Cricket · Guide
Cricket rules explained
Two teams of eleven. One bats and scores runs; the other bowls and fields, trying to get ten batters out. Then they swap. The team with more runs wins.
The basics
- The pitch: a 22-yard strip in the middle of the field, with a wicket (three stumps and two bails) at each end.
- Batting: two batters are in at once, one at each end. The one facing the bowler is the striker.
- Bowling: a bowler delivers six legal balls from one end, called an over. Then a different bowler bowls the next over from the other end.
- An innings ends when ten batters are out (the last one has nobody left to bat with) or the overs run out in a limited-overs match.
Scoring runs
- Running: after hitting the ball, both batters can run to the other end. Each time they both reach the other end, that is one run.
- Four: the ball reaches the boundary after touching the ground.
- Six: the ball clears the boundary on the full.
- Extras: runs given away by the bowling side: wides and no-balls, byes (runs when the ball misses everything) and leg byes (runs off the batter's body).
The ten ways to be out
| Dismissal | What happens |
|---|---|
| Bowled | The ball hits the stumps and knocks a bail off. |
| Caught | A fielder catches the ball off the bat before it touches the ground. |
| LBW | Leg before wicket: the ball would have hit the stumps but hit the batter's body first. See LBW explained. |
| Run out | The fielders break the wicket while a batter is short of the crease, running between the wickets. |
| Stumped | The wicketkeeper breaks the wicket while the batter is out of the crease and not attempting a run. |
| Hit wicket | The batter knocks off a bail with their bat or body while playing a shot or setting off. |
| Hit the ball twice | Deliberately hitting it a second time, other than to protect the stumps. |
| Obstructing the field | Deliberately getting in the fielders' way, including handling the ball. |
| Timed out | The next batter takes too long to get ready to face. |
| Retired out | A batter leaves the field without the umpire's permission and without an injury or illness, and does not come back. |
The first five cover almost every dismissal you will see.
Winning
In limited-overs cricket, the side with more runs wins. If the second team passes the target, it wins "by X wickets" (the number of batters not out). If the first team defends its total, it wins "by X runs". In Test cricket, if the time runs out before both teams have completed their innings, the match is a draw. See the formats.
Quick answers
- How does cricket work, simply?
- Two teams of 11 take turns to bat and bowl. The batting side scores runs; the bowling side tries to get ten batters out. The team with more runs wins.
- How many players are in a cricket team?
- Eleven. Two batters are on the field at a time; the whole fielding side is out there, including the bowler and the wicketkeeper.
- How many balls are in an over?
- Six legal deliveries. Wides and no-balls do not count towards the six, so an over can be longer.
- What is the difference between a four and a six?
- A four is scored when the ball crosses the boundary after touching the ground. A six is when it clears the boundary without bouncing.
- How many ways can you be out in cricket?
- Ten: bowled, caught, leg before wicket, run out, stumped, hit wicket, hit the ball twice, obstructing the field, timed out and retired out.