The Important Laws of Cricket

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the Indian subcontinent and other countries like England and Australia. Read about the major laws in the game here.

The laws of Cricket have undergone many changes over the years. The only law that hasn't changed yet is the length of the Pitch, which is 22 yards. The first regulation of Cricket laws was in 1744. The next year it was published in the format of a book in England. Here are the important laws in Cricket.

Players

Like Football and Hockey, each Cricket team has 11 players. But unlike the others, only 13 players will be on ground at the time of play.

It includes 2 players of the batting team and the 11 players of the bowling team. White jerseys are used in test matches while coloured jerseys are used in limited overs Cricket.

Pitch

The shape of pitch is rectangular. It is situated at the centre of the ground. The length of the pitch is 20.12 metres and the width is 3.05 metres.

Wicket

The wickets are situated in the middle of the pitch. There are two sets of wickets with a distance of 20.12 m between them. There will be 3 stumps and two bails in a set. The stump has a length of 71.1 cm and the diameter is between 3.49 cm and 3.81 cm. The length of the bail is 10.95 cm.

Ball

The wieght of a new ball must be between 155.9 grams and 163 grams. The circumference must be between 22.4 cm and 22.9 cm. In test Cricket balls of Red colour are used while in limited overs, White balls are used.

Bat

There was no definite size for the Cricket bat. Later the width of the bat was decided to be 4.25 inches. In 1835, the length of the bat was decided to be no more than 38 inches. There is no rule about the weight of a bat. Sachin Tendulkar, Clive Lloyd and Sunil Gavaskar are known to use relatively heavier bats. The rubber tubes on the handle for grip were introduced in 1880.

Over

An over consists of 6 legal ball deliveries. But in the beginning, 4 balls were consudered as an over. Then it changed to 5 and 6. In 1884, the law declaring 6-ball over came into existence.

No-ball

The no-ball system was begun in 1809. There was no extra run for no-ball though. The batsman wasn't allowed to take runs in the ball either. The law allowing batsman to take run in a no-ball was implemented in 1811. The system of giving extra run was instituted in 1829. Now in limited overs cricket, the succeeding delivery of a no-ball is a free-hit.

Wide Ball

The system of wide ball came into existence in 1810. The wide balls are the balls that go beyond the extent to which a batsman can reach. The batting team is given both extra run and an extra ball for a wide.

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