Home » Uncategorized » Understanding Cricket Rules: A Guide for New Fans

Understanding Cricket Rules: A Guide for New Fans

If you’re from a country where cricket is popular, you probably know the rules. If not, it might just seem like an odd version of baseball with complicated rules that are hard to follow.

Actually, the game isn’t that complicated if you take the time to break it down and learn the basics. Naturally, a game with such a high level of popularity all over the world can’t be that difficult to understand. In fact, cricket has become so popular that people are now actively betting on it in many different places. You can find and try your luck for yourself.

Let’s take a closer look.

What is the point?

Cricket is a game that is played by two teams of 11 players each. Every team includes a wicketkeeper, whose job it is to stand behind the wicket and be ready to catch the ball. Other players are generally either batsmen or bowlers, but they usually do not switch between these positions. Although there have been some notable cases of players who were proficient in both roles, these are comparatively rare. Also, every game has an umpire.

The ultimate goal of each team in any given game is to score more points than the other team. Points are made by means of securing “runs” or “wickets.” At the beginning of any given game, there is a coin toss to determine which team will bowl first.

The length of time that cricket games last varies considerably. They can range from a few hours to several days. The way that the intervals are broken down is the following: each game consists of a certain number of “overs,” generally between 15-50. Each over involves the bowling of six consecutive balls from the same bowler. 

There are also variations of the game, such as limited overs and Twenty20 cricket, that include their own rules about the number of overs that are played. 

How is a run completed?

You can get a full overview of the rules on .

In short, in order to score a run, one team must run between the stumps after the ball has been bowled. In other words, they need to cross over before the side that has bowled is able to take the bails off with the ball. The bails are the cross bars that are on the stumps.

The point is determined depending on whether the ball travels outside the official boundaries of the game, which are delineated by a rope – but touches the ground first, in which case the side that hit the bat earns a total of four runs. Alternatively, if the ball does not touch the ground before it leaves the official area, the same team earns a total of six runs.

There are also additional points that the hitting team can potentially score, depending on potential infractions that might be committed by the bowler. For example, if the bowler steps over the official mark from which he bowls, it is considered a “no ball.” Alternatively, the bowler might bowl the ball in such a way as to make it too wide for the other team to possibly hit, in which case the other team will gain a run.

Strict rules

The enforcement of cricket rules is quite strict, with multiple different possibilities existing for the potential dismissal of batsmen. Batsmen can be “bowled,” “caught,” “stumped,” “leg before wicket,” or “run out,” all of which could result in their being removed from the game.

Cricket is also a major test of endurance. As games can drag on for several days, players have to be especially fit and prepared for marathon sessions in order to be able to win.

Attend a game, or try your luck with the betting sites

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the basics of the game, check one out sometime. If you live in an area where cricket is popular, you can either head down to a game yourself or catch one on TV at one of the local establishments that will likely be showing it. When you feel like you’ve got a good feel for the odds, check out one of the betting sites and see how you fare. You might just win big.