Cricket 101 & Refresher For The World Cup 2015

If there are two things that drive a true desi – Bollywood and Cricket have got to be them.

While it comes naturally to films, being an industry driven by glamour and the arc lights, it is surprising for our friends of other nations to quite decipher our love for cricket. The ball game has made its way from the stadiums to our TV sets garnering astronomically higher ratings than any other entertainment out there.

Cricket is our religion and Sachin is our God and Imran Khan is the King of Cricket, goes a popular fan (atic) saying.

For those of you who didn’t know, The Cricket World Cup kick-starts on Valentine’s Day this year (was that a collective groan we heard, girls ?)

While not all women find cricket as much of an obsession as guys do, there’s no denying that conversations for the next two months at home and on the lips of all men around is going to be strongly centered around cricket. So when it comes down to it, even if you aren’t a fan, you’d rather join them than beat them when it comes to the world cup.

Here’s the minimum you got to know:

• What’s the Cricket Worlc Cup 2015?

Not judging, but the World Cup is the zenith, it is nirvana, it is the Mecca of the cricket world. Takes place once every four years for 1-day games (every 2 years for T20 games) and consists of a group round that play deciders (elimination of the bottom teams in the group), followed by 4 quarterfinals games, 2 semis and the grande finale: The Finals.

Fact: The first World Cup took place in England in 1975. The 2015 World Cup is jointly hosted by New Zealand and Australia, +10 hours UTC for both.

• Who is in a cricket team? What happens in the match?
  

A cricket team consists of 11 players. There are batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders (who can do both), while all 11 players field (catch the ball in the ground).

Not to give it away for nothing, it’s a cricket match – not a cricket game. The match is played between two nations with play of 50 overs a side (1 over = 6 legal balls/pitches) and starts with a toss of coin. The winning captain choosing to either bat first or bowl first which is based on a number of aspects like the weather, the type of pitch, the opposite team etc.

• The Batsman 101:

The batsman’s job is to score as many runs as possible by hitting the ball around the ground while avoiding getting out. He can score runs by running between the wickets (the three standing willow with bails the batsman defends), or hitting the ball outside the boundary for 4-runs (chokka) or a 6-runs (chakka).

There are three ways a batsman can get out. First, if the ball hits the wickets (bowled out), second if the ball hits the batsman on the pads when it is in line with the stumps (LBW) and three, if the ball hit by the batsman is caught by any of the fielders (caught out).

• The Bowler 101:

The bowler’s job is to get the line-up of batsmen of the opposite team out as soon as possible and prevent them from making runs in the meanwhile. There are different types of bowlers; fast bowlers and spinners. They throw

• Who are all those guys standing on the field , trying to catch the ball?

These are fielders. Their job is to restrict runs by preventing the ball from crossing any of the boundaries on the field, each boundary crossed adds to the points scored.

• Isn’t the umpire’s job the easiest?

Maybe not. Games today have almost four umpires – Two on-field umpires, one who has access to video replays and one who arranges travel and meals for players.

The umpire’s position is the most crucial as he has the authority to make a decision on a call by the player’s. When in doubt, the third umpire’s opinion is asked for. Sometimes, an umpire may be under fire for a particularly controversial decision.

• How long is the game ?

The World Cup is played in the ODI format (one day international) format. The game has 50 overs by each side consisting of 6 balls each. If all the batsmen are knocked out before completion of the 50 overs, the score they make has to be beaten by the rival team, to declare a win.

Other formats include the Test format and the twenty-20 format.

• Who are the top teams and likely contenders to win the World cup ?

England, Australia , South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, New Zealand and West Indies. The fight to the top is usually between these guys. But we might be in for a surprise soon!

• Who will win the 2015 World Cup ?

That is a question we can’t answer, dearies. You’ll need to actually watch the World Cup for this one.

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The International World Cup kicks off on February 14th and will end on March 28th and will be hosted in Australia and New Zealand this year. Let’s get on our cricket fever girls!