ABOUT CRICKET
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players each on a cricket field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch with a target called the wicket (a set of three wooden stumps topped by two bails) at each end. Each phase of play is called an innings during which one team bats, attempting to score as many runs as possible, whilst their opponents field. Depending on the type of match, the teams have one or two innings apiece and, when the first innings ends, the teams swap roles for the next innings. Except in matches which result in a draw, the winning team is the one that scores the most runs, including any extras gained.
Before a match begins, the two team captains meet on the pitch for the toss (of a coin) to determine which team will bat first. Two batsmen and eleven fielders then enter the field and play begins when a member of the fielding team, known as the bowler, delivers (i.e., bowls) the ball from one end of the pitch towards the wicket at the other end, which is guarded by one of the batsmen, known as the striker. In addition to the bowler, the fielding team includes the wicket-keeper, a specialist who stands behind the striker’s wicket. The nine other fielders are tactically deployed around the field by their captain, usually in consultation with the bowler. The striker “takes guard” on a crease drawn on the pitch four feet in front of the wicket. His role is to prevent the ball from hitting the stumps by using his bat and, simultaneously, to strike it well enough to score runs. The other batsman, known as the non-striker, waits at the opposite end of the pitch near the bowler. The bowler’s objectives are to prevent the scoring of runs and to dismiss the batsman. A dismissed batsman, who is declared to be “out”, must leave the field to be replaced by a teammate. An over is a set of six deliveries bowled by the same bowler. The next over is bowled from the other end of the pitch by a different bowler.
Cricket pitch
CRICKET RULES
Game Structure
Test cricket is a game that spans over two innings. This means that one team needs to bowl the other team out twice and score more runs then them to win the match. Another key difference between test cricket and other forms of cricket is the length of the innings. In test cricket there is no limit to the innings length. Whereas in one day cricket & Twenty20 cricket there are a certain amount of overs per innings. The only limits in test cricket is a 5 day length. Before the game begins an official will toss a coin. The captain who guesses the correct side of the coin will then choose if they want to bat or field first. One team will then bat while the other will bowl & field. The aim of the batting team is to score runs while the aim of the fielding team is to bowl ten people out and close the batting teams’ innings. Although there are eleven people in each team only ten people need to be bowled out as you cannot have one person batting alone. Batting is done in pairs.
Once the first team has been bowled out the second team would then go into bat. Once the second team is then bowled out it would normally return to the first team batting again. However there is an exception to this in the cricket rules, it is called the follow-on. The follow-on is when the first team makes at least 200 runs more than the second team made (in a 5 day test match). This then gives the first team the option to make the second team bat again. This is particularly useful if the game is progressing slowly or affected by bad weather and there might not be enough time for both teams to play a full innings. Should this be the case the batting team’s captain also has the right to forfeit their innings at any time. This is called a declaration. Some may wonder why a captain would forfeit the opportunity for his team to bat. However if the game is coming close to a close and it looks like they will not be able to bowl the other team out again this could be an option. If one team is not bowled out twice and a winner determined in the five days of play the game is declared a draw. Therefore it may be worth declaring an innings to creat the possibility of a win rather than a draw.
Ways to score runs
The aim of the batsmen is to score runs. One of the main cricket rules is that for batsmen to score runs they must run to each other’s end of the pitch (from one end to the other). In doing this one run is scored. Cricket rules state they may run multiple runs per shot. As well as running they can also score runs by hitting boundaries. A boundary scores the batsmen either 4 or 6 runs. A four is scored by hitting the ball past the boundary after hitting the ground while a six is scored by hitting the ball past the boundary on the full (before it hits the ground). Cricket rules also state that once a 4 or 6 has been scored any runs physically ran by the batsman are null & void. They will only obtain the 4 or 6 runs.
Other ways runs can be scored according to the cricket rules include no balls, wide balls, byes & leg byes. Cricket rules state that all runs scored by these methods are awarded to the batting team but not the individual batters.
- A “No Ball” can be declared for many reasons: If the bowler bowls the ball from the wrong place, the ball is declared dangerous (often happens when bowled at the batsmen’s body on the full), bounces more than twice or rolls before reaching the batsman or if fielders are standing in illegal positions. The batsman can hit a no ball and score runs off it but cannot be out from a no ball except if they are ran out, hit the ball twice, handle the ball or obstruct the field. The batsman gains any runs scored off the no ball for his shot while the team also gains one run for the no ball itself.
- A “Wide Ball” will be declared if the umpire thinks the batsman did not have a reasonable opportunity to score off the delivery. However if the delivery is bowled over the batsmen’s head it will not be declared a wide but a no ball. Umpires are much stricter on wide deliveries in the shorter format of the game while being much more relaxed in test cricket. A wide delivery will add one run to the batting team and any runs scored by the batsman. The batsman is not able to get out off a wide delivery except if they are stumped, run out, handle the ball, hit their wicket or obstruct the field.
- A “Bye” is where a ball that isn’t a no ball or wide passes the striking batsman and runs are scored without the batsman hitting the ball.
- A “Leg Bye” is where runs are scored by hitting the batsman, but not the bat and the ball is not a no ball or wide. However no runs can be scored if the striking batsman didn’t attempt to play a shot or if he was avoiding the ball.
Ways Batsmen can be given out according to cricket rules
There are a number of different ways a batsman can be given out in the game of cricket. When a bowler gets a batsman out it is said that the bowler gets a “wicket”. Following are the different ways a batsman can be given out according to the rules of cricket:
- Bowled – Cricket rules state that if the ball is bowled and hits the striking batsman’s wickets the batsman is given out (as long as at least one bail is removed by the ball). It does not matter whether the ball has touched the batsman’s bat, gloves, body or any other part of the batsman. However the ball is not allowed to have touched another player or umpire before hitting the wickets.
- Caught – Cricket rules state that if a batsman hits the ball or touches the ball at all with his bat or hand/glove holding the bat then the batsman can be caught out. This is done by the fielders, wicket keeper or bowler catching the ball on the full (before it bounces). If this is done then cricket rules state the batsman is out.
- Leg Before Wicket (LBW) – If the ball is bowled and it hits the batsman first without the bat hitting it then an LBW decision is possible. However for the umpire to give this out he must first look at some of the factors stated in the cricket rules. The first thing the umpire need to decide is would the ball have hit the wickets if the batsman was not there. If his answer to this is yes and the ball was not pitched on the leg side of the wicket he can safely give the batsman out. However if the ball hits the batsman outside the line of off stump while he was attempting to play a stroke then he is not out.
- Stumped – A batsman can be given out according to cricket rules when the wicketkeeper puts down his wicket while he is out of his crease and not attempting a run (if he is attempting a run it would be a runout).
- Run Out – Cricket rules state that a batsman is out if no part of his bat or body is grounded behind the popping crease while the ball is in play and the wicket is fairly put down by the fielding side.
- Hit Wicket – Cricket rules specify that if a batsman hits his wicket down with his bat or body after the bowler has entered his delivery stried and the ball is in play then he is out. The striking batsman is also out if he hits his wicket down while setting off for his first run.
- Handled The Ball – Cricket rules allow the batsman to be given out if he willingly handles the ball with the hand that is not touching the bat without the consent of the opposition.
- Timed Out – An incoming batsman must be ready to face a ball or be at the non strikers end with his partner within three minutes of the outgoing batsman being dismissed. If this is not done the incoming batsman can be given out.
- Hit The Ball Twice – Cricket rules state that if a batsman hits a ball twice other than for the purpose of protecting his wicket or with consent from the opposition he is out.
- Obstructing The Field – A batsman is out if he willingly obstructs the opposition by word or action
CRICKET WORLD CUP
| Year | Host(s) | Final venue | Result | ||
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| Winner | Margin | Runner-up | |||
| 1975 Details |
 England |
London |  West Indies291/8 (60 overs) |
West Indies won by 17 runs Scorecard |
 Australia274 all out (58.4 overs) |
| 1979 Details |
England |
London | West Indies 286/9 (60 overs) |
West Indies won by 92 runs Scorecard |
England 194 all out (51 overs) |
| 1983 Details |
England |
London |  India183 all out (54.4 overs) |
India won by 43 runs Scorecard |
West Indies 140 all out (52 overs) |
| 1987 Details |
India Pakistan |
Kolkata | Australia 253/5 (50 overs) |
Australia won by 7 runs Scorecard |
England 246/8 (50 overs) |
| 1992 Details |
Australia New Zealand |
Melbourne | Pakistan 249/6 (50 overs) |
Pakistan won by 22 runs Scorecard |
England 227 all out (49.2 overs) |
| 1996 Details |
Pakistan India Sri Lanka |
Lahore | Sri Lanka 245/3 (46.2 overs) |
Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets Scorecard |
Australia 241/7 (50 overs) |
| 1999 Details |
England Scotland Wales Ireland Netherlands[a] |
London | Australia 133/2 (20.1 overs) |
Australia won by 8 wickets Scorecard |
Pakistan 132 all out (39 overs) |
| 2003 Details |
 South Africa Zimbabwe Kenya[b] |
Johannesburg | Australia 359/2 (50 overs) |
Australia won by 125 runs Scorecard |
India 234 all out (39.2 overs) |
| 2007 Details |
West Indies[c] |
Bridgetown | Australia 281/4 (38 overs) |
Australia won by 53 runs (D/L) Scorecard |
Sri Lanka 215/8 (36 overs) |
| 2011 Details |
India Sri Lanka Bangladesh |
Mumbai | India 277/4 (48.2 overs) |
India won by 6 wickets Scorecard |
Sri Lanka 274/6 (50 overs) |
| 2015 Details |
Australia New Zealand |
Melbourne | Australia 186/3 (33.1 overs) |
Australia won by 7 wickets Scorecard |
New Zealand 183 all out (45 overs) |
MY FAVORITE CRICKETER
RAHUL DRAVID | Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Rahul Sharad Dravid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1973-01-11) 11 January 1973 Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India |
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| Nickname | The Wall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right arm off spin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman, occasional wicketkeeper, Coach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www.rahuldravid.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 207) | 20 June 1996 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 24 January 2012 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 95) | 3 April 1996 v Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 16 September 2011 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 19 (prev. 5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Only T20I (cap 38) | 31 August 2011 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I shirt no. | 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–2012 | Karnataka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Scottish Saltires | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Royal Challengers Bangalore (squad no. 19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Rajasthan Royals (squad no. 19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Marylebone Cricket Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MY HOBBY 