What makes a good wicket

Since two batsmen are needed to make runs, once ten members of a side have been dismissed, the last batsman is left without a partner; he is said to be "not out" and the innings of that side is over. Each side has two innings plural same as singular , and when each side has completed its two innings, the side with the most runs wins.

This is not as simple as it sounds, because cricket matches almost always have a previously agreed time limit, generally in days, with the hours of play for each day specified in advance. If both sides do not complete their innings within the time specified, the match is a draw, regardless of the score.

In cricket, a draw and a tie are not the same thing. A draw is a match that is not completed; a tie is a match that is completed with the scores even. Therefore to lose a cricket match you have to have your two complete innings and still not get as many runs as your opponents. If the number of runs needed for a side to win is too many for them to make, they can still play to achieve a draw and deprive their opponents of the win by avoiding being "all out" before "stumps" the end of the match, when the umpires pull the stumps from the ground.

Match lengths are generally agreed upon in advance as a certain number of days, with the hours of play on each day specified, as well as the breaks to be taken for lunch and tea. The most important international matches "tests" between sides supposedly representing the best their countries have to offer are generally scheduled for five days.

A schoolboy match on an uneven pitch might on the other hand be completed in an afternoon. Delays caused by weather do not change the time scheduled for the end of the match. So a match scheduled initially for five days may end up having to be played in fewer. The provision that a side must get the other side completely out twice to win a match makes for interesting strategy.

A side playing in a 5-day match who find themselves batting extremely well might find themselves still batting on their third day, with prospects of continuing on into a fourth.

But even if they bat all five days and score a thousand runs, the match is still a draw if the other side never gets to bat. Therefore, the Laws allow the captain of a side to "declare" his innings over, even if ten batsmen haven't yet been dismissed, once he is satisfied with his run total at that stage of the match.

Then he can send in the other side to bat and begin the business of getting them all out. Often when a match has been shortened by rain or other delays, both captains will use declarations in an attempt to reach a result before the end of the match. Knowing when to declare the end of his second innings requires real skill on the part of the captain. Once he declares, his side cannot make any more runs in that match.

So he must not declare too soon, or he may not have a big enough lead to keep the other side from winning in the time remaining. But if he waits too late to declare, he may not be able to get the other side all out, and thus the match will be a draw. In between these two extremes is the area of the "sporting" declaration, in which any of the three outcomes four, counting a tie is possible.

Sometimes more than one outcome is still possible coming into the very last balls of play, and when this happens at the end of a five-day buildup of tension, cricket can produce the most intense excitement of any sport on earth, in spite of its reputation for being dull. And of course, to be honest, when the outcome of a match is obvious several days before it is over, a cricket match can indeed be incredibly boring.

But even then the knowledgeable fan can get enjoyment from seeing a well-played hit or a difficult defensive play.

To someone who knows nothing of the rules of basketball or football, a game can still be exciting because of the action involved. But to someone who knows nothing about cricket or baseball, there is no way on earth to make either game exciting. This gives the basics of the overall aims and strategies of cricket. Now we turn our attention to what is happening on the field. A bowler delivers the ball from his end of the pitch six times to the batsman at the opposite wicket.

This group of six deliveries is called an "over". During an over, if no runs are scored a "maiden over" or runs are scored only in even numbers of runs, the bowler may face the same batsman for all six balls. Or if an odd number of runs is scored, he may face one of the two batsmen on the field and then the other. Or he may face more than two batsmen in an over, if one is dismissed and replaced by another member of the batting side. So there is no concept in cricket corresponding precisely with an "at-bat" in baseball: two batsmen are really batting at the same time, with the one who happens to be at the end opposite the bowler at a given time receiving the deliveries.

The time when two batsmen bat together is called their "partnership", among other terms; a partnership lasts usually from one dismissal to another. By the way, when a batsman is dismissed, this does not always involve the breaking of a wicket, but a dismissal is usually referred to as the "fall of a wicket".

The more usual cricket language for the last clause above would be "a partnership lasts from the fall of one wicket to the fall of the next. Bowlers deliver the ball to the batsmen in different ways. By variations in the "pitch" and "flight" of the ball where the ball bounces on the pitch and how it moves through the air , the bowler attempts to establish a sequence leading to dismissal much in the same way a baseball pitcher plans a sequence that will end with leading a batter to get out.

Fast or "pace" bowlers take a long runup to get speed on their deliveries, since they aren't allowed to snap their elbows and throw wrist action is allowed. Classic bowling theory sends these bowlers in at the start of the match, when the ball is new and shiny and whips through the air. Later, when the ball has been scuffed up a bit, slower bowlers come in who use spin and angles to try to dismiss the batsmen.

There are several ways for a batsman to be given out. Therefore he is "given out" by the umpire, not "put out" by the fielding side. Of course in normal conversation nobody can ever remember this distinction.

Another interesting aspect of being dismissed is that the umpire does not give a batsman out unless he is appealed to by the fielding side. The umpire may see something that he knows could justify the batsman's dismissal, but he does not say anything about it unless someone on the fielding side sees this too and appeals. Some plays in baseball are like this; for example, the appeal to the first- or third-base umpire as to whether a batter "went around" on a swing.

Those umpires don't speak unless they are asked, even if they know the home-plate umpire's decision was wrong. The bowler's basic goal is to get the ball past the batsman and break the wicket behind him with it. If this happens on a fair ball, the batsman, on appeal, is given "Out, Bowled" by the Umpire. The bowler gets credit for the wicket in the scorebook. But if it happens on a ball unfairly delivered, the batsman is not out. This could happen because the bowler threw the ball, because the bowler delivered the ball too far forward or sideways, because the bowler didn't give fair warning to the batsman of how he was going to deliver the ball, because the fieldsmen were improperly placed, or for several other technical reasons.

Usually it's because of the placement of the feet on delivery. Be present with each ball, you will make mistakes, let them go, re-set your focus and set a goal for the next ball. Go down for each ball, it makes you come up underneath the ball.

Keep your hands open and create a big surface area for the ball to come into. Extend your hands out to the ball to receive its energy, let your hands receive the ball and give with the energy. You will catch primarily in one hand, so look after your dominant catching hand. Be aware of where your are catching the ball in your hand. Pay attention to closing your hand around the ball when gloving it, this makes your judgement more precise and assists you in watching the ball closely.

Elite wicketkeepers set the alignment for the slips. When you are going for a catch in this channel, go with total commitment. When diving for the ball, lead with your head, drive your head toward the ball, good head position gives your eyes and ultimately your brain good information to get into position to take your catch.

This takes the jarring motion out of your landing. Get the mattress out at home or at your club and practice this till you can master both techniques. Practice your focus and watching the ball. Staying down and watching the ball bounce to give yourself a long, good look at the ball.

As in batting, judgement of length is critical and needs to be practiced. Time for a change perhaps. Excellent blog! Just so you know: I have forwarded the blog to CPL to let them know of my availability to play with Red Steel the winning team. I was already contacted by Tridents but I politely refused. Dorri…so true about replenishing. Breaks from the mundane are very important. We need them to keep perspective on our place in the world as a reminder to not take life so seriously.

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