Although many people think it, cricket and baseball are not alike, when you get down to actual game play and rules.  Their basic composition, however, is rather similar: two teams take turns batting in innings with the aim of scoring runs.  The team not at bat plays the field and attempts to prevent the batting team from scoring, and also to end their turn at bat as quickly as possible.  Of course, the team with the most points or runs at the end of a game wins.

Before we delve into the actual rules of play in cricket, a basic understanding of equipment and terminology is needed.  The bat is a wooden blade that is flat on one side and rounded on the other.  The ball is round, leather-covered, and traditionally red with white stitches, although of late, white balls are being used as well.  Each field has two wooden wickets, which are comprised of three stumps arranged in a line and two bails on top.  Stumps are made up of three wooden posts 32 inches high.  They are hammered into the ground at intervals small enough that a cricket ball cannot fit through them.  Stumps are connected by wooden pieces called bails that are attached horizontally in grooves at the top of each stump.

A cricket field ranges in size and shape (there is no regulation size or shape), but is usually elliptical.  Cricket is played on grass fields usually bound by a fence.  The pitch is the rectangular field of play located in the center of the field and marked with lines known as creases, this area is usually regulated and is 22 yards in length  

Each team is made up of 11 players.  As in many sports, the game begins with a coin toss, the winner of which may decide to bat or field first.  All 11 players are present on the field when fielding; only two players may be present on the field for batting teams.  The batsman stands in front of the wicket – this batsman is called the striker, and the other on the field is called the non-striker – and assumes the batting stance.  The non-striker stands behind the popping crease at the other end of the pitch, ready to run.  The opposing team disperses into the field in pre-set positions.  The fielders do not use gloves for catching.  Only the wicket-keeper, who is positioned behind the wicket, is allowed the use of a glove.  One of their players is called the bowler, and this individual bowls the ball to the striker who attempts to hit it with his bat.  If he hits the ball successfully, both he and the non-striker may attempt to score a run.  If the striker misses, the ball is considered dead and is returned to the bowler for another delivery.  The bowler completes six balls before an over is declared and the bowler is switched for another member of the fielding team – any fielder can bowl but never in two consecutive overs - and the new bowler delivers to the opposite wicket.  In this way, the non-striker becomes the striker.  A batsman may also become out during play.  Batsmen remain on the field until this occurs, and then are replaced by a teammate.  An innings is completed when ten outs have occurred, and then the teams switch roles.

One run is scored when the batsmen run from one popping crease to the other.  He then may return immediately to the original popping crease for a second run.  The job of the fielders, then, is to prevent the runners from scoring runs.  A batsman may be run out if a fielder hits a wicket and dislodges at least one bail.  If this occurs when one of the batsmen is not behind the corresponding popping crease, the nearest batsman is run out.  In order to not be run out, a batsman must have some part of himself or his bat (the batsmen run with their bats in hand) firmly on the ground behind the crease.

If the fielders allow a hit to reach the fence or boundary of the field, the batsman scores four runs automatically.  Hitting the ball over the boundary scores six runs.  This includes if the fielder acquires the ball and then touches or steps over the boundary, or if the fielder catches the ball mid-air and then steps over the boundary.  These situations would still award the batsman four and six points, respectively.  An overthrow run is when the batsman hits the ball beyond the fielders near the pitch, and it continues into the outfield.  The batsmen will generally continue taking runs until a fielder gathers the ball and throws it back to the pitch.  If the fielders allow the ball to reach the boundary, four points are awarded on top of all runs scored.

There are many ways of getting out.  Here are a few of the most common.

•    Caught: The ball is caught out of the air by a fielder.
•    Bowled: The batsman misses the delivery and the ball breaks a wicket as a result.  If the batsman misses and no wicket is broken, he is not out.
•    Run Out: A fielder throws the ball at a wicket and breaks it while the runner is outside of the crease.
•    Stumped: If a batsman misses the ball and in the process steps outside of the crease, the wicket-keeper will gather the ball and break the wicket before the batsman can reground himself behind the crease.