Bowling (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder. Bowling the ball is distinguished from simply throwing the ball by a strictly specified biomechanical definition which restricts the angle of extension of the elbow. A single act of bowling the ball towards the batsman is called a ball or a delivery. Bowlers bowl deliveries in sets of six, called an over. Once a bowler has bowled their over, one of their team mates will bowl an over from the other end of the pitch. The Laws of Cricket govern how a ball must be bowled. If a ball is bowled illegally, an umpire will rule it a no ball. If a ball is bowled too wide of the stumps or too high for the batsman to be able to hit it, an umpire will rule it a wide.

There are different types of bowlers ranging from fast bowlers, whose primary weapon is pace, through swing and seam bowlers who try to make the ball deviate in its course through the air or when it bounces, to slow bowlers, who will attempt to deceive the batsmen with a variety of flight and spin. A spin bowler usually delivers the ball quite slowly and puts spin on the ball causing it to bounce at an angle off the pitch

Batting tactics and strategy vary depending on the type of match being played as well as the current state of play. The main concerns for the batsmen are not to lose their wicket and to score as many runs as quickly as possible. These objectives are generally in opposition to each other - to score quickly, some risky shots may need to be played thereby increasing the chances that the batsman will be dismissed. Depending on the current situation, batsmen may forgo attempts at run-scoring in an effort to preserve their wicket, or may attempt to score runs as quickly as possible with scant concern for the possibility of being dismissed.

As with all other cricket statistics, batting statistics and records are a major part of the game and provide a measure of a player's effectiveness. The main statistic for batting is the batting average, the mean score achieved by the batsman over his career. This is calculated by dividing the number of runs he has scored, not by the innings he has played, but by the number of times he has been dismissed. In limited overs cricket an additional important statistic is the strike rate, the rate at which a batsman scores his runs.

Due to the number of batting records he set, some as far back as the 1930s and still unbeaten, Sir Donald Bradman is widely regarded as the greatest batsman of all time. In the modern era, Sachin Tendulkar is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsman with the most number of Centuries both in the Test and Limited Overs format, most number of runs in the Test and Limited overs format, the second highest score of 200 not out in One day cricket among other records

Batting (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke. The terms batsman or specialist batsman are also used generically to describe players who specialise in batting (as opposed to e.g. bowlers who would specialise in bowling).

During an innings two batsmen from the team bat: the one facing the current delivery from the bowler is denoted the striker, while the other is the non-striker. When a batsman is out, he is replaced by a team mate. This process continues until the end of the innings, whereupon the other team gets a turn to bat.

Wicket-keeper

The wicket-keeper (also spelt wicketkeeper and often shortened to keeper) in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike. The wicket-keeper is the only member of the fielding side permitted to wear gloves and external leg guards. The wicket-keeper also wears a helmet with a mesh face guard to help protect from injury.

It is essentially a specialist role although a keeper is occasionally called upon to bowl, in which case another member of the fielding side temporarily keeps wicket. The role of the keeper is governed by Law 40 of the Laws of Cricket.

Fielding (cricket)

Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position can be broken down into offside and legside parts of the field.

A fielder or fieldsman may field the ball with any part of his person. However, if while the ball is in play he wilfully fields it otherwise (e.g. by using his hat), the ball becomes dead and 5 penalty runs are awarded to the batting side unless the ball previously struck a batsman not attempting to hit or avoid the ball. Most of the rules covering fielders are in Law 41 of the Laws of cricket.

Indian Cricket League

The Indian Cricket League (ICL) was a private cricket league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India. Its two seasons included tournaments between four international teams (The World, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and nine domestic teams notionally located in major Indian cities as well as the champions Lahore Badshahs who were based in Lahore, Pakistan. The matches were played in the Twenty20 format. There was also a planned domestic 50-overtournament, but this did not eventuate. While its establishment pre-dated the Indian Premier League, the ICL folded in 2009. Aside from commercial factors, the ICL lacked the support of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.