Cricket, Not Just an Insect

Emma bats for 6

(Emma) The Cricket World Cup is happening in India and their team is doing well. This is important because Indians LOVE cricket! We knew nothing about the game, so we wanted to learn.

The objective of the game is to get as many runs as you can, more than the other team! The dozen most important things:

• There is 1 inning per team per game
• There are 2 people on the offensive team at once on the field.
• There are 11 people on the defensive side including one bowler (pitcher)
• There are 300 balls bowled OR 10 outs; which ever comes first
• During his turn, each bowler throws 6 balls, which is called an Over
• The bowler tries to hit the wickets*, giving the batter an out while also trying to keep the batsman from hitting the ball
• So the batter tries to protect the wickets and tries to hit the ball as far as he can
• The fielders get the ball when it is hit and throw it to the wickets; if they hit the wicket before the batsman gets there it is an out, if the 2 batsman exchange positions before the fielder hits the wicket the team hitting gets 1 run
• If a fielder catches the ball in the air it is an automatic out
• If no one gets to the ball before it rolls to the side wall it is 4 runs
• If the ball goes out into the stands in the air it is 6 runs
• In the end, after the 2 innings, whomever has the most runs wins! Usually in a good game, the winner scores in the 300’s

It is a crazy game; and the best part was that we got to play in a field in India with all the local kids watching us!

*Wickets are 3 sticks in the ground with 2 pins in between the gaps