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Cricket: A Game That Fascinates Millions Of People
by Jeremy Rearden
http://www.focuscricket.com
In many countries of the World, Cricket is extremely
popular. In the region where it is played, it is the most
popular and spectator sport. You will notice this game if
you go outside North America to places like England and
Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and
the Caribbean.
The game of cricket appears very similar to baseball at
first glance though there is significant difference between
the two. They are both Bat and Ball games and can confuse an
untrained eye that is unfamiliar with the sport.
Cricket does share some of the same facets with baseball.
As in a baseball game, a cricket match is played in
segments called "innings". And, as in baseball, during a
cricket inning one team bats while the other "fields"
(sometimes called "bowls" in cricket).
The team who bats first sets a target score that the other
team attempts to match. The team that is bowling or playing
the field attempts to limit the amount of points or "runs"
that the opposing team scores. When a team is at bat they
always have two batters (or batsmen) on the field. Innings
do not change until 10 batsmen are declared out. This is
referred to as "taking their wickets" and results in the end
of the inning.
At the end of the game the winner is the team with the
highest amount of runs. If the losing team bats last, the
team is said to have lost by (the difference in the runs of
the winning team and the losing team). If the winning team
is bats last, they have won by (the total amount of) runs".
If neither team is ahead with more runs, the cricket match
can end in a "tie" or "draw".
There are very obvious differences between a baseball bat
and a cricket bat. While a baseball bat is round and
essentially tube shaped, a cricket bat is shaped more like a
paddle. The cricket bat is made up of a long handle and a
flat surface, reminiscent of a boat paddle. Batting is done
in a style similar to batting in baseball, but not quite the
same. The same can be said for pitching and fielding.
The order in which the batsmen come to bat can be changed
any time depending on the planned strategy to gain advantage
of the situation. When the batsman hits the ball it is
called the shot or 'stroke'. At times when the batsman hits
the ball from the edge of the bat instead of the flat
surface then it is called a 'snick'.
Some find that it is due to the subtle differences in
strategy that make cricket a more compelling sport to both
participate in and follow recreationally. Indeed, these
subtle differences make for a different experience in both
playing and watching the game.
If you have an opportunity, you should look into cricket if
you are visiting one of the countries in which it is
popular. Cricket is great fun once you get over the steep
learning curve required to pick up the jargon and
nomenclature for the sport that is enthusiastically used to
communicate the details of the game that so many people love
and enjoy.
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