Cricket for Football Fans: A Simple Guide to Rules, Runs and Formats

Cricket is played by two teams of 11. One team bats to score runs, while the other bowls and fields to restrict scoring and dismiss batters. The side with the most runs wins. The action takes place on a 22-yard pitch with wickets at each end. Batters score by running between the wickets, hitting the ball to the boundary for four, or clearing it without a bounce for six. Six legal deliveries make an over, and bowlers change ends after each over. A batting side loses a wicket when a batter is dismissed, commonly by being bowled, caught, run out, given LBW or stumped. In limited-overs matches, teams balance fast scoring with protecting their wickets. T20 matches have 20 overs per side, ODIs have 50, and Test cricket can last up to five days. To follow a match, watch the score, wickets lost, overs completed and the target needed in a run chase.

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