There are many fun ways that you can keep active and in great shape. From different exercise cycles to running to playing a sport, there is no one perfect way to get fit. If your current means of physical activity is not your favourite, you can go and try out another one. Something new that you might try is cricket. The equipment involved to pick up this sport includes four balls, six stumps and four bails (which create wickets), and a group of people to play with. While it may seem that the game requires a lot of equipment, cricket is a relatively easy game to pick up. That is the reason that it is so widely popular around the world in places like the UK or New Zealand. With just a small bit of work, you can quickly become a professional cricketer.

The Layout of the Field

The first step in learning to play cricket is the understanding of the setup of the game. Cricket is played on an ovular field. On one side of the field, behind where the pitcher is standing, there is a wicket stuck into the ground that has been made out of stumps and bails. The batter stands on the exact opposite side of the pitcher, equidistant to the wicket that is in the ground. If you cannot find an ovular field, that is okay. As long as the wicket and the batter are on opposite, equidistant sides from the pitcher, you will still be able to play cricket.

Furthermore, the areas on the field must be divided into four segments. The first is the batting crease, which is where the batter stops being able to be run out of the play. The return creases are on the long ends of the rectangle that can be made by viewing the area between the batter and the bowler. The bowling crease is the line that the batter must stand behind. Lastly, the end of the pitch area is marked off by another set of creases.

The Team and Scoring

Cricket is a sport that is played in two innings by two teams of eleven people. Oftentimes there is a twelfth person that is present in case of an injury of any of the other eleven people. The team that is bowling the ball to the person with the racket has all eleven members out on the team at one time. The team that is up to bat has two people out on the field.

The bowler has six chances to bowl the ball to the person who is trying to hit the ball with the cricket racket. If all six pitches are bowled and the person up to bat has yet to hit the ball, a new bowler is switched in. This is called an “over” for the person who bowled the six unhittable balls. Furthermore, the side that the bowler is bowling from changes every time that an “over” is called.

There are several ways that the person that is trying to hit the ball can get out. The batsman can handle the ball, get stumped, hit wicket, get caught, or put their leg before the wicket. If any of these things occur, the batsman is out. Once ten batsmen get out, the inning is over, and the teams switch sides. You’ll need the right equipment to play, including a cricket racket, cricket gloves, a ball, and stumps to put in the ground.

Playing the Game

When it comes to actually playing the game, the bowler bowls the ball to the batsman. The batsman has to try to hit the ball. If the batsman hits the ball there are many options. Firstly, the batsman and the other team member that is located on the other side of the pitch can try to switch places. If they both manage to run to one side of the field, they are safe and get a point. If one point is scored, the running batsman does not have to stop. They can continue running, trying to accumulate more points.

More points can be collected if the batsman hits the ball out of bounds. If it goes directly out of bounds, six points are scored for the hitting team. If it bounces prior to going out of bounds, four points are scored.

With these simple steps, you can play a fun game of cricket for however long you want!