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Cricket, nr2 in the world, however vey small in The Netherlands
A summer sport, which can be combined with a hockey and/or soccer ambition
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MCC Hengelo, a small club with enthousiastic members from all over the world
Cricket
Opinions are so divided about the origin of Cricket that unfortunately we cannot make a definitive statement about it. The French and English in particular have their own vision on this. This probably indicates, as with many sports, that the game has evolved and spread around the world simply because people found it fun, good and interesting to play.
For many people Cricket is not easily understood at first sight. Of course, a ball is thrown that has to be knocked away, but what about those three sticks behind it and why does it often take so long.
We therefore thought it would be good to also give a brief explanation about Cricket on this website.
Play cricket
Cricket is played on a grass surface which, unlike many other sports, is round or oval-shaped. In the middle of the field is the so-called 'pitch'. This pitch is 20.12 meters long and 30.06 meters wide. On this pitch there are white lines between which to run (runs). There are wickets on either side of the pitch. These are three posts (called stumps), with sticks on top (called bails). Cricket is played with 11 against 11 players. The teams take turns at bat (batting team) or play in the field to defend the strokes by throwing out players (bowling team). The turn between the teams changes after 10 players of the team have been at bat. The team with the most runs ultimately wins the match.
The length of a Cricket match is determined by the number of innings (where both teams hit once) and the number of 'overs' that are played in an inning. (this can vary from 20, 50 or 100). One over is equal to 6 balls thrown by the throwing team.
Hit and run
The team at bat should try to make runs by hitting the ball while avoiding the wicket being hit behind them. At the inning, there are players from one team on either side. If the person who has to hit (the batsman) hits the ball, both players run to the other side as quickly as possible. If this is successful, the team scores a run. The players have now changed places, so that the other is in control. A batsman can also make runs by hitting the ball out of the field in one go, this results in 4 runs over the ground, even 6 runs through the air. A run can be avoided if fielders take the ball and throw it back to their team's players on the pitch. The so-called wicket-keeper (that is the one who catches the balls behind the batsman that the bowler throws) and the bowler (that is the one who throws the balls towards the wicket / batsman) are then ready to quickly hit the wicket and the runners with that. to throw out.
If a batter scores 100 runs or more within 1 inning, which is quite exceptional, it is called a 'century'.
Throwing at Cricket
The pitcher in Cricket is called the 'bowler'. This bowler throws the ball towards the wicket. This is shielded by the batsman who must prevent the wicket from being hit with his bat. If the bowler hits the wicket, the player is out. Even if a ball is knocked away but goes through the air and is caught, the batsman is out. Only when the ball enters the field via the ground, the players in the field (the fielders) must try to quickly pick up the ball and throw it back so that the wicket can still be hit to throw the players out. When a bowler has thrown six balls, this is called an 'over'. After an over, the playing side is changed and a new bowler is appointed to the bowling team.
Incidentally, a batsman may not block the ball with his leg to hit the wicket, only with the bat.
Test cricket
Test cricket is an international form of match that lasts longer, namely two innings (where both teams get to bat) instead of 1 inning in a regular (one-day) match. Test cricket is only played by countries that have been granted test cricket status by the International Cricket Council. These are the most prominent Cricket countries.
In 2020 the following 12 countries are the countries (in order of award) with test cricket status:
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Australia
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England
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South Africa
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West Indies
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New Zealand
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India
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Pakistan
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Sri Lanka
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Zimbabwe
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Bangladesh
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Ireland
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Afghanistan
Cricket facts
- The Cricket World Cup is held every four years. England is the most recent world champion. They beat Australia in the final in 2019.
- The next Cricket World Cup will be held in India in 2023.
- Cricket was an Olympic sport once, in 1900 in Paris. However, only two countries participated in this event, England and France.
