This week, I will be focusing on the rules of cricket by relating it to baseball. I will also talk about the various quirky terms that have come to be associated with cricket.
The relationship between cricket and baseball is like comparing field hockey and ice hockey — similar idea, different implementation. They both involve a fielding side "throwing a ball" at the batting side. The batting side tries to hit the ball and score as many runs as possible. Just like in baseball where a pitcher "pitches" the ball toward the home plate to get the batter out, a bowler "bowls" the ball toward three upright sticks called the "wicket" to get the batter (batsman) out. In cricket, a bowler is only allowed to bowl over−arm, and the ball is allowed to hit the ground before it reaches the batsman.
A cricket field is elliptical in shape. There is a pitch in the middle with the bowler bowling from one end and the batsman facing him at the other end. There are wickets placed on both ends of the pitch. Apart from the bowler and the catcher (wicket−keeper in cricket), there are nine fielders placed at different positions across the field. Their primary jobs are to either get the batsmen out or stop them from scoring runs. Similar to baseball, a batsman is out if the fielder catches a ball in flight or if he knocks down the wickets on either end of a pitch before the batsman reaches the crease (similar to reaching the base). A batsman is also out if the bowler hits the wicket with his bowling, similar to a strike−out.
The batsman's primary objective is to score runs. To score a run, he has to run to the other end of the pitch before a fielder dislodges the wicket on that end. A batsman gets four runs if he hits the ball in such a way that it crosses the boundary of the field and six runs if the ball leaves the boundaries without touching the playing field.
There are three versions of the game, and for now, I will be focusing on the shortest version: 20−20 cricket, which can go on for about three and a half hours. A bowler gets to bowl a maximum of four overs in a game. Each over comprises of six balls. If a bowler bowls a ball outside the "strike zone" of a batsman, he has to re−bowl it. The two teams have to bowl 20 overs each, and whoever ends up with the most runs wins the game. The fielding side tries to keep the number of runs scored to a minimum or to get 10 outs, which results in the end of the batting team's inning.
Now, cricket's poor sense of humor can only be matched with a computer science major's — like mine. There are various terms that have come to be associated with cricket that frankly befuddle even the most seasoned follower. If a bowler finishes an over without conceding a single run, he has "bowled a maiden over" (don't we all want to, guys?). A batsman is "stumped" (no, not your state of mind after reading this column) if the wicket−keeper dislodges the wicket and the batsman is out of the crease on either end of a wicket (similar to being caught outside the bases). There is a fielding position called "silly point" as the fielder stands very close to a batsman and tries to save his skin from a hard leather ball hit at more than 100 mph while trying to get the batsman out. A batsman can hit a "sweep shot," which does not mean that the batsman is particularly interested in the hygiene of the ground — it is just a shot to score some runs off of.
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Avinash Asthana is a junior majoring in computer science. He can be reached at Avinash.Asthana@tufts.edu.
