Cricket - A Guide to the Game

Here are seven things that distinguish Test Match Cricket from the other forms of the game.

1. The game is played over a maximum of five days Test Match cricket is the long form of the game being played over four to five days. The purist believe that this is the best form of the game as it gives both teams the opportunity to show off their skills and requires a great deal of concentration and ingenuity.
2. There are two innings per side. An "innings" is the number of times each team gets to bat. In the Test Match each team gets the opportunity to bat twice. However in a case where a team is forced to "follow on", the opposing team may only bat once.
3. There are no restrictions on field placings There are over thirty conventional field placings and the team Captain can place his men in any combination of these. He may sometimes adopt some unorthodox placements.
4. The players all wear white clothing Both teams wear all white clothing. White shirts, short or long sleeved, white pants, socks, shoes or boots and sweaters. The only color worn is the team colors on sweaters and the team caps.
5. The sight screens are white. Sight screens are large areas placed at each end of the field behind the batsman. Their purpose is to give the batsman a clear sighting of the bowlers arm and the ball as it is bowled.
6. The ball is red. The cricket ball is round, encased in red leather and hand stitched. It can be up to nine inches in circumference but not less than 8.8125 inches. It can weigh between 5.5ounces and 5.75ounces.
7. There are three possible outcomes to the game. Test Match cricket is unique in the arena of sports as it is a game that can be played without a result being achieved at the end. There are three possible outcomes to a Test Match: an outright win, a tie, or a draw. When both teams finish on exactly the same score then there is a tie. The very first incidence of this rare occurrence happened at Brisbane during the West Indies 1960 tour to Australia. a match is said to be drawn when there is no chance of an outright win by either team.

These are just some of the things that distinguish Test Match Cricket from the other forms of Cricket. Look out for my articles on One Day Cricket and Twenty/Twenty cricket.

Miriam Walcott is the author of two books on cricket. Her latest book The Spectators Guide to Cricket is a compact companion to the game with easy to follow definitions and explanations of the various aspects of the game.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Miriam_Walcott