Cricket rules
23 July 2025It is a very complicated sport, very ancient, and fond of tradition.
In Italy, few people know the rules.
Yet in many cities you can see groups of Asians looking for large green spaces to play their cricket matches.
And in fact, given the demographic growth of Central Asia (particularly India), it is predicted that in the future cricket will overtake football as the most popular sport.
I have drawn up a decalogue that tries to explain everything in a simple and exhaustive way.
I'm personally playing Cricket 24 on Game Pass and now that I understand the rules, I'm starting to enjoy it.
1) Each team has only 1 inning.
2) Usually 5 overs are played, which is the shortest duration of the match (classic cricket matches can last several days because they are not limited overs, but the innings ends when all the batsmen have been eliminated)
3) Each over is a maximum of 6 valid pitches to be bowled per innings.
4) If the batsman is out, he may be replaced within the same over.
5) If 10 batsmen are dismissed in, say, the 4th over, the innings ends without playing the fifth over.
6) You score 6 points if you hit a home run, 4 points if you bounce and then the pitch goes out, 1 point for each run of the batters and 1 point if the pitcher throws a ball.
7) In the end, whoever scores the most points wins. In this case, for example, Scotland wins by 19 runs, or the difference in points scored.
7b) It may also be the case that the second team in batting order scores more runs when all its overs are still to be played. In this case, the remaining batsmen (wickets) are counted.
8) For example, if there are 4 batsmen left to be dismissed and the second team in batting has already outscored its opponent, it is said to be a win by 4 wickets*.
9) Wickets are the posts behind the batsman. A post is broken when a batsman is out.
10) If you catch the ball on the fly, or knock down a wicket, or break it with a pitch, or catch the runner off base, you put him out.
*The reader will rightly object that if a match lasts a maximum of 5 overs, it doesn't matter how many batsmen are left. Exactly. You understand Cricket. The definition, for example, of a victory by three wickets in limited-overs matches, is only for the sake of traditional definitions.