Overview of Cricket

Objectives of the Cricket Teams

The chief purpose of every team is to score more runs than the other team.

 In Test cricket, it is compulsory to keep a tally of the most runs and dismiss the opposition twice in order to win the match, which would otherwise be drawn.

Bat and Ball

These are the necessary equipment while playing Cricket. And there are two different types of balls utilized in cricket:

i) White ball: - Played with, in many limited over cricket matches, especially those involving floodlights (day/night matches).
ii) Red ball: - Played with, in test matches and first class cricket.

The core heart of the sport cricket is that a bowler distributes the ball from his end of the pitch in the direction of the batsman who, armed with a bat is "on strike" at the other end.

The bat is made of wood and has the shape of a sharp edge topped by a cylindrical handle. The blade must not be more than 4.25 inches wide and the total length of the bat not more than 38 inches.

The ball is a hard leather-seamed spheroid with a perimeter of 9 inches. The hardness of the ball, which can be delivered at speeds of more than 90 miles per hour, is a matter for apprehension and batsmen wear protective clothing including pads (designed to protect the knees and shins), batting gloves for the hands, a helmet for the head and a box inside the trousers (to protect the crotch area). Some batsmen wear additional padding inside their shirts and trousers such as thigh pads, arm pads, rib protectors and shoulder pads.

Team arrangements

A team consists of 11 players. Depending on his or her primary skills, a player may be confidential as a specialist/ expert batsman or bowler. A well-balanced team usually has five or six specialist batsmen and four or five specialist bowlers. Teams nearly always comprise a specialist wicket-keeper because of the importance of this fielding position. Each team is headed by a captain who is accountable for making tactical decisions such as determining the batting order, the placement of fielders and the rotation of bowlers.

A player who excels in both batting and bowling is known as an all-rounder. One who excels as a batsman and wicket-keeper is known as a "wicket-keeper/batsman", sometimes regarded as a type of all-rounder. True all-rounder is exceptional as most players focus on either batting or bowling skills.