Sports have left their mark in history books for as long as anyone can remember. Until now, playing sports has been one of the most well-known sources of entertainment, whether done recreationally or professionally. As human creativity is taken into account, sports only continue to grow in number—not to mention fame. However, few have stuck around long enough for countless players around the world. And one of them is cricket.

What Is Cricket?

Cricket is a team sport that was first introduced by the British in the early 16th century. Considering its simple rules, cricket has gathered thousands of fans worldwide, even selling out tickets in many notable sports establishments. However, no one loves it more than India when they’ve hailed cricket as India’s unofficial national sport. But for those still clinging to the hopes of getting some, you can find Big Bash Tickets here. 

What makes cricket so popular is that it’s a team sport, like football and baseball. Professionally, two teams will be competing against each other. Both consist of 11 players with roles dividing everyone, such as the following:

• Batsmen
• Bowlers
• Fielders
• Wicket keepers

Since there are over ten players on the field, the ideal setting for cricket generally has a circumference of around 200 meters. Other than that, pitch sizes can vary in cricket matches. That’s why avid cricket fans often play it on any horizontal clearing, especially in India.

How To Score

Simply put, the main objective for both teams is to score the most first. However, making this possible is when the rules start getting specific. As mentioned earlier, cricket is a team sport involving two teams. Like baseball, one team will bat, and the other will take the field.

The match will start with both team captains tossing a coin. Although there are no strict regulations to make this ‘controversial,’ every cricket player seems to agree on letting the coin toss winner choose whether they’ll bat or take the field. Once they’ve decided, the batting side sends in two batsmen while the opposition surrounds them.

Both batsmen are positioned in front of a wicket on either side of the field. Wickets are three pieces of sticks stuck to the ground. The one who throws the ball is the bowler from the opposition. For the batsmen to score, they must be able to hit the ball and let it fly off without anyone hitting the wickets. As fielders rush to catch the ball, batsmen should use this opportunity to cross each other by running laps from one wicket to the other. Each lap is called a ‘run;’ the scoring unit in cricket.

Aside from the straightforward way of getting a run, there are other ways a team can score, namely a boundary and extras. Making a boundary is similar to hitting a home run in baseball. When the batsman hits the ball hard enough to reach the very fence of the field, the batting team automatically scores six runs without running laps. As for extras, these are given every time the opposition receives a penalty.

How To Get Dismissed

On the surface, scoring a run may sound simple. However, receiving dismissals will put a damper on that. Dismissals are equivalent to an ‘out’ in baseball. Therefore, it’s best to avoid this as much as possible, especially for the batting team. Otherwise, receiving one ends their batting period. Hence, dismissing ten players is the goal of the fielding team. Lucky for them, various dismissals can shorten a batsman’s turn. Some of them are the following:

1. The Leg Before Wicket (LBW) is a common reason a batsman is dismissed. All batsmen don leg guards to protect them while running. However, because most of them have a bulky design, batsmen often block the ball from knocking down the wickets. Either that or the batsman positioned their leg to block it accidentally or on purpose.
2. Getting bowled frequently happens in a match. Although, that doesn’t stop it from being embarrassing. After all, this only happens when the batsman misses the ball. Therefore, the bowler managed to hit the wicket.
3. The catch happens when the batsman hits the ball. However, as the name implies, the batting team gets dismissed if the ball lands directly on the opposition’s hands. 
4. Run Out happens when the opposition manages to hit the wickets before the batsman can reach the white crease or the line drawn in front of the wicket.

This many dismissal opportunities even out the field for both fielding and batting teams. Therefore, it’s safe to say that playing cricket involves extensive social skills, like any team sport, for either team to score a run.

Takeaway

Cricket earned its place as one of the most active team sports in the industry. Because not only is it easy to follow, but it’s also easy to get reeled in by the action. Therefore, for those interested in playing cricket, ensure you’re up to speed with the basics of the sport.