Become a cricket genius

As South Africans we are passionate about sport.

From supporters filling up a bakkie to go to a rugby game to thousands of fans blowing vuvuzelas because their teams are playing soccer this weekend, there is a certain flare which erupts when sport occurs in this country.

However, cricket seems to be less exciting than rugby and soccer.

There is no characteristic that defines cricket lovers.

The realisation is that many people do not understand the “gentlemen’s game”.

So here is a crash course in an exciting and brilliant sport.

Cricket originated in England in the 1300s.

It has become an influential sport in many areas of the world, such as India, United Arab Emirates and the continent of Australasia.

There are three forms of cricket played, Test matches, One Day Internationals(ODIs) and Twenty Twenty (T20) cricket.

The form of game we will be working with is a T20.

The game has two competing teams consisting of 11 players each.

The two teams compete on a cricket ground which is circular and has a pitch in the centre.

The pitch is where the batsmen and bowler are situated with fielders surrounding it.

Each team has a batting and bowling side.

The batting team usually consists of about five to six specialised batmen and four to five specialised bowlers.

There are two innings (one innings per team).

Each inning consists of 20 overs and each over consists of 6 balls bowled consecutively by the same bowler.

The batsman on the pitch faces these balls to try and score runs.

A batsman is able to score one to six runs per ball.

The objective of the bowler is to try and get the batsmen out by either getting a fielder to catch the ball in the air or hitting the wicket [the wicket is placed behind the batsmen and is three wooden poles placed next to one another].

The objective of the game is to score more runs (points) than the other team.

Cricket is quite a complicated sport but once you understand it, it may be one of the best sports you will ever experience.