CRICKET HISTORY

Cricket Teams Invention

2012-04-02T05:14:00.000-07:00

Teams Invent

Pakistan (11 February 1973)

New-Zealand (11 February 1973)

India (13 july 1974)

Australia (5 January 1971)

England (5 January 1971)

West-Indies (5 September 1973)

Srilanka (7 june 1975)

Zimbabwe (9 june 1983)

Bangladesh (31 march 1986)

South Africa (10 November 1971)

Pakistan vs srilanka 2011

2012-04-02T02:02:00.000-07:00

Pakistan had won the toss and chose to bat in this match.wickets had fell one by one of Pakistan team.But Shahid Afridi gave them a strong total of 201 runs which an easy target in those days.But he had played a useful inning for Pakistan team.He had made 75 runs.He had performed with ball and bat both.He take 5 main wickets of Silankan team.Pakistan had won this match by 26 runs.man of the match was awarded to Shahid Afridi for his brilliant allround performance.

If you want to see this video click here
Shahid Afridi 75 runs of 65 balls against Srilanka

Alim Dar

2012-04-01T20:06:00.001-07:00

Alim Dar is a very good umpire.He is awarded 3^rd for icc umpire of the year.He does not take any wrong decision.After beating his nearest umpires Symon taufel,Steve davis and Tony Hill.He said “Now I am also playing club cricket in Pakistan and this thimg makes me a good umpire.I have made centuries in last 4 matches.I think that playing cricket is useful for me”.He has service 200 plus matches.He named this award for Flood victoms in Pakistan.he said “On the field my behaviour is good with all players.I remain in my limit for giving punish and support any player.Therefore my behaviour will remain neutral to all players”.He is recognize in all over the world.He is brighting the Pakistan’s name in all over the world.He said “I thanked to my dear ALLAH that he gave me respect in the umpires department.For me there is happiness that I win the prizes for my country,Family and Club.

(Jamshaid)

Shahid Khan Afridi

2012-04-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

It was the year of 1996.world champion and hosting country Pakistan was out of the tournament at started.Srilankan team had taken world cup by beatind Australia.The cricket lover nation of Pakistan was angry from the performance of Pakistan.A tournament was held in Nairobi (Kenya) in the month of October.One match had been played between Pakistan and Srilanka.Srilankan team was very strong in this tournament.The pillars of cricket Sanath jayasuria,Ranatunga and Muttiah Muralidharan were playing in this match.The Pakistan nation had not interested in this tournament and the to reching the final of this tournament was very low.Match started soon, 1^st wicket fell.A young player entered in the ground on one down batting order.He started the batting was very confidence.Soon,his bat beacame a machine of runs.

The rain of the boundaries became crazy to the crowd.who,s watching television were shocked at that moment.They found a new hero in the age of 6^th years who’s named was Shahid Khan Afridi.He made the fastest century in just 37 balls.the history was changed.The year 2009 was became.The Pakistani nation who’s victom the terrorism is hopeless.They found no way of success.So, T20 world cup was held in England.In the beginning Pakistani team swohed lazy performance again.and than able to reach super 8s.Pakistan had played semi final against South African strong team.But the alround performance of Shahid Afridi had beat the south African team.So,Pakistan was facing srilanka in the final match.who had beat Pakistan in first match.But Pakistan beated the srilankan team in the final with the help of Shahid Afridi’s performance.Shahid Afridi improve himself in big players.Pakistan nation was very happy at that time.There is a great joy everywhere in Pakistan.Shahid Afridi was born on first march 1980 in Khyber agency.He is related from a religious house.As a traditional Pathan his aggressive nature is seen from his batting.Now he had best strike rate in all over the world.He had 109.3 strike rate in 100 balls in 2007 who is the best strike rate of odi cricket history.He has the record of most sixes in cricket history.He has the ability of changing the match.Like he made the century in just 45 balls against India in 2005 and Ravi shastri called him first time “Boom Boom Afridi”. Afridi hit 4 sixes in 4 balls and Afridi had made 32 runs in only one over against srilanka in 2007.He has 600 runs and 345 wickets.Afridi is accepted as a anthentical Alrounder.

(jamshaid)

T20 world cup final

2012-03-31T22:18:00.002-07:00

Final match had been played between pakistan and srilanka.Srilanka had won the toss and chose to bat first.First over was bowled by Mohammad aamir who take dilshan,s wicket in very first over.After losin the first wicket srilanka was in pressure.And the second over was bowled by Abdul Razzaq.Abdul Razzad had also take 1 wicket.Now srilanka were 2-2.After this Srinkan wickets fell one by one.but sangakkara leading his team for a useful total 138 runs in 20 overs.Now kamran akmal and Shahzaib hassan were very well played.Pakistan’s first wicket fell for 48 runs.After first wicket useful partenership Pakistan was won this final match.Pakistan reach to the total in 18.4 overs.Shahid Afridi was man of the match.And man of the series was Tillakarane Dilshan.

Asia cup 2012 Final

2012-03-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

It was for the first time that Bngladesh had any Tournaments final.So,final match had been played between Pakistan and Bangladesh.Bangladesh had beat srilanka and India in knockout.Pakistan had won the toss and chose to bat first in this final match.Pakistan had made 236 runs in 50 overs.It was very interesting match.Bangladesh had reach closely but in the end Pakistan had won this match by only2 runs.I feel the the emotions of Bangladesh’s team.Man of the match was Shahid Afridi.And man of the series was Shkib-ul-hasan (Bangladesh).

Asia cup 2000 final

2012-03-31T21:39:00.002-07:00

Asia cup 2000 final had been played between Pakistan and Srilanka in Bangabandhu national stadium Dhaka.Umpires were Shyam bansal (India) and Aranai Jayaprakash (India) .Pakistan had won the toss and chose to bat first.Pakistan had made 277 runs in 50 overs by the help of Saeed anwar who made 82 runs.Srilanka had made 238 for all out.Pakistan had won this match by 39 runs.Man of the match was Saeed Anwar.And man of the series was Mohammad Yousuf.

World cup 1992

2012-03-31T19:47:00.001-07:00

So,frienz I will tell you about world cup 1992.It was an amazing world cup for Pakistan.Pakistan’s performance is not good in group matches.But Pakistan had made a good team from quarter finals in the captaincy of Imran khan.So,lets begin from first match.First match of this world cup had been played on 22 february 1992 in Auckland between New-zealand and Australia.

New Zealandhad won the toss and chose to field. New zealand had won this match by 37 runs.Man of the match was martin crowe who made 100 runs new Zealand.

2^nd match had been played between India and England in wakaperth.England had won the toss and chose to bat first.England had won this match by 9 runs.Man of the match was Ian botham who gave 27 runs and take 2 wickets.

Another match had been played between Zimbabwe and Srilanka.Srilanka had won the toss and chose to field.Srilanka had won this match by 3 wickets.Man of the match was Andrew flower of Zimbabwe who made 115 amazing runs.

Fourth match had been played on 23^rd February between Pakistan and West indies in Melbourne.Wet indies had won the toss and chose to field.West indies had won this match by 10 wickets.Man of the match was Brian lara who made 88 useful runs for west indies.

Fifth match had been played between New Zealandand srilanka in Hamilton on 25 february.New Zealand won the toss and chose to field.New Zealand had won this match by 6 wickets.man of the match was Robert Rutherford.

6^th match had been played between two tough teams Australia and south Africa in Sydney.Australia had won the toss and elected to bat first.South Africa had won this match by 9 wickets.Man of the match was kepler wessels.

7^th match had been played between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in oval.Zimbabwe had won the toss and chose to field.Pakistan had won this match easily by 53 runs.Man of the match was Aamir sohail who made 114 runs.

8^th match had been played between England and West indies in Melbourne.England had won the toss and chose to field.England had won this match by 6 wickets.Man of the match was Chris loy who gave 30 runs and take 3 wickets.

9^th match had been played between India and srilanka.Srilanka had won the toss and chose to field.This match was tie because heavy ran comes up.Man of the match was not decided.So, no picture for this match.

10^th match had been played in Auckland between New-zealand and south Africa.South Africa had won the toss and chose to bat.New-zealand had won this match by 7 wickets.Man of the match was Mark grate batch who made 68 runs.But sorry, I have no picture of this cricketer.

11^th match had been played between Zimbabwe and west-indies in Brisbane.West indies had won the toss and chose to bat.West indies had won this match by 75 runs.Man of the was brian lara who made 72 runs.

12^th match had been played between Australia and India.Australia had won the toss and chose to bat.It was an interesting match.we enjoy this match very much.But in the end Australia had won this match by only one run.Man of the match was Dean jones who made 90 runs.

13^th match had been played between England and Pakistan in oval.England had won the toss and elected to bowl first.Match was tie for the cause of rain.

14^th match had been played between Srilanka and south Africa.Srilanka had won the toss and elected to field.Srilanka had won this match by 3wickets.Man of the match was Rana Tunga who made 64 runs.

I will tell you only Pakistan,s match of this world cup because many matches comes up after this.But don’t worry I will tell you the semi finals and finals.So,next match had been played between India and Pakistan in Sydney.India had won the toss and chose to bat.india had won this match by 43 runs.Man of the match was sachin tendulkar who made 54 runs.

Pakistan played their next match against South Africa.Pakistan had won the toss and chose field.South Africahad won this match by duck looth system by 20 runs.man of the match was Andrew Hudson.

Pakistan played their next match against Australia in perth.Pakistan had won the toss and chose to bat.Pakistan had won this match by 48 runs.Man of the match was Aamir sohail.

So,first semi final had been played between new Zealand and Pakistan.Newzealand had won the toss and chose to bat.new Zealand had made 260 runs.that is a big total at that time.but Pakistan had chased it by the help of brilliant performance of Inzimam-ul-haq who made his fifty and man of the too.

2^nd semi final had been played between England and south south Africa.Souuth Africa had won the toss and chose to field.England had won this match by 19 runs.Man of the match was Graeme Hick.who made 82 runs.

Final had been played between Pakistan and England.England had won the toss and elected to field.Pakistan had made 260 plus runs.And Pakistan had won this final by 22 runs man the match was Wasim akram who took 3 important wickets of England.

And this is the world cup trophy. This trophy is one of the beautiful Trophies.

World cup 1975

2012-03-31T02:37:00.000-07:00

Friends I will tell you the first world cup of cricket history.so,the first world cup was played in 1975 in England.In this world cup 8 teams had played.which teams are Australia,Newzealand,India,East Africa,West indies,Pakistan,England and Srilanka’s captain is Anwar Anticon,England,s captain is Mike Danis,West indies captian is clive lide,Australia captain Ian Chappel,Pakistan’s captain is Asif Iqbal,India,s captain is Vanket Raghon,Newzealand’s captain is Glenn Turner and East Africa captain is Harilal Shah.There are two groups (A and B) of these 8 teams.4 teams in A group and 4 teams in b group.In this world cup there are 60 overs in an innings.One bowler allowed to deliver 12 overs.First match of this world cup was played on 7^th of june 1975.Between Newzealand and East Africa in Aijustien.Newzealand had won this match easily.Newzealand score was 309-5 in 60 overs.East Africa had made only 128-8 in 60 overs.Man of the match was declared for Glenn Turner who’s made 171 runs and made world record.

2^nd match of this world cup had been played between Australia and Pakistan in Leeds.Australia had won the toss and chose to bat first.Australia’s score was 278-7 in 60 overs.Pakistan had made 205 for all out.So Australia had won this match.Man of the match was danis lilly who gave 34 runs and take 5 wickets.

Third match of this tournament had been played between Srilanka and West-indies.West-indies won this match easily by 8 wickets.

Man of the match was declared to burnerd julein which gave 20 runs and take 4 wickets.

Other match had been played between India and East-Africa.India had won this match easily.Man of the was madan lal who gave 15 runs and take 3 wickets.

Another match had been played between England and New-Zealand.England had won this match easily.England had made 266-6 in 60 overs.New-zealand had made only 186 runs.Man of the match was Fletcher who made 131 runs.

another match had been played between Australia and Srilanka.

Australia had made 328-5 in 60 overs.Srilanka had made 274 runs.Australia had won this match.Australia’s first wicket partenership (182 runs) had been amazing between turner and Mekaser.Man of the was Alan turner who made 110 runs.

Another match had been played between West-indies and Pakistan.

It was an amazing match.Pakistan had made 266 runs in 60 overs.In one time I was thinking that Pakistan had won this match but I was wrong.West-indies had won this match by only one wicket.Man of the match was Pakistan’s Sarfaraz Nawaz who gave 24 runs and take 4 wickets.

Next match had been played between India and New-zealand.Newzealand had won this match by 4 wickets.Man of the match was glenn turner who made 114 runs for the help of his amazing batting.

Another match had been played between East-africa and England.England had won this match easily by 196 runs.Man of the match was John Snow.

Another match had been played between West-indies and Australia for 1^st and 2^nd position in group B.Australia had made just 192 runs.West-indies had won this match easily by 7 wickets and man of the match was Kalicharan.

Another match had been played between Pakistan and Srilanka.Pakistan had made 330 runs.Srilanka had made just 128 runs.Pakistan had won this match.Man of the match had been awarded to Zaheer Abbas who made 97 runs.

First semi final of this tournament was played between Australia and England.Australia had won this semi final.Man of the match was Gilmore.

Second semi final had been played between New-zealand and West-indies.West-indies had won this semi final.Man of the match was Alvin Kalicharan.

Final was played in lords on 21^st of the june between Australia and westindies. The number of crowd in this final was 27000.Australia had won the toss and chose to field.West indies had fell 3 wickets in just 55 runs.But after this the big partenership was comes up between captain Lloyd and Rihan kinhai who’s.So, West indies total score was 290 for the lost of 8 wickets.Gilmore showed amazing performance in this match but lost this final match.In this match 5 australian batsmen back to pavilion for run out.And man of the match had been awarded to captain Lloyd Who made his century in just 88 balls at that time that was a brilliant score.

So, first cricket world cup was gone to west-indies by their amazing performance.In this world cup credit goes to West-indien whole team .And this is the world cup trophy.

Fastest Centuries

2012-02-25T23:52:00.002-08:00

Top 20 Fastest Centurions

Batsman	Team	Score	Balls	Opponent	Venue
Shahid_Afridi	Pakistan	102	37	Srilanka	Nairobi
Mark_Boucher	South_Africa	147*	44	Zimbabwe	P’stroom
Brian Lara	West-indies	117	45	Bangladesh	Dhaka
Shahid Afridi	Pakistan	102	45	India	Kanpur
Sanath_Jayasuriya	Srilanka	134	48	Pakistan	Singapore
Kevin O’brien	Ireland	113	50	England	Bengaluru
Shahid Afridi	Pakistan	124	53	Bangladesh	Dambulla
Sanath_Jayasuriya	Srilanka	130	55	Bangladesh	Karachi
AB de villiers	South Africa	102*	58	India	Ahmedabad
Virender Sehwag	India	125*	60	New_zealand	Hamilton
MD Azharuddin	India	108	62	New_zealand	Baroda
Shakib-ul-hassan	Bangladesh	104	63	Zimbabwe	Bulawayo
Sanath Jayasuriya	Srilanka	157	64	Holland	Amstelveen
Yuvraj Singh	India	138*	64	England	Rajkot
Mathew Hayden	Australia	101	66	South Africa	ST Kitts
Suresh Raina	India	101	66	Hong Kong	Karachi
Virender Sehwag	India	146	66	Srilanka	Rajkot
Basit Ali	Pakistan	127*	67	West-indies	Sharjah
Jim Davison	Canada	111	67	West-indies	Centurion
Adam Gilchrist	Australia	122	67	Srilanka	Brisbane

Fastest fifties

2012-02-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Fastest Fiftiers

Batsman	Team	Score	Balls	Opponent
Sanath jayasuriya	Srilanka	76	17	Pakistan
Simon O’donnel	Australia	74	18	Srilanka
Shahid Afridi	Pakistan	55*	18	Holland
Justin Kemp	South Africa	53*	19	Zimbabwe
Ross Taylor	New Zealand	59	19	Ireland
Mark Boucher	South Africa	51*	19	Kenya
David Hussey	Australia	52	19	West Indies
Brendon Mc’Cullum	New Zealand	80	19	Bangladesh
Shahid Afridi	Pakistan	65	19	New Zealand

Shahid Afridi Records

2012-01-28T21:49:00.001-08:00

Shahid Afridi Records

World’s fastest century (37)balls

World’s second fastest century (45)balls

Second fastest fifty (18) balls

Most sixes in an innings (11) sixes

Highest strike rate in ODI cricket (110.5)

Second most runs in an over (32) runs

Most sixes in cricket history

1^st player to score 3 consecutive in T20 matches

Most dangerous player of 2007

First player to win man of the match 3 times

He won first ever man of the series award of T20 world cup

Mohammad Aamir

2012-01-18T20:53:00.003-08:00

Mohammad Aamir is very good young talented player for pakistan team.He debuted his career in T20 world cup 2009.He is young experienced left handed bowler.Pakistan found the best bowler like wasim akram.He had made many records in short time.He had take 5 wickets and deliver maiden over and made world record.Last few days he is displaying the better batting performance.He had made 72 runs vs newzealand.Pakistan won the t20 world cup from his help.He had many world records against every team.Now he is on 9^th number in icc bowling ranking.He was the future of Pakistan cricket team.He was one the best bowlers.Last few days he is included in spot fixing.May he come early in Pakistan cricket team (Ameen).

Mohammad Asif

2012-01-18T20:51:00.001-08:00

Mohammad Asif is very good talented player for pakistan team.He debuted his career in 2007.He is experienced right handed bowler.Pakistan found the best bowler .He had made many records in short time.Last few days he is displaying the better batting performance.Pakistan won.He had many world records against every team.Now he is on 11^thnumber in icc bowling ranking.He was the future of Pakistan cricket team.He was one the best bowlers.Last few days he is included in spot fixing.May he come early in Pakistan cricket team (Ameen).

Pakistan vs South Africa 2010

2012-01-18T20:50:00.000-08:00

This match had been played between Pakistan and South Africa in Abu Dhabi on October 31 2010.South Africa had won the toss and chose to bat.South Africa had made 286 runs in 50 overs.So,target to Pakistan was 287 in 50 overs.Pakistani openers was Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq.Pakistan lost his first wicket in just 3^rdover on 8 runs.So,preasure was released on Pakistan team.Second wicket was fell down of younis khan.3^rd wicket fell down of misbah-ul-haq.4^thwicket fell down of Mohammad Hafeez.5^th wicket fell down of Shahid afridi after hitting 2 sixes.Now Abdul Razzaq came.He played unbelievable inning.He made 109* runs in just 72 balls.So,Pakistan had won this match by Abdul Razzaq’s performance.Man of the match was awarded to Abdul Razzaq.

Umpires Signals

2012-01-18T20:48:00.001-08:00

The umpires signal various events with gestures, as follows:

Out:

When a batsman is out, the umpire making the decision raises one hand above his head, with the index finger extended.

Not Out:

There is no formal signal to indicate that a batsman is not out. The umpire can either shake his head 'no' or not signal at all.

Four:

A four scored by the ball reaching the boundary is signalled by an arm extended horizontally and waved briefly back and forth in a horizontal arc.

Six:

A six is signalled by raising both arms straight over the head.

No Ball:

A no ball is signalled by holding an arm out horizontally.

Wide:

A wide is signalled by holding both arms out horizontally.

Byes:

Runs scored as byes are signalled by raising one arm over the head, palm open.

Leg Byes:

Leg byes are signalled by raising one leg and tapping the knee with one hand.

Dead Ball:

If the umpire has to signal dead ball to prevent the players from assuming that the ball is still alive, he waves both arms across each other in front of his abdomen.

One Short:

One short is signalled by touching the tip of one hand to the same shoulder.

TV Replay:

If an umpire wishes the third umpire to make a decision based on a TV replay, he signals by drawing a large square shape in the air with both hands, spreading them out high in the air in front of him, bringing them down, and then together again.

Adverse Weather Conditions

2012-01-18T20:46:00.001-08:00

Play is suspended at the umpires' discretion for rain. Light rain is usually tolerated, though nothing heavier, because of the possibility of damage to the pitch. If the players are off the field, they must remain off until the rain has stopped completely. During rain the pitch is covered with waterproof material to protect it. Often the bowlers' run-ups and an area around the pitch are also covered.

During very windy conditions, sometimes the bails will tend to blow off the top of the stumps. If this becomes a problem, the umpires can decide to play without bails. In this case, the wicket does not need to be broken by uprooting a stump, and the umpires must take full responsibility for deciding, in a reasonable manner, whether the wicket is broken or not.

Injuries and Institutions

2012-01-18T20:45:00.000-08:00

In case of injury, substitutes may replace any number of fielders. A substitute may only field - he may not bowl, nor bat. A substitute may not keep wicket. A substituted player must return to the field as soon as he is able to resume playing without danger.

If a batsman is injured, he may retire and resume his innings when fit again, so long as his team's innings is not over. If a batsman is too injured to bat when no other batsmen remain to come in after a wicket falls, his innings must be forfeited and his team's innings ends. If a batsman is able to bat, but not run, then another player may run for him. The runner must wear the same equipment as the batter, and performs all his running. The injured non-runner must remain behind his crease at all times when the ball is in play or risk being run out, even if his runner is safely behind a crease.

If a bowler is injured during an over and cannot complete it, another bowler must bowl the remaining deliveries in that over. The bowler chosen to finish the over must not be the bowler who bowled the previous over, and must not bowl the over immediately following either.

A player may not leave the field for injury unless the injury is sustained on the field. An injured player who takes the field may not leave because of his pre-existing injury, unless it is clearly aggravated further on the field.

Fielding

2012-01-18T03:52:00.003-08:00

Field placements in cricket are not standardised. There are several named field positions, and the fielding captain uses different combinations of them for tactical reasons. There are also further descriptive words to specify variations on the positions labelled by simple names, so that any position in which a fielder stands can be described.

The following diagram shows the rough positions of all of the simply named field positions. In this diagram, the pitch is indicated by three '#' marks; the striker's end is at the top. The bowler is not shown, but would be running upwards towards the bottom end of the pitch. The approximate field positions are marked with numbers or letters, according to the key on the right of the diagram. The three marks: '+', '*', and '~' indicate that the adjective shown at the bottom of the list can be used to describe a modification of that position, as shown in the example.

--------------------------------- 1 wicket keeper

/ \ 2 first slip

/ e h \ 3 second slip

/ \ 4 third slip

/ \ 5 gully +

/ \ 6 point +*~

/ \ 7 cover +

/ 2 j \ 8 extra cover +

| 43 1 d | 9 mid-off +*

| 5 | a mid-on +*

| 6 # i c | b mid-wicket +

| # | c square leg +~

| 7 # b | d leg slip

| 8 | e third man

| | f long off

\ 9 a / g long on

\ / h fine leg

\ / i bat-pad

\ / + deep (near boundary)

\ / * silly (near batsman)

\ f g / ~ backward (more 'up')

\ / eg.

--------------------------------- j deep backward square leg

(This picture will be replaced with an inline image when I have time.)

Other modifiers used to qualify positions:
square: close to a line perpendicular to the pitch, through the batsman;
fine: close to a line straight along the pitch;
short: close to the batsman.

The only restriction on field placements is that, at the time the ball is delivered, there must be no more than two fielders in the quadrant of the field backward of square leg. (This rule exists mainly for historical reasons - see the Bodyline section below.)

Sometimes fielders close to the bat wear helmets for safety. When not in use, the helmet (or any other loose equipment) may be placed on the field (usually behind the wicket-keeper, where it is unlikely to be hit by the ball). If any such loose fielding equipment is hit with the ball, five runs are scored, either to the batsman who hit the ball or as the appropriate form of byes. The ball is then considered dead and no further runs can be taken, nor can a batsman be run out.

If a fielder is wearing a protective helmet, and the striker hits the ball so that it bounces off the helmet, he may not be out caught off the rebound. If a ball rebounds from any other part of the body of a fielder, he may be out caught if another fielder (or the same one) then catches the ball before it hits the ground.

The Bowling Actions

2012-01-18T03:47:00.001-08:00

The bowling action itself has to conform to several restrictions. The bowler's arm must be straight when the ball is bowled (so no "throwing" is allowed). The ball must be bowled overarm, not underarm.

The difference between 'bowling' and 'throwing': When you throw the ball, the elbow is cocked and used to impart energy to the ball by straightening. When a ball is bowled, the elbow joint is held extended throughout. All the energy is imparted by rotation of the arm about the shoulder, and possibly a little by wrist motion. For a right-handed bowler, the action goes roughly as follows:

After the run-up, the right foot is planted on the ground with the instep facing the batsman. The right arm is extended backwards and down at this stage. The left foot comes down on the popping crease as the bowler's momentum carries him forward - he is standing essentially left-side on to the batsman. As the weight transfers to the left foot, the right arm is brought over the shoulder in a vertical arc. The ball is released near the top of the arc, and the follow-through brings the arm down and the right shoulder forward rapidly.

Bouncing the ball on the pitch is not mandatory. It's usually done because the movement of the ball off the pitch makes it much harder to hit. Unbounced deliveries, or full tosses are almost always much easier to hit, and mostly they are bowled accidentally. A full toss above hip height is no ball, and an umpire who suspects that such a ball was deliberate will give the bowler an official warning. A warning is also given if the umpire believes the bowler is bowling at the body of a batsman in a deliberate attempt to injure the batsman. After two warnings a bowler is barred from bowling for the rest of the innings.

If any rule governing the bowling action is violated, a no ball results.

Bowlers are allowed to polish the ball by rubbing it with cloth (usually on their trouser legs) and applying saliva or sweat to it. Any other substance is illegal, as is rubbing the ball on the ground. Usually one side of the ball is polished smooth, while the other wears, so that the bowler can achieve swing (curving the ball through the air). It is also illegal to roughen the ball by any means, including scraping it with the fingernails or lifting the seam. A bowler who illegaly tampers with the ball is immediately suspended from bowling for the rest of that innings.

The bowler may bowl from either side of the wicket, but must inform the umpire and the batsmen if he wishes to change sides. Bowling with the bowling arm closest to the wicket is called over the wicket, and is most common. Bowling with the non-bowling are closest to the wicket is called around the wicket.

The bowler may abort his run-up or not let go of the ball if he loses his footing or timing for any reason. The umpire will signal dead ball and the ball must be bowled again. If a bowler loses his grip on the ball during the delivery action, it is considered to be a live ball only if it is propelled forward of the bowler. If such a ball comes to rest in front of the striker, but any distance to the side, the striker is entitled to walk up to the ball and attempt to hit it with his bat. The fielding team must not touch the ball until the striker either hits it or declines to do so.

A delivery may also be aborted by the striker stepping away from his stumps, if distracted by an insect or dust in the eye, for example.

Given Extras in Cricket

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Extras are runs scored by means other than when the ball is hit by a batsman. Extras are not credited to any batsman, and are recorded by the scorer separately. The total number of runs for the innings is equal to the sums of the individual batsmen's scores and the extras. There are four types of extras: no balls, wides, byes, and leg byes.

The bowler must bowl each ball with part of his frontmost foot behind the popping crease. If he oversteps this mark, he has bowled a no ball. The umpire at that end calls "no ball" immediately in a loud voice. The batsman may play and score runs as usual, and may not be out by any means except run out, handle the ball, hit the ball twice, or obstructing the field. Further, if the batsman does not score any runs from the ball, one run is added to the batting team's score. Also, the bowler must bowl an extra ball in his over to compensate. A no ball is also called if any part of the bowler's back foot is not within the area between the return creases.

If the bowler bowls the ball far to one side or over the head of the batsman, so making it impossible to score, the umpire will signal the ball as a wide . This gives the batting team one run and the bowler must rebowl the ball. The striker may not be out hit wicket off a wide ball.

If the striker misses a ball and the wicket-keeper fails to gather it cleanly, the batsmen may take runs. These runs are called byes and are scored as extras.

If the striker, in attempting to play a shot, deflects the ball with part of his body, the batsmen may attempt to take a run. Such runs are called leg byes . If the striker did not attempt to play a shot with his bat, leg byes may not be taken. The umpire adjudicates by signalling a dead ball if the batsmen attempt to run when, in his opinion, no attempt was made to play a shot.

Batsmen may be run out as usual while running byes and leg-byes. If, while running either form of bye, the ball reaches the boundary, four byes (of the appropriate type) are scored.

Official Rules in Cricket

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The game is adjudicated by two umpires, who make all decisions on the field and whose word is absolutely final. One umpire stands behind the non-striker's wicket, ready to make judgements on LBWs and other events requiring a decision. The other umpire stands in line with the striker's popping crease, about 20 metres (20 yards) to one side (usually the leg side, but not always), ready to judge stumpings and run-outs at his end. The umpires remain at their respective ends of the pitch, thus swapping roles every over.

If the technology is available for a given match, a third umpire is sometimes used. He sits off the field, with a television replay monitor. If an on-field umpire is unsure of a decision concerning either a run out or a stumping attempt, he may signal for the third umpire to view a television replay. The third umpire views a replay, in slow motion if necessary, until he either reaches a decision or decides that he cannot make a clear decision. He signals the result to the on-field umpire, who must then abide by it. If the equipment fails, the replay umpire signals no decision. The replay umpire cannot be used for any decisions other than run outs and stumpings.

Whenever any decision is in doubt, the umpire must rule in favour of the batsman.

If the ball hits an umpire, it is still live and play continues. If it lodges in an umpire's clothing, then it is dead.

The game is also presided over by a match referee, who watches from outside the field. The referee makes no decisions of relevance to the outcome of the game, but determines penalties for breaches of various rules and misconduct. In professional games, these penalties are monetary fines.

Arguing with an umpire's decision is simply not tolerated. Anything more than a polite question to the umpires is heavily frowned upon and could attract a penalty from the referee. The most serious misconduct in a cricket match is of the order of a rude gesture to an opponent or throwing the ball into the ground in disgust. Such gross misbehaviour would attract large fines and possibly match suspensions. Penalties for physical violence can only be guessed at, but would possibly be a career suspension.

Ways of Getting out in Cricket

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Here is a full list of the ten different ways of getting out. But first, a few necessary definitions:

The wicket is said to be broken if one or both of the bails have been dislodged and fallen to the ground. If the bails have fallen off for any reason and the ball is still in play, then breaking the wicket must be accomplished by pulling a stump completely out of the ground. If the wicket needs to be broken like this with the ball, the uprooting of the stump must be done with the ball in contact with the stump.

The field is notionally split into two halves, along a line down the centre of the pitch. The half of the field in front of the striker is called the off side, the half behind is called the leg side, or sometimes the on side. Thus, standing at the bowler's wicket and looking towards a right-handed striker's wicket, the off side is to the left and the leg side to the right (and vice-versa for a left-handed striker). The stumps of the striker's wicket are called off stump, middle stump, and leg stump, depending on which side they are on.

When a batsman gets out, no matter by what method, his wicket is said to have fallen, and the fielding team are said to have taken a wicket.

Now, the ways of getting out:

Caught:

If a fielder catches the ball on the full after the batsman has hit it with his bat. However, if the fielder catches the ball, but either during the catch or immediately afterwards touches or steps over the boundary, then the batsman scores six runs and is not out.

Bowled:

If the batsman misses the ball and it hits and breaks the wicket directly from the bowler's delivery. The batsman is out whether or not he is behind his popping crease. He is also out bowled if the ball breaks the wicket after deflecting from his bat or body. The batsman is not out if the wicket does not break.

Leg Before Wicket:

If the batsman misses the ball with his bat, but intercepts it with part of his body when it would otherwise have hit the wicket, and provided several other conditions (described below) are satisfied. An umpire must adjudicate such a decision, and will only do so if the fielding team appeal the decision. This is a question asked of the umpire, usually of the form "How's that?" (or "Howzat?"), and usually quite enthusiastic and loud. If the ball bounces outside an imaginary line drawn straight down the pitch from the outside edge of leg stump, then the batsman cannot be out LBW, no matter whether or not the ball would have hit the stumps. If the batsman attempts to play a shot at the ball with his bat (and misses) he may only be given out LBW if the ball strikes the batsman between imaginary lines drawn down the pitch from the outside edges of leg and off stumps (ie. directly in line with the wicket). If the batsman does not attempt to play the ball with his bat, then he may be given out LBW without satisfying this condition, as long as the umpire is convinced the ball would have hit the wicket. If the ball has hit the bat before the hitting the batsman, then he cannot be given out LBW.

Stumped:

If a batsman misses the ball and in attempting to play it steps outside his crease, he is out stumped if the wicket-keeper gathers the ball and breaks the wicket with it before the batsman can ground part of his body or his bat behind his crease.

Run Out:

If a batsman is attempting to take a run, or to return to his crease after an aborted run, and a fielder breaks that batsman's wicket with the ball while he is out of the crease. The fielder may either break the wicket with a hand which holds the ball, or with the ball directly. It is possible for the non-striker to be run out if the striker hits the ball straight down the pitch towards the non-striker's wicket, and the bowler deflects the ball on to the wicket while the non-striker is out of his crease. If the ball is hit directly on to the non-striker's wicket, without being touched by a fielder, then the non-striker is not out. If the non-striker leaves his crease (in preparation to run) while the bowler is running up, the bowler may run him out without bowling the ball. Batsmen cannot be run out while the ball is dead - so they may confer in the middle of the pitch between deliveries if they desire.

Hit Wicket:

If, in attempting to hit a ball or taking off for a first run, the batsman touches and breaks the wicket. This includes with the bat or dislodged pieces of the batsman's equipment - even a helmet or spectacles!

Handle The Ball:

If a batsman touches the ball with a hand not currently holding the bat, without the permission of the fielding side. This does not include being hit on the hand by a delivery, or any other non-deliberate action.

Obstructing The Field:

If a batsman deliberately interferes with the efforts of fielders to gather the ball or effect a run out. This does not include running a path between the fielder and the wicket so that the fielder cannot throw the stumps down with the ball, which is quite legal, but does include any deliberate attempt to swat the ball away.

Hit The Ball Twice:

If a batsman hits a delivery with his bat and then deliberately hits the ball again for any reason other than to defend his wicket from being broken by the ball. If the ball is bouncing or rolling around near the stumps, the batsman is entitled to knock it away so as to avoid being bowled, but not to score runs.

Timed Out:

If a new batsman takes longer than two minutes, from the time the previous wicket falls, to appear on the field.

These methods of getting out are listed in approximate order of how commonly they occur. The first five are reasonably common, the last five quite rare. The last three methods are almost never invoked.

If a batsman is out caught, bowled, LBW, stumped, or hit wicket, then the bowler is credited with taking the wicket. No single person is credited with taking a wicket if it falls by any other method.

Scoring Runs

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Whenever a batsman hits the ball during a delivery, he may score runs. A run is scored by the batsmen running between the popping creases, crossing over midway between them. When they both reach the opposite crease, one run is scored, and they may return for another run immediately. The fielding side attempts to prevent runs being scored by threatening to run out one of the batsmen.

If the batsmen are attempting to take runs, and a fielder gathers the ball and hits a wicket with it, dislodging one or both bails, while no batsman is behind that wicket's popping crease, then the nearest batsman is run out. Specifically, the batsman must have some part of his body or his bat (provided he is holding it) grounded behind (not on) the crease.

The batsmen carry their bats as they run, and turning for another run is accomplished by touching the ground beyond the crease with an outstretched bat. The batsmen do not have to run at any time they think it is unsafe - it is common to hit the ball and elect not to run.

If the batsmen run one or three (or five! rare, but possible), then they have swapped ends and their striker/non-striker roles are reversed for the next ball (unless the ball just completed is the end of an over).

In addition to scoring runs like this, if a batsman hits the ball so that it reaches the boundary fence, he scores four runs, without needing to actually run them. If a batsman hits the ball over the boundary on the full, he scores six runs. If a four or six is scored, the ball is completed and the batsmen cannot be run out. If a spectator encroaches on to the field and touches the ball, it is considered to have reached the boundary. If a fielder gathers the ball, but then steps outside or touches the boundary while still holding the ball, four runs are scored. If a fielder catches the ball on the full and, either during or immediately after the catch, steps outside or touches the boundary, six runs are scored.

The batsmen usually stop taking runs when a fielder is throwing the ball back towards the pitch area. If no fielder near the pitch gathers the ball and it continues into the outfield again, the batsmen may take more runs. Such runs are called overthrows. If the ball reaches the boundary on an overthrow, four runs are scored in addition to the runs taken before the overthrow occurred.

Runs scored by a batsman, including all overthrows, are credited to him by the scorer. The number of runs scored by each batsman is an important statistic.

If, while running multiple runs, a batsman does not touch the ground beyond the popping crease before he returns for the next run, then the umpire at that end will signal one short, and the number of runs scored is reduced by one.

The Play

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The order in which the teams bat is determined by a coin toss. The captain of the side winning the toss may elect to bat or field first.

All eleven players of the fielding team go out to field, two players of the batting team go out to bat. The remainder of the batting team wait off the field for their turn to bat. Each batsman wears protective gear and carries a cricket bat.

The game progresses by the bowling of balls. The sequence of events which constitutes a ball follows:

The fielding team disperses around the field, to positions designed to stop runs being scored or to get batsmen out. One fielder is the bowler. He takes the ball and stands some distance behind one of the wickets (i.e., away from the pitch). Another fielder is the wicket-keeper, who wears a pair of webbed gloves designed for catching the ball and protective pads covering the shins. He squats behind the opposite wicket. The rest of the fielders have no special equipment - gloves to assist catching the ball are not allowed to anyone but the wicket-keeper.

One batsman stands behind each popping crease, near a wicket. The batsman farthest from the bowler is the striker, the other is the non-striker. The striker stands before his wicket, on or near the popping crease, in the batting stance. For a right-handed batsman, the feet are positioned like this:

The batsman stands with his bat held down in front of the wicket, ready to hit the ball, which will be bowled from the other end of the pitch. The batsman usually rests the lower end of the bat on the pitch and then taps the bat on the pitch a few times as "warm-up" backswings.

The non-striker simply stands behind the other popping crease, waiting to run if necessary. The bowler takes a run-up from behind the non-striker's wicket. He passes to one side of the wicket, and when he reaches the non-striker's popping crease he bowls the ball towards the striker, usually bouncing the ball once on the pitch before it reaches the striker. (The bowling action will be described in detail later.)

The striker may then attempt to hit the ball with his bat. If he misses it, the wicket-keeper will catch it and the ball is completed. If he hits it, the two batsmen may score runs (described later). When the runs are completed, the ball is also considered completed. The ball is considered to be in play from the moment the bowler begins his run-up. It remains in play until any of several conditions occur (two common ones were just described), after which it is called dead. The ball is also dead if it lodges in the striker's clothing or equipment. Once the ball is dead, it is returned to the bowler for the next delivery (another name for the bowling of a ball). Between deliveries, the batsmen may leave their creases and confer with each other.

When one bowler has completed six balls, that constitutes an over. A different member of the fielding team is given the ball and bowls the next over - from the opposite end of the pitch. The batsmen do not change ends, so the roles of striker and non-striker swap after each over. Any member of the fielding team may bowl, so long as no bowler delivers two consecutive overs. Once a bowler begins an over, he must complete it, unless injured or suspended during the over.

Another possibility during a ball is that a batsman may get out. There are ten different methods of being out - these will be described in detail later. If a batsman gets out, the ball is dead immediately, so it is impossible to get the other batsman out during the same ball. The out batsman leaves the field, and the next batsman in the team comes in to bat. The not out batsman remains on the field. The order in which batsmen come in to bat in an innings is not fixed. The batting order may be changed by the team captain at any time, and the order does not have to be the same in each innings.

When ten batsmen are out, no new batsmen remain to come in, and the innings is completed with one batsman remaining not out. The roles of the teams then swap, and the team which fielded first gets to bat through an innings. When both teams have completed the agreed number of innings, the team which has scored the most runs wins.