An Introduction To The Game Of Cricket
By: Jeremy Rearden

In many countries of the World, Cricket is extremely popular. In the region where it is played, it is the most popular and spectator sport. You will notice this game if you go outside North America to places like England and Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the Caribbean.

The game of cricket appears very similar to baseball at first glance though there is significant difference between the two. They are both Bat and Ball games and can confuse an untrained eye that is unfamiliar with the sport.

The game shares many facets with baseball, and indeed cricket can be very similar at times. Like a baseball game, a cricket match is divided into segments called "innings". Also like baseball, during a cricket inning one team bats while the other "bowls" and "fields".

In cricket, the team who bats first sets a target score that the other team must try to match. The team that is bowling (or playing the field) tries to limit the number of points or "runs" that the opposing team scores. Unlike baseball, when a team is at bat they always have two batters (or batsmen) on the field. The innings is not over until 10 batsmen are declared out. When there are 10 outs, this is referred to as "taking their wickets" and results in the inning ending.

The result of the game is declared by counting the runs made by the teams. If the team batting second is unable to make the desired runs then it said that this team 'lost by (the number of runs) that is the difference in their scores'. In case the team batting second scores the required amount of runs then it is said 'won by (the amount of) runs'. The game can also result in a draw or a tie.

The differences between a baseball bat and a cricket bat are very obvious. While the cricket bat is made up of a long handle and a flat surface, more like a paddle, the baseball bat is round and essentially tube shaped. Though the batting in cricket is very similar to batting in baseball, it is not the same. The same holds good for bowling and pitching.

When the ball is hit by the batsmen in cricket it is called a stroke (or shot). Sometimes the batsmen will hit the ball with the side of the bat (as opposed to hitting it with the flat surface, it is hit with the edge). This is referred to as a "snick". Batters bat in a batting order which may be changed up to any point in the game if necessary to obtain a strategic advantage over the opposing team.

Cricket has become a recreationally compelling game both for the players and the spectators because of this subtle difference in strategy. These subtle differences do make a different experience in both playing and watching the game.

If you have an opportunity, you should look into cricket if you are visiting one of the countries in which it is popular. Cricket is great fun once you get over the steep learning curve required to pick up the jargon and nomenclature for the sport that is enthusiastically used to communicate the details of the game that so many people love and enjoy.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

About the author: Jeremy Rearden is the chief editor for Focus on Cricket, the best place on the internet when you're after fresh up to date advice and comment to do with Cricket. For more articles on Cricket why not visit: www.focuscricket.com/articles
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