Some Unkown Details of Cricket

Cricket :
Cricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. 
Today, the game's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), has 104 member countries.With its greatest popularity in the Test playing countries, cricket is the world's second most popular sport.


Number of players(in each side) : 11
Roles played by them : Batsmen, Bowlers, Fielders
Elements : Wickets, Cricket ball, Cricket bat, Pitch, Boundary.
Referees: 3 people(1st-Umpire, 2nd-Leg Umpire, 3rd-TV Umpire)
Shape of the playing Ground : Oval, Ellipsoidal, Rarely a square.


Cricket Pitch :
A cricket pitch is the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets. The pitch is 1 chain or 22 yards (20.12 m) long and 10 feet (3 m) wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the pitch.

In amateur matches, artificial pitches are commonly used. These can be a slab of concrete, overlaid with a coir mat, artificial turf, some times dirt is put over the coir mat to provide an authentic feeling pitch. Artificial pitches are rare in professional cricket—only being used when exhibition matches are played in regions where cricket is not a common sport.

Extras:

Main article: Extra (cricket)

Additional runs can be gained by the batting team as extras (called "sundries" in Australia) due to errors made by the fielding side. This is achieved in four ways:

1. No ball – a penalty of one extra that is conceded by the bowler if he breaks the rules of bowling either by (a) using an inappropriate arm action; (b) overstepping the popping crease; (c) having a foot outside the return crease. In addition, the bowler has to re-bowl the ball. In limited overs matches, a no ball is called if the bowling team's field setting fails to comply with the restrictions. In shorter formats of the game (20–20, ODI) the free hit rule has been introduced. The ball following a front foot no-ball will be a free-hit for the batsman, whereby he is safe from losing his wicket except for being run-out.
2. Wide – a penalty of one extra that is conceded by the bowler if he bowls so that the ball is out of the batsman's reach; as with a no ball, a wide must be re-bowled
3. Bye – extra(s) awarded if the batsman misses the ball and it goes past the wicketkeeper to give the batsmen time to run in the conventional way (note that one mark of a good wicketkeeper is one who restricts the tally of byes to a minimum)
4. Leg bye – extra(s) awarded if the ball hits the batsman's body, but not his bat, while attempting a legitimate shot, and it goes away from the fielders to give the batsmen time to run in the conventional way.

When the bowler has bowled a no ball or a wide, his team incurs an additional penalty because that ball (i.e., delivery) has to be bowled again and hence the batting side has the opportunity to score more runs from this extra ball. The batsmen have to run (i.e., unless the ball goes to the boundary for four) to claim byes and leg byes but these only count towards the team total, not to the striker's individual total for which runs must be scored off the bat.


 
Equipments :


Cricket Bat:
As the rules of the game are known, limit the size of the bat to not more than 38 in (965 mm) long and the blade may not be more than 4.25 in (108 mm) wide. Bats typically weigh from 2 lb 8 oz to 3 lb (1.1 to 1.4 kg) though there is no standard. The handle is usually covered with a rubber or cloth sleeve to enhance grip and the face of the bat may have a protective film.

Cricket Ball :
Cricket balls, which weigh on average between 155.9 and 163.0 grams, are known for their hardness and for the risk of injury involved when using them.


Cricket balls are made from a core of cork, which is layered with tightly wound string, and covered by a leather case with a slightly raised sewn seam. In a top-quality ball suitable for the highest levels of competition, the covering is constructed of four pieces of leather shaped similar to the peel of a quartered orange, but one hemisphere is rotated by 90 degrees with respect to the other.


The "equator" of the ball is stitched with string to form the ball's prominent seam, with a total of six rows of stitches. The remaining two joins between the leather pieces are stitched internally. Lower-quality balls with a 2-piece covering are also popular for practice and lower-level competition due to their lower purchase cost.


For men's cricket, the ball must weigh between 5.5 and 5.75 ounces (155.9 and 163.0 g) and measure between 8 13/16 and 9 in (224 and 229 mm) in circumference. Balls used in women's and youth matches are slightly smaller.

White balls are used in all limited overs cricket where coloured clothing is worn.

Cricket balls are traditionally dyed red, and red balls are used in Test cricket and First-class cricket. White balls were introduced when one-day matches began being played at night under floodlights, as they are more visible at night.




Wicket:


The stumps are three vertical posts which support two bails. The stumps and bails are usually made of wood, and together form a wicket at each end of the pitch. The overall width of each wicket is 9 inches (22.9 cm).
Each stump is 28 inches (71.1 cm) tall with maximum and minimum diameters of 1¹⁄₂ inches (3.81 cm) and 1³⁄₈ inches (3.49 cm). They have a spike at one end for inserting into the ground, and the other end has a U-shaped 'through groove' to provide a resting place for the bails.
Each stump is referred to by a specific name:

• Off stump is the stump on the off side of the wicket (the same side as the batsman's bat).
• Middle (Lie) stump is the center stump, on the lie of the wicket.
• Leg stump is the stump on the on side of the wicket (the same side as the batsman's legs).

These names are relative to the batsman, so a right-handed batsman's leg stump becomes the off stump when a left-handler is batting.
In modern professional play, the stumps are often emblazoned with a sponsor's logo. Although they are too far away from spectators to be seen, such logos are visible on television coverage.


Clothing:

Batting pads:

Batting pads are large, protecting shins, knees and a of lower thigh above knees, with a slot for the foot. Pads are one of the several protective gears wore by the cricket players while batting. Also known as leg guards, pads are wore on the legs by the batsman or the wicket keeper to protect them from the hard leather ball. Most pads have three velcro straps to fasten them to your leg, making them easy to adjust. A special knee roll is provided to protect knees from the ball.

Traditional pads have ribs made up of cane wood to provide more protection, running vertically up to the knee roll. Professional players also include extra padding beneath the pads to encounter the impact from the ball generally delivered at a speed ranging from 80 to 90 miles/hour.
Modern day pads are made up of durable, strong and ultra light synthetic material like PVC to avoid fatigue caused by wearing them for a long time. Traditional pads were made up of cotton, foam and cane wood strips covered by a white cloth, making them heavy.

Wicket-keeper's pads:

Originally, wicket-keepers used batting pads to protect their legs, but found the knee-protecting flaps interfered with their agility and ability to catch. There were also incidents where the ball lodged in the space between the flap and the wicket-keeper's leg. Modern wicket-keeper's pads are therefore smaller than batting pads, with insignificant knee flaps.

 

Helmet:

In the sport of cricket, batsmen often wear a helmet to protect themselves from injury by the cricket ball, which is very hard and can be bowled to them at speeds over ninety miles per hour.
There are recorded instances of cricketers using towels, scarves and padded caps to protect themselves throughout cricket history. Patsy Hendren was one of the first to use a self designed protective hat in the 1930s. Helmets were not in common use until the 1970s. Mike Brearley was another player who wore his own design. Tony Greig was of the opinion that they would make cricket more dangerous by encouraging bowlers to bounce the batsmen.

 source: wikipedia