Cricket, recognised as Australia’s national summer sport, is governed locally by Cricket Australia.
The game itself is believed to have originated in 16th-century England. It’s no surprise then that cricket began its history in Australia in the early 1800s, with the first recorded match played in Sydney in 1804.
Since then, Australia has cultivated a rich cricketing heritage, producing legends like Ellyse Perry and Sir Donald Bradman, affectionately known as ‘The Don’ and celebrated as the greatest cricketer of all time.
Rules of the game
To truly appreciate the game, it helps to understand the basics.
Cricket is played between two teams, each with 11 players.
Absar Hasan, a professional cricketer who plays for the University of NSW Cricket Club in the NSW Premier Association, describes the basic structure of a cricket match.
“There is a fielding side and there is a batting side… normally before the game starts there is a toss.The team that wins the toss gets to decide whether they want to field first or they want to bat first. Depending on that, the fielding team, all 11 players of the team, get to field at one time on the oval field. And from the batting side, there [are] two batsmen that bat at the middle on the pitch.”
Wickets in a stadium. Source: Getty / Colin Anderson
So teams take turns batting and fielding with the aim being to score the highest number of runs. One team plays first to set a target, then the opposing team tries to beat this target by scoring more runs.
This means that there is no exact time period that the game is played for, and games are notoriously longer than many other sports.
Additionally, match durations can vary from three to five days, with six hours played each day.
“There are different ways to score runs,” Mr Hasan explains.
“The main method is to run from one side of the pitch to the other side… One side of the pitch to the other is one run. If you run those multiple times, it is multiple runs. And so, you get to run, depending on whenever the fielder gets the ball, or whenever the ball comes to the fielder, and the fielder is able to bring the ball back to the wicket keeper, but you can’t run more than four times between the wickets.”
While the batting team tries to score as many runs as it can, the fielding team tries to get them out.
There are 10 ways to get a batter out. Getting bowled out is the most common way, Mr Hassan explains.
“On a pitch, there are two sets of wooden stumps. If the ball hits the stumps, the batsman is out. If the ball hits your front leg before the wicket or in front of the wicket, then that is also out. If you hit the ball and the ball is in the air on the full and the fielder catches it on the full, that is also out.
Bowled out. Credit: Patrick Case/pexels
“If you are facing [a] slower bowler, the wicket keeper is actually allowed to stand closer to the batsman’s side of the stumps… If the batsman goes down the wicket or moves down the pitch and is out of his batting crease, and the wicket keeper grabs the ball and knocks down the bails, then the batsman is also out in that case.”
Cricket terms
There are a few more cricket terms that you’ll often hear when watching cricket:
- The ball which is thrown, or bowled, towards the batter is known as a delivery.
- Six deliveries, or bowls is called an over.
- When one team completes its batting or bowling, this is referred to as an innings.
Formats of the game
Summer in Australia is a time when there are many different tournaments and matches played, ranging from short three-hour matches to five-day Test games.
Test cricket is the oldest format of cricket and usually comprises of two innings.
The Ashes is one of the most well-known test cricket series and has been played between Australia and England since 1882. The host country alternates each time and when it’s in Australia, matches are often played across multiple capital cities over five days.
Meher Rai is a professional cricketer currently representing the Greenvale Cricket Club. She describes the traditional five-day Test cricket.
“Both teams get to bat twice, and both teams get to bowl twice as well. It’s played in a white kit and we use a red leather ball for this format.”
One Day International (ODI) cricket is, as the name suggests, a shorter game. There are only 50 overs per side, as opposed to up to 90 overs in Test matches, which is why it can be completed in a single day.
Australia often competes with teams from all over the world.
The Big Bash League, often called the BBL, is the Australian men’s professional T20 league with teams from different Australian cities.
Women also have their own professional T20 league, which is called the Women’s Big Bash League, or WBBL.
Cricket has events across different formats which are famous among the fans. From Test cricket to T20s, the sport has some interesting rivalries and championships which are popular.
In the classic format Test cricket, the World Test Championship (WTC) has gained prominence, with its final often held at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in England.
Cricket World Cups are held in both the ODI and T20 formats and are highly popular among fans. The ODI World Cup takes place every four years, while the T20 World Cup occurs every two years.
A family plays backyard cricket. Source: Getty / Marilyn Nieves
One of Australia’s most famous cricketers, the late, great Shane Warne once said, “The history of cricket means so much to me – the history and especially the characters.”
And now you’ve learned the basics of cricket, it’s history and a number of famous Australian characters.
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