Cricket Game- Important Facts That You Should Know In 2020

No one can contest the popularity of the cricket game. Here we have tried to answer all your questions about it.

What is a cricket game?

Englishmen introduced it as the gentlemen’s sport. It is the second most popular ball event on the planet with a copious number of fans everywhere. Two teams, each with eleven players, contest against each other, using a ball and a bat. Each team gets its turn to bat, called innings where it has to score maximum runs, while the opponents have to dismiss them through bowling and fielding. Since its origin, it has evolved into many different forms, winning even more spectators and crazy fans. For every new style, there are modifications and alterations in the rules. 

Who invented cricket?

Although it is famous all over the world today, a common belief is that its origins lie in south-east England. Some researchers say that the history of this sport goes as back to the 13th century. In the beginning, it was just children’s fun activity played with a stone and a sturdy stick. But as time passed, it spread out towards the other regions of England and became notorious during the first half of the 17th century. It was modified several times, and the tools used were also developed. It arrived in Australia, and afterward, South Africa and New Zealand followed suit.

Who is the father of cricket?

An amateur sportsman, William Gibert Grace is widely known as the father of cricket. Also known as W.G., he played first-class cricket and owned the sport during his time. An excellent all-rounder, he was exceptionally good at everything from batting to balling and even fielding. Being an expert, he was notorious for his act of opening the innings with powerful and perfect strokes. He also captained many of the teams he was in and had an enormous influence in the stadium. Certainly, he has left an unforgettable legacy through his exceptional sportsmanship. He is among the greatest players of all time because of his outstanding batting skills and expertise.

Who is a cricket match for?

It is certainly suitable for all ages. However, professional competitions, starting from local club level onwards, have specific age limits for various age groups. The grass-root level usually has Under 11-13 groups for young boys and girls. This junior-level extends to 19 years of age, teaching necessary skills. ICC holds Under-19 Cricket World Cup every alternate year. This not only promotes the tournament but also allows young talented members to prove their abilities.

Records of cricket match for women date back to 1745, in England. Almost 16 countries have their national squads for women that participate in international competitions. Most of the team members make their debut in the national teams in their 20s, after a consistently excellent performance on the domestic front. A few teams do have members in their late teens, but that is very rare. The career span usually lasts until the mid-30s. After that, many of them choose to serve as a part of management or as coaches or commentators.

Where is the cricket game played?

The area is a vast grassy ground, which is usually circular or oval-shaped. Its dimensions can vary from 450 feet to 500 feet with various sections of the land. There is a pitch, a close infield, an outfield, and a boundary all around the area. Whether it is natural grass or artificial, it should have a leveled surface.

The main area of action is the pitch, which is a flat surface with short grass. It is a 66 feet long and 10 feet wide strip in the middle of the stadium. Additionally, each end has wickets comprising of stumps with bails balanced on them. Also, the nature of the ground, along with the weather conditions, determines the performance of both ends.

A white line that is 4.33 feet away from each wicket marks the crease on each end. This is the boundary for the bowlers as well as the batsmen. It is a ‘no-ball’ if any foot of the bowler exceeds the creasing line. Similarly, a batsman beyond this limit can get ‘run-out’ or ‘bailed-out’.  

What is the old name of cricket?

Its name seems to come from many words from various languages. In the early days, “creckett” was the name of this sport. Many people believe that this word came from the old English language word “crycc” which means a staff or a long wooden pole. Some sources say that the French name ‘criquet’ is its origin; that translates into a wooden post. Another source states that it comes from the Dutch language phrase used for hockey, which means ‘with the stick chase’.

What are the dimensions of a cricket pitch?

It is the central strip in the middle of the ground. Each end of the terrain has the wickets, between those the main action takes place. It is 22yds in length and 10 feet wide. The crease is the white line that is at a distance of precisely 4 feet in front of the stumps on both ends.  

What makes the cricket game pitch?

The area can be both artificial turf and natural grass. The only important thing is that the surface should be flat with no bumps or an obstacle like pebbles etc. Mostly the stadiums have tiny bits of grass covering the rolled clay surface beneath.

Specialist loam soils make an ideal option that is ready for action. They are an essential part of the activity of bounce. Artificial ones also have the same level of bounce and motion for the entire duration.

How can we measure the pitch?

The size of the playing area can often vary, but the ground always has the same measurements. It is 22 yd in length and 10 ft in width.  Marking lines of the creases are along either side of the middle stumps, whereas the return creases are at 90 degrees to the popping.

Artificial pitch vs. Grass pitch

There are pros and cons to both artificial and grass pitches. Artificial ones generally require less maintenance. They are weatherproof and have an even texture in accordance with the previous section.

Researches show that artificial surfaces offer less friction, and thus the objects bounce smoothly. The cons are that they are less flexible and heat absorbent. The fibers used can cause more resistance leading to a risk of burns and scratches.

Grass pitch, on the other hand, is always a preference over artificial ones; the reason is that it offers variety. Wet grass changes its behavior as it dries over a period of time. Its condition, firmness, rigidity, and moisture content allow a lot of drama when there is a bounce or a swing. This is why; it is an epitome of a high-class professional cricket match.

Different forms of cricket game

Basically, three forms of live cricket match are famous at the international level: Test cricket, One-Days, and Twenty-20. The International Cricket Council approves the rules and regulations for the development of each of these matches. In addition, test cricket is a five-day one. Each day has three sessions and consists of 90 overs. Certainly, this is the classic form. An ODI lasts for almost eight hours between two teams with one innings for each. Lastly, in T-20, the two contestants have a maximum of 20 overs with a single inning each.

Rules of a cricket match

There are various rules and regulations like fielding restrictions, a penalty ball, no ball, wide ball, bye and leg bye, etc.

What can be a “No Ball”? Please explain each one in brief?

There are 10 different variations of no-ball in live cricket match:

• If the bowler throws with the opposite arm without informing the umpire first
• If it is under-arm instead of over-arm with the exception that both agree on this style of delivery before the match
• Also, if there is a multiple-time bounce or roll on the ground before reaching the striker or batter
• It is a problem in case of a full toss above the batsman’s waist height
• If the ball bounces too high and goes off the pitch bypassing the batter over his head
• In addition, if the wicket breaks at the non-striker’s edge whilst delivering.
• As agreed prior to the start, it is a breach of fielding restrictions if there are too many players just out of the inner circle.
• Also, when the bowler fails to land his front foot behind the ridge. They have a rough calculation of their flight before the delivery so that they do not overstep the popping or return crease.
• A competing person can bowl from either end of the wicket or over it. But if they change the side of delivery without informing the umpire.
• If the ball comes to a stop right in front of the line of the striker’s wicket. The condition is that it should not touch the bat or the batsmen.

How many umpires are there in every match?

During the action, two umpires are overseeing the match. You can see one of the referees standing from the position of throwing the ball, and the other is standing near the location called a square leg. You can view the third umpire at the sidelines during international matches.

However, during test cricket, there are a total of four umpires. Two of them are on-field umpires, the third has access to replaying videos, and the fourth has to look after throw count.

How to score in this sport?

Scoring has two essential elements for the result: running score as well as the count of the lost players. The scorer performs the role to note down all the circumstances along with the number of deliveries. On the international level, both teams provide their scorer following the laws.

How batsman get out? Please explain each step in brief?

There are a total of 10 ways of dismissal of the batman:

• Bowled: A player is out if the delivery hits the wicket or the stumps, and displaces at least one of the bails from its position.
• One of the most common ways of dismissal is being caught out. There are three ways this can happen:
  • Caught behind: This happens when the ball hits either the bat or the gloves of the playing person, and then the wicket-keeper catches it at the slips.
  • Caught and Bowled: In this scenario, the bowler himself catches the ball after the batsman hits it. If it is caught after touching the glove of the batsmen, it is also considered an out.
  • Caught by a Fielder: This is similar to caught and bowled technique. Except that in this, the competing person is dismissed by being caught by the other nine fielders of the team.

• Leg Before Wicket (LBW): In this instance, the ball will hit a body part of the player and not the glove or bat. The umpire must believe that it would hit the wicket. LBW can also happen when it hits the batsmen off-stump. Even if it hits the wickets, and the striker has not attempted to hit it yet.
• Run Out: If the player is successful in dislodging at least one of the bails from either wicket and the batsmen are out of the crease while running between the two ends, then the batsman is out. Additionally, if his bat or he is behind the safe line, then it is a close call.
• Obstructing Field: If he tries to impede or distract another player by his words and actions, then also he is out.

Common umpire signals

• Wide: This signal signifies a ball that is out of reach of the player and is thus a wide. The umpire extends both arms horizontally outwards, and the delivery is repeated with the score going to the batting team.
• Out: The umpire signals the out after the appeal from the fielding team. So, the umpire signals by raising the index finger above the head.
• Six Runs: For signaling a six, the umpire raises both arms above the head. For scoring a six, it should go over the boundary without bouncing.
• Byes: The signal for this in cricket game is raising the right palm skywards. In byes, both the striker and the wicket-keeper miss the delivery. They scored runs increase the extras count.
• Dead ball: The signal for this is crossing and uncrossing of the wrists below the waist. It means that the players do not perform any required features. That is, the batsmen do not score runs, and fielders do not make an attempt to get the opposing team out.
• Four Runs: The umpire signals a four by waving their right arm back and forth across the chest. This indicates that the hitter has thrown all the way to the boundary by bouncing its way through.
• Short Run: A short run is when one of the batsmen fails to touch his bat or ground himself behind the popping crease when going for a run. The umpire taps their shoulder to indicate a short run by holding out the arm and then flexing it. Such scores are not a part of the final count.
• No-Ball: There can be many causes. Most of the time, the bowler has overstepped the crease, and sometimes the delivery passes above batsman’s waist without bouncing. The umpire’s right arm outstretched is the signal for this.
• Free Hit: It happens when the bowler oversteps the crease or makes a delivery above the waist of playing man. The penalty for this is a free hit on the next delivery. The signal for this is a circling finger above the head.
• Leg Bye: A leg bye is when the player raises the right leg and clasps it with the right hand. It shows that it hit the pads of the batsman instead of the bat. The runs scored to add to the team’s score as extras rather than the individual’s scores.

Type of shots in the cricket game

• Upper Cut: An uppercut is when the delivery goes out of the off-stump with an additional bounce. It is a dangerous one and mostly used in modern times that aims towards the third man
• Backlift: It is the way a playing person lifts their bat to hit the ball. The most common practice is to raise the bat in a vertical position; however, most coaching manuals state that the right method is to have the bat slightly angled from the 90 degrees mark.
• Straight Drive: One of the most common ones is a straight drive. Also, it is a straight batted delivery hit in front of the batsman on the ground. In addition, the bat makes a vertical arc to hit it. It is also one of the simplest and easiest ones for juniors or beginners to learn.
• Square Drive: A player attempts a square drive when he throws a wide of almost shin height with a horizontally placed bat. The member has to bend their knees and crouch low to make contact with the ball.
• Cover Drive: It is one of the most methodological options available. He has to bring the bat down vertically and direct the ball along with the pitch towards the cover. The technique required for this is the actual wrist work and the movement of the front food outwards.

Some other shots in a cricket game

• Pull and Hook: A pull is a cross-batted option that is a response to a bounce around almost waist height. The man places the bat to make a horizontal arc in front of the body. Pull means the hitter pulls the bat around the leg side towards the midwicket while delivering. The term hook acts together with the pull by hooking behind the square leg. These are either front or back foot.
• Square Cut: This cross-batted one goes at an angle perpendicular to the wicket. A perfect delivery is possible if it is a short-pitched ball moving off stump. This allows the performer free movement of the arm for the stroke.
• Reverse Sweep: A cross-batted sweep that goes towards the offside, a backward point, or the third man. He also has permission to change the hand with which they perform a perfect angle.
• Defensive Shots: It is also known as a blocked shot. They are a defensive strategy to stop the ball from hitting the bails or the person. They are often soft and have no power to them as the grip was only slight. This causes manipulation by hitting into unoccupied portions of the infield and hence grasping a chance to make runs. Blocks employ both feet at a time. The forward defensive utilizes the front foot, while backward defensive relies on the block formed by the back foot.

Health Benefits of Cricket Game

It comes along with many health benefits that improve the experience, such as:

• Burning Calories:

The sport involves running back and forth at a fast pace between the two ends accompanied by throwing, fetching, and catching. While doing all of these activities and since it is a fast-paced activity, it helps burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. It also gives the advantage of adding exercise to your daily routine.

• Strengthening Muscles:

It helps strengthen your muscles due to the various activities involved in it. Every action benefits its group of muscles. For example, throws and delivery helps your chest and arm muscles, whereas delivering and running between the opposite ends benefits the leg and upper body muscles.

• Improves Motor Skills:

It helps in developing your motor skills for all the movements involved in the sport. The amount of exercise strengthens your body muscles, particularly the large ones. Improved muscle growth is necessary for weight management. It also increases your metabolism rate and keeps your body in shape.

• Hand and Eye Coordination:

Cricket game helps you make progress with hand-eye coordination and peripheral eye vision. Almost every action is possible due to hand-eye coordination. Catching and throwing, all happen due to the harmony of your hands and eyes.

• Flexibility:

The actions such as diving, throwing, hitting, and hooking all make your body gain flexibility. Most researches show that improved flexibility results in increased muscle length, which leads to better performance. Overall, moving your body freely tends to improve flexibility. It is an essential factor in avoiding injuries to muscles and ligaments due to too much movement and stretching.

Other Benefits of Cricket Game

Besides health benefits there are also some other benefits of it:

• Improves concentration:

It helps you improve your focus as you sharpen your skills. Concentration and sharpening your skins both go hand in hand as you learn to make quick decisions to make a judgment under lots of pressure. The batsman tries to deduce ways to read the ball’s movements and the opposing team’s minds. Similarly, a bowler also requires studying the opponent’s moves and actions in order to throw a delivery. The mental skills and capabilities also improve while planning strategies.

• Improves social skills:

It offers you a great chance to improve your social skills by interacting with people. As the action can go on for quite a few hours, it is in the player’s best interest to cooperate and work as a team. Developing strategies and planning requires the communication and the cooperation of each member, which leads to a better and improved social environment.

• Team Work:

This sport is contested between teams; thus, it results in working together for several hours. Additionally, making strategies and preparing leads to developing social skills and learning how to communicate. Also, a person also learns how to work in cooperation with another, which doubles the efforts of the team. Certainly, this is also a way of learning how to cope with winning and losing.

Which is the best P.C. cricket game?

There are several modes available in the app store to play online. So, here is a list of some of the most liked and popular ones:

• Real Cricket 20
• World Cricket Championship 2
• Big Bash Cricket
• Google Doodle Cricket
• World of Cricket: World Cup 2019
• Smash Cricket

These come with many different features like customizing the team and various other options. Also, there are the latest digital graphics along with scorekeeping and the opportunities to share the score.

How much can you score on Google Doodle Cricket?

Different people share varying records online and claim to be the highest scores ever. In addition to that, there are a few video evidence to support these claims just as well. Most of them go well above 800 runs. However, others argue that these scores are a result of auto clicks. There is no way of verifying either of the claims.

How can I play it on Google?

Google cricket is available for android phones in several countries. The list also has some countries other than the usual nations, like India, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Pakistan.

To start, click on the doodle. When it appears, click on the “play” option from the snippet on the top. It will start when you click on the picture. Snails and cricket are the two teams that appear on the screen. You bat on behalf of the cricket and earn runs when you start. The participant has to tap on the option of ‘bat’ to hit a shot when it comes. The participants also have the opportunity to share their scores via social media platforms with their friends.

How do you play a cricket game?

Numerous apps and sites facilitate fans to play cricket online, other than watching live cricket match streaming. This is especially handy during the lockdown and quarantine, as nobody can go out and watch a cricket match for today. They have different levels starting from children to grown-ups with varied features and specifications, and cricket match tickets selling for cricket match of today. The contestant has to click on the bat to hit a shot in the simpler versions.

The more advanced apps come with bundles of features to choose from for everyone. So, you can select your own squad and add or eliminate members. The rules can certainly be different. Also, most of the apps have the option to share your score on your social media accounts with your friends. This increases not only the popularity and apps but also serves as an opportunity for the people interested in cricket game to boost their skills.