Winners This competition was first held in 1975.
Encarta Encyclopedia Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Full Size In general, cricket is very similar to baseball. The cricket batter stands in front of one wicket and tries to score runs by hitting balls that the bowler (the cricket “pitcher”) throws to him from the opposite wicket. In specifics, however, the two games are very different. Cricket has no foul territory, no balls or strikes, and the batter does not have to run when he hits the ball.
The cricket batter also has a partner who stands at the opposite wicket with a bat. If the batter hits the ball and decides to run, the two players then simultaneously run to their opposite wickets.Once they are both over the popping crease at the opposite wicket, one run is scored. If the batter hits the ball far enough, he and his partner can continue to run back and forth from wicket to wicket, scoring another run each time they switch wickets.
If the batter hits a fly ball out of the ground, much like a “home run,” his team gets six automatic runs. If the batter hits a ground ball out of the playing area, the team gets four automatic runs. Unlike baseball, the batter does not come out after scoring a run but continues to hit until he is put out.The fielding team can get the batter out one of four main ways: (1) the bowler can throw the ball past the batter, hit the wicket, and knock off at least one bail (called an out bowled); (2) the batter blocks a ball from hitting the wicket with his body, even unintentionally (out leg before wicket, or LBW); (3) the batter hits the ball and any fielder catches it on the fly (out caught); and (4) a fielder can get the ball while the batters are running, throw it, hit the wicket, and knock off at least one bail before the batter crosses the popping crease (out run out).The bowler in cricket can take a run-up and can throw the ball to the batter on the bounce as well as on the fly, but he must keep his arm straight while throwing.
He must also stay behind the popping crease and within the return creases at his wicket until he releases the ball. To give both batters a chance to hit, the bowling direction is reversed every six pitches (called an over). After the first bowler has thrown six times from one wicket, another fielder takes the ball and throws six times from the other wicket.This change of bowling direction continues every six pitches throughout the game. A cricket game can last one or, at the most, two innings.
This is because the fielding team must get out 10 of the 11 players on the batting team before they can come to bat. When the fielding team comes up, they also bat through their entire order. Whichever team has the most runs after each team has batted once is the winner. In a two-innings game, each team would bat and field twice.
