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All About Cricket |
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Cricket is a bat and ball game played with 11 people on a grassy field. In the center of the feild are 2 wickets placed closely together so the ball can't pass threw. Wooden bails lie in grooves on top of them. The object of the deffending team is for one player, the bowler, to throw the ball without bending the elbow and strike the wicket and dislodge the bails. The other teams batsman protects the wicket with a paddlelike bat and also tries to score runs.
The game starts with the defending team surrounding the wickets, some players close to the wicket, others in the outer portion of the field. One member of the other team stands at each wicket, the two players make up a batting team. If the batsman hits the ball, he or she can elect to run to the other wicket. In that case, both batsmen must run and reach the opposite wickets without being put out. If they are successful, one run is scored. They can continue to run between the wickets scoring more runs.
A batsman is put out if the bowled ball hits the wicket, if the hit ball is caught on the fly, if the feilder hits the wicket with the ball while the batsman is between wickets, or if a batsman's body obstructs the ball before wicket. The batter may hit the ball in any direction The batter scores 4 runs for a ball on the ground or 6 runs for a ball in the air if it is not intercepted and crosses the boundary of the field. The bowling of six balls constitutes an over, at the end of which the feilding positions are reversed and the bowling resumes from the other end of the pitch-to the other batsman, unless a single run has just caused the batters to exchange wickets.
Copyright 1995 by Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc.
