Cricket is simple.
You have two sides - one out in the field and one in.
Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.
When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out.
Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When both sides have been in and out - including the not-outs - the game is over and the winner is announced, unless it rains because then Duckworth-Lewis will calculate runs from ins that were not ins or maybe would have been outs if they were ins.
I hereby order that everyone watch at least one test match.
This is incomplete information, which I feel has been written in such a manner as to confuse those who are genuinely interested in learning the rules of cricket. Therefore:
The most important element of cricket is the wicket. The wicket has multiple definitions, all of which are very clear from context.
Firstly, there is the wicket. The wicket is the strip of grass that separates the batter from the bowler. It is against the rules for players to run upon the wicket, for that is detrimental to the batting team and may unfairly result in wickets.
Secondly, there is the wicket. The wicket is the group of sticks (stumps) that are hammered into the ground at each end of the wicket. One of the ways to get a player out is to hit the wicket with a ball. It is also possible for a batter to get themselves out by accidentally hitting the wicket, which is (logically) called “hit wicket.”
Thirdly, there are wickets. Players who are out are called wickets. Really bad batters are known as walking wickets even if they are not out. When ten wickets have been taken the other team takes their turn batting. Naturally, where they bat is at the wicket. As a new batter comes onto the field to take their place at the wicket, they are said to be walking to the wicket, though I admit that it has never been made clear to me whether that refers to walking to the wicket (the grass) or the wicket (the stumps). Be that as it may, the players all know what they are doing and the game always progresses in the normal manner.
The most important thing to understand is that rhyming is very important. As such, common terms you will hear in commentary are: cricket, wicket and snick it. In olden times the perimeter around the cricket ground was a
picket fence, but this was deemed too confusing, though some parks still have such perimeters.
I hereby order the lawmakers of cricket to rename the lunch break the wicket.
