What is cricket?
Cricket is a bat and ball game, played on a field between two teams of eleven players each. Fields are often circular or oval in shape, and the edge of the playing area is marked by a boundary, which is often a rope or a painted line. In the centre of the field is a rectangular pitch, a flat surface 3 metres wide and 20 meters long. At each end of the pitch, there is a wooden target called a wicket. Each wicket is made of three wooden stumps topped by two bails. This wicket acts as a target for the bowlers to hit, while the batsmen aim to protect it from being hit.
Before a match begins, the team captains (who are also players) toss a coin to determine which team will bat first. Each time a team bats is called an innings. In the first innings, one team bats, attempting to score the maximum amount of runs they can. The other team bowls and fields the ball, attempting to restrict the scoring and dismiss the batsmen. When all the batsmen are dismissed, or the batting team completes their allocation of overs, the teams change over. The team that bowled and fielded first then has their turn to bat, and attempts to surpass the other team's score.