With a stunning victory over the West Indies in Nelson in the early hours of this morning, Ireland have kicked off their Cricket World Cup campaign in an ideal manner and - as is fast becoming a habit for the Irish team at the World Cup - sparked a new found interest in the sport among thousands of Irish people (we're looking at you Minister Alan Kelly).
Cricket’s battle to find a foothold in new markets – such as Ireland – is hampered significantly by an image of it as a preposterously complex and slow game. While the second is a subjective call (five days is a long time to play one match), the first claim is often blown out of proportion.
At its heart it’s a simple game – teams take turns batting and fielding and whoever gets the most runs wins.
The heavy reliance on terminology makes it tricky for the newcomer, but the seemingly complex language and scoring system is easily deciphered. (Think GAA scores – a score of 1-06 makes little sense to someone watching their first game, but it’s not complicated. It’s pretty much the same with cricket.)
We’ve compiled the following cheat sheet to help you navigate the basics of the game, and perhaps get a little more enjoyment from the coming few weeks (or just competently bluff your way through some water-cooler chats).
The scoring system
Scores are counted like this: 123/1 – meaning, 123 runs have been scored and one batter is out. This is read as “123 for 1”.
Each team has 10 batters to get through before being “all out”.
The basics
Two teams of 11 players take turns batting and bowling. The winner is the team with the most runs accumulated by the end of their innings – their turn at bat.
An over is six bowled balls. A One Day International (ODI) - as is the case in the World Cup - has a limit of 50 overs per innings. The innings ends when all batsmen are out or 50 overs are bowled – whichever comes first.
A batter can be out directly from a bowled ball; run out while between the wickets; or caught – when a ball struck by the batsman is caught by a defensive player before bouncing.
The first team to bat will clock up their score and then it is up to the other side to ‘chase’ that total*.
If the second team to bat surpasses the first side’s total score then the game ends.
[*This morning in Nelson, Ireland were chasing a West Indies score of 304. The average score in a ODI innings is about 250, so to chase down 304 is no mean feat. In fact, it’s just one of five times a 300+ deficit has been turned around at the World Cup. Ireland have been responsible for three of those five remarkable comebacks, as it happens.]
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The essential terminology
These are the words you'll need to know. Think of them as the 'hello', 'goodbye' and 'thank you' of your Irish-Cricket dictionary.
Run: The unit of scoring. One run for each time both batsmen on the pitch run between the wickets. It’s four runs for hitting the ball to the boundary of the field, and six for clearing the boundary without the ball touching the ground.
Innings: A match is divided into two innings, with teams taking a turn batting and fielding.
Over: Six bowled balls.
Wicket: This can mean several things. It is, literally, the stumps at either end of the pitch, which hold the wooden bails the fielding team are aiming to knock off and get the batsman out.
A wicket is also the term used when a player is out (“The bowler took two wickets” means the bowler got two batters out).
The wicket is also a term for the pitch (or bowling area) and a wicket is taken when a batsman is out.
ODI: One Day International – a 50 overs game and the format for the World Cup.
Bowling
A bowler can’t bowl two overs in a row, and can only bowl a maximum of 10 per game.
Bowlers have different skills and abilities, and there is a tactical battle at play with certain bowlers utilised depending on the current situation and a bowler's overs used at the best time possible.
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The World Cup
So how does the World Cup work?
Cricket’s biggest competition is held over 44 days in New Zealand and Australia, the top 14 ODI sides in the world compete.
The teams are split into two pools of seven, with a round-robin format seeing each side play six games. The top four sides in each pool qualify for the quarter finals. From there on it’s a straight knock-out format.
Who’s fancied to win it?
The big three in the bookies’ eyes are Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. India and England are most people’s outside tips.
What are Ireland’s chances?
Following the West Indies win, they appear promising.
With the West Indies accounted for Ireland will now be hopeful of adding wins over fellow associate nation the UAE and the lowest ranked test nation, Zimbabwe. Victory in those two games should see Ireland through to the last eight.
We’re in Pool B, which contains: India, South Africa, UAE, Ireland, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.
When are our games?
(All times are Irish time)
- UAE - Wed 25 Feb 03:30am
- South Africa - Tue 3 Mar, 3.30 am
- Zimbabwe - Sat 7 Mar, 3.30am
- India – Tues, 10 Mar, 1.00am
- Pakistan – Sun 15 Mar, 3.30am
The ICC Cricket World Cup trophy Image: Inpho
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Bonus terminology cheat sheet
Here’s a few extra terms that will help you stand out of the crowd on the badwagon and take your cricket bluffing to the next level
Switch hit
When the batter switches his grip from left to right, or vice versa, as the bowler is in his run up.
Edge
When the ball clips the edge of the bat and goes behind the wicket.
No Ball
An illegal delivery from the bowler. Results in 1 run to the batting team.
LBW (Leg Before Wicket)
Essentially, when the batter’s leg blocks the ball from striking the wicket. If the umpire, or now hawkeye in top level games, judges that the leg stopped a ball that was headed for the wicket the result is the same: the batter is out.
Duck
When a batter is out without a score.
Sledging
Verbal abuse between opposing players. This can become quite intense at times and over the course of a long at bat can play a pivotal role, as the fielding team work consistently to put the batter off his game with a steady stream of insults.
Hit wicket
A batter knocking their own stumps off the wicket. Counter-productive and incredibly embarrassing.
Howzat
The cry from fielders when appealing for an umpire to call a batsman out. Near unintelligible to the newcomer.
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Bonus bluffing ammunition
A couple of talking points to give you some credibility on the wicket
Associate V Test nations
This is going to be a debate mentioned over the coming weeks, and it will only be heightened by teams like Ireland winning games against teams like the West Indies.
Cricket playing nations are split into two groups – Test Nations and Associate Nations.
There are 10 Test Nations – these are the big hitters like Australia, England, Pakistan etc.
Then, in the lower tier, there are several dozen associate nations. But of this group, six have ODI status, and they get to compete against the big test nations, but only in one day games. The glamour of test cricket is strictly off limits.
This is where Ireland resides, orbiting the test cricket party but with enough credibility to warrant an invite to some events.
It’s also why Irish cricket is destined to lose many of its biggest names to England, as players want to play at the highest level – test cricket – and that is currently not possible with Ireland.
For an Associate Nation to beat a Test Nation – see: this morning in Nelson – is a notable result, and each win for the ‘minnow’ Associate Nations adds to the call for cricket to do away with the closed door of test cricket.
Test V One day v T20
Cricket comes in three formats, and you might hear these terms bandied about, often as a tussle between purists and modernists of the game.
Ranging from test cricket - the classic, five day, as long as it takes form of the game, to T20, the three hour, accelerated and aggressive modern format.
The essential difference is T20 is limited to 20 overs, meaning there is pressure on the batting team to score before the clock runs out, leading to very little hanging around for the perfect ball and taking whatever slim opportunity there is. This means more runs, more outs and generally a game that is designed for drama in a three hour timeframe.
For the next six weeks the game is ODI - One Day Internationals.
Limited to 50 overs, the game is a more streamlined format than test cricket, but not quite the all guns blazing air of T20.
For the purists, there is nothing to match test cricket. A drawn out, working week-long tussle that requires intense concentration for days at the crease and requires far more than good hand-eye coordination to succeed.
For the newcomers, T20 is a far more accessible format.
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