How to play cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game between two teams of eleven. The full game can last days, but casual cricket, tape-ball cricket or a short T20, fits into an afternoon in a park.
The basics
- One team bats and one bowls; then they swap. The team with more runs wins.
- Batters score runs by running between the wickets, or 4 for a ball that reaches the boundary and 6 if it clears it in the air.
- A batter is out if the ball hits the wicket, a fielder catches it before it bounces, or they are run out.
- The bowler bowls an over of six balls with a straight arm, then another bowler takes over from the other end.
- Short formats like T20 give each team 20 overs; casual games often use 6 to 10.
What you need
- A bat and a ball: tennis or tape-wrapped tennis balls make casual cricket safer.
- Stumps, or a bin or a crate as the wicket.
- Pads, gloves and a helmet for hard-ball cricket.
How a pickup game works
Casual cricket in parks usually uses a tennis ball or a taped ball, so no pads are needed. Players split into two sides, agree on overs per side and any house rules (one hand one bounce catch, no running on a hit behind), and swap after each side has batted.
Pickup etiquette
- Agree on the boundaries and house rules before you start.
- Walk when you know you are out.
- Shout a warning when a ball is hit toward other park users.
- Everyone bowls and everyone bats in casual games.
Your first games
- Watch the ball onto the bat and play straight.
- Practise bowling with a straight arm at a target.
- Start with tape-ball or tennis-ball cricket before hard ball.
Questions
What is tape-ball cricket?
Cricket played with a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape: it swings and bounces like a hard ball but is far safer, so no pads are needed.
How long does a cricket game last?
A T20 takes about 3 hours; a casual 10-over game about an hour.
How many players are on a cricket team?
Eleven in a full match, but casual games work with anything from 4 a side up.
The cities with the most cricket grounds on JOGO.