There are very few things that symbolise English eccentricity more than the game of cricket.

The English have been playing cricket for over 300 years while the rest of the country, along with the rest of the world, have looked on bemused.

The idea that a game involving 22 players and 2 umpires (cricket referees) can last for five days and still end up as a draw either makes people laugh or shake their heads in disbelief.

But despite the seemingly complex rules and strange language used by those involved in the game (phrases such as “silly mid-off” “Googly” and “Chinaman” are enough to baffle even the most diehard sports enthusiast) cricket is a very popular sport in many countries around the world and regularly attracts TV audiences of millions.

The game of cricket is basically straightforward; all you have to do is score more runs than the opposition.

A bowler’s job is to throw the ball (or ‘bowl’) towards the batsman and try to hit the little wooden sticks (stumps), while the batsman’s job is to smash the ball as far away as possible thus scoring ‘runs’ and becoming a sporting god.
 
The rest of the bowler’s team stand around the batsman and try to catch the ball before it touches the ground, which is the other way of getting the batsman out. Once you have gotten 10 of the other team’s batsmen out both teams swap places and it starts all over again. Each time a team bats it is called an ‘innings’.

Batsmen score ‘runs’ depending on how far they hit the ball; If they hit the ball beyond the boundary without it touching the ground they score six runs, if the ball reaches the boundary but touches the floor along the way they score four and anything closer involves them running between the stumps for fewer runs.

You will also hear the term ‘over’ being used, this is just a measurement of how long the game has been played for.  One over is basically six balls, meaning that the bowler has bowled six times, games last anywhere between 20 and 90 overs depending on whatever it is a game of ‘one day cricket’ or ‘test cricket’, which lasts for five days.

As you might imagine, being an old game, lots of rules have been made up along the way, so if you decide that you truly love it then you will have to take the time out to study the rules in detail. You can do this by contacting the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) website and downloading their rule book, which they have been in charge of since 1788.

Cricket is a very old game, early records show that is was being played as far back as 1700, and is commonly associated with British rules of fair play, which is why you might hear the expression “that’s not cricket” to describe something that is unfair. It has always remained an English game and is not often played in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but is very popular in many countries across the Commonwealth particularly India, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa and the West Indies (Caribbean) often referred to as ‘the Windies’.

Cricket is traditionally a summer game in England and can be seen being played at different levels during this time. International and county games are played at large cricket grounds, but while you are here you will also see many local games being played on the village green and in local parks, these are free and provide the backdrop to many English people’s ideal summer. Ask an English person what sums up summer to them and ‘cricket on the village green’ will be a popular response amongst many.

John Hillman