Cricket rules

Cricket involves a set of rules that are over two and a half centuries old that underwent additions and alterations as per the requirements and preferences of the governing authorities of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), who are also the sole authority holding the power to do so. Cricket rules compel the cricketers to play in accordance with the Laws, besides keeping the Spirit of the Game intact as well.

At the onset of the new millennium, i.e. year 2000, the MCC revised and re-wrote the Cricket Rules to match the modern times. The new code introduced the Spirit of Cricket as a Preamble to the Laws, whereas, during the past eras, the implicit Spirit of the Game was more of a factor to be understood. MCC took it a step forward this time and clear guidelines came up to maintain the unique character and enjoyment that the game of cricket is famous for. The new measure also dispensed the Notes, for incorporating all the points into Cricket Rules and to alter and change, wherever possible, and remove any ambiguities that may be present, to allow captains, players and umpires to enjoy a game irrespective of the level they are playing for.

There are a total of forty-two laws that the game of cricket involves; they are directed towards the regular players; substitutes and runners; the umpires and the scorers; the ball and the bat; the pitch and the wickets; the bowling, popping and return creases; the preparation and maintenance of the playing area; the innings, and the follow-on; declaration and forfeiture; intervals, game beginning and cessation; field practice; scoring runs; bowling, batting and fielding as well as fair and unfair play.

But there is also something called indoor cricket that varies slightly from the normal cricket rules; indoor cricket comprises rules that are similar but for a few ones. These are regarding the number of overs that are played (16); overs per bowler restricted to 2 while for batsmen it’s 4; getting a batsman caught out off the net is prohibited and he loses 5 runs though is allowed to stay in until 4 overs are completed; runs are calculated by hitting to different sections of the court besides scoring them through hit and run and a bowler bowling a no ball or a wide. In case of the last one, two runs are given to the batting side.

Also worth mentioning is the Duckworth Lewis system which was developed by the ICC (International Cricket Council) to decide how the game would proceed in case it is interrupted by rain or any other natural calamity during the second innings. The system takes into account the number of runs made by each side till the point of interruption and the number of wickets lost by the team batting second. Though it’s a whole lot of complex theory to explain but it does favor the one in the driver’s seat in the game.

Lawrence