How do you play cricket?

Welcome! Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world, and it's wonderfully strategic once you get the hang of it.

I'm starting entirely from scratch!

Welcome! Starting from scratch is actually the best place to begin because we can build everything step-by-step.

Your path

How the Game is Played: Scoring and Innings

Ways to Get Out (Dismissals)

Formats of the Game

At its heart, is a game played between two teams, and the ultimate objective is simple: score more runs than the opposition to win the match.

Continue: What equipment do they use?

Let's dive into the core gear used in cricket. The three most essential items are the ball, the bat, and the .

The ball is hard, made of cork wrapped in leather, and traditionally coloured red (or white for limited-overs matches). The bat is made of wood with a flat front face and a rounded cane handle. The wickets stand at both ends of the pitch. Each wicket consists of three vertical wooden posts called stumps, topped by two small horizontal wooden pegs called bails resting balanced on top.

A cricket wicket consisting of three vertical wooden stumps and two horizontal bails resting across the top.

I've generated a simple visual showing how the stumps and bails assemble to form a wicket.

Continue: How many players are on a team?

Each team has 11 players, but unlike baseball, only two key roles exist on the field at any given moment: the and the fielding team.

The entire fielding side (all 11 players) takes the field together, consisting of the bowler, the , and nine fielders scattered around the ground.

Continue: What are the main roles like batting, bowling, and fielding?

Great question! Let's break down the main roles on the field.

The hurls the ball toward the batter at the opposite end, aiming to dislodge the bails off the stumps or force a mistimed shot.

The batter defends their stumps with the bat and attempts to hit the ball into open areas to score runs. Meanwhile, the rest of the fielding team works together in the outfield to catch or stop the ball.