Cricket is a bat and ball sport played between two
teams, usually of eleven players each. A cricket match is played on a grass field (which is usually roughly
oval), in the centre of which is a flat strip of ground 22
yards (20.12
m) long, called a
pitch. At each end of the pitch is a set of three parallel wooden stakes (known as stumps) driven into the ground, with two small crosspieces (known as bails) laid on top of them. This wooden structure is called a
wicket. A player from the fielding team (the
bowler) bowls a hard, fist-sized cork-centred leather
ball from one wicket towards the other. The ball usually bounces once before reaching a player from the opposing team (the
batsman), who defends the wicket from the ball with a wooden
cricket bat. The batsman, if he or she does not get
out, may then run between the wickets, exchanging ends with the other batsman (the "non-striker"), who has been standing in an inactive role near the bowler's wicket, to score
runs. The other members of the bowler's team stand in various positions around the field as
fielders. The match is won by the team that scores more runs.Cricket has been an established team sport for hundreds of years. It originated in its modern form in
England and is popular mainly in the present and former members of the
Commonwealth. In the countries of
South Asia, including
India,
Pakistan,
Bangladesh, and
Sri Lanka, cricket is the most popular sport. It is also a major sport in places such as England and
Wales,
Australia,
New Zealand,
South Africa,
Zimbabwe,
Bermuda, and the English-speaking countries of the
Caribbean, which are collectively known in cricketing parlance as the
West Indies. There are also well established amateur club competitions in countries as diverse as the
Netherlands,
Kenya,
Nepal and
Argentina, among others; there are over one hundred cricket-playing nations recognised by the
International Cricket Council.
[1]The sport is followed with passion in many different parts of the world. It has even occasionally given rise to
diplomatic outrage, the most notorious being the
Basil D'Oliveira affair which led to the banning of
South Africa from sporting events. Other examples include the
Bodyline series, played between
England and
Australia in the early 1930s, and the
1981 underarm bowling incident involving Australia and
New Zealand.(wikipedia.com)
