a striker and a non-striker-- will stand at either end. A few yards away from the narrow end of this rectangle, in a spot closest to the non-striker, is the place for the bowler--the pitcher in baseball terms. The rectangle, known as the strike area, should be about 20 meters long and 3 meters wide.

    Gather the Equipment

    • Cricket equipment consists of a cricket bat, batting gloves, a special rubber ball and 3 "stumps" and 2 "bails" that will form the "wicket," which the bowler will attempt to disturb (and which the batsmen will defend). The three stumps have a pointed end. To make the wicket, they are inserted into the ground three abreast, and then the bails are balanced at the top in special recesses between them. In this way, if one of the stumps is struck by a ball, the bails can be made to fall.

    Study the rules

    • The primary job of the batsman in cricket is to defend the wicket. If the bowler is able to dismantle the wicket by hitting it with the ball, he may then ask the umpire to declare the batsman "out." Once 10 batsmen on a team have been declared out, the so-called "inning" is over. An "inning" in cricket is the equivalent to a half-inning in baseball. Until an inning ends, bowlers take turns throwing the ball in sets of six. After six balls have been thrown, thus completing an "over," another bowler must take over. This rotation continues until the innings end.

      Meanwhile, runs are scored each time the two batsmen are able to switch positions while balls are being fielded. There are various technical ways for batters to get runs as well. Learning all of these rules takes some time and effort, but--just as with baseball--the best way to learn is by doing. There should be plenty of time for learning since a typical (professional) cricket match takes between one and five days to complete. Beginners can play as short of a game as they like.