Two teams. One pitch. Plenty of possibilities.
Cricket is played between two teams, normally with eleven players each. One side bats to score runs while the other bowls and fields to take wickets and limit the score. Two batters are on the field at a time, one at each end of the pitch.
How runs are scored
After striking the ball, batters can run between the wickets. A ball that reaches the boundary after touching the ground normally scores four; clearing it without touching the ground scores six. A side can also receive extras, including wides, no-balls, byes and leg byes.
What is a wicket?
A wicket can mean the stumps and bails at either end of the pitch, or a batter’s dismissal. Common dismissals include bowled, caught, leg before wicket (LBW), run out and stumped. An innings normally ends after ten wickets because there is no partner left for the remaining batter.
Overs and innings
In most cricket, an over consists of six legal balls delivered by one bowler. Wides and no-balls require an additional delivery. In limited-overs matches, each team normally has one innings with a set number of overs. A Test match can include two innings per side and can finish as a draw.
Test, ODI and T20
Test cricket is usually scheduled over five days. One Day Internationals normally allow 50 overs per side. T20 internationals normally allow 20. Rain, interruptions, playing conditions and competition-specific rules can change how an individual match is decided.
Go to the source
This is an introductory guide. For the complete laws and their current interpretation, use MCC’s Laws of Cricket. International competition playing conditions are published by the ICC.
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