Cricket Field

Cricket field
A cricket field or cricket oval is a large grass field on which the game of cricket is played.
Although generally oval in shape, there is a wide variety within this: perfect circles, elongated
ovals, rounded rectangles, or irregular shapes with little or no symmetry – but they will have
smooth boundaries without sharp corners, almost without exception. There are no fixed
dimensions for the field but its diameter usually varies between 450 and 500 feet (140 and
150 m) for men's cricket, and between 360 feet (110 m) and 420 feet (130 m) for women's
cricket.
A standard cricket field, showing
the cricket pitch (brown), close-
infield (light green) within 15 yards
(14 m) of the striking batsman,
infield (medium green) inside the
white 30 yards (27 m) circle, and
outfield (dark green), with sight
screens beyond the boundary at
either end.
A perspective view of the cricket

pitch from the bowler's end. The
bowler runs in past one side of the
wicket at the bowler's end, either
'over' the wicket or 'round' the
wicket.
The Cricket pitch dimensions

Cricket is unusual among major sports (along with golf, Australian rules football and
baseball) in that there is no official rule for a fixed-shape ground for professional games. In
some cases, fields are allowed to have even greater peculiarities, such as the 2.5m slope
across the Lord's Cricket Ground, or the lime tree which sat inside the fence of the St
Lawrence Ground.
On most grounds, a rope demarcates the perimeter of the field and is known as the boundary.
Within the boundary and generally as close to the centre as possible will be the square which
is an area of carefully prepared grass upon which cricket pitches can be prepared and
marked for the matches. The pitch is where batsmen hit the bowled ball and run between the
wickets to score runs, while the fielding team tries to return the ball to either wicket to prevent
this.
Field size
The ICC Standard Playing Conditions define the minimum and maximum size of the playing
surface for international matches. Law 19.1.3[1] of ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions
as well as ICC Men's One Day International Playing Conditions states:
19.1.3 The aim shall be to maximise the size of the playing area at
each venue. With respect to the size of the boundaries, no
boundary shall be longer than 90 yards (82 metres), and no
boundary should be shorter than 65 yards (59 metres) from the
centre of the pitch to be used.
The equivalent ICC playing conditions (Law 19.1.3) for international women's cricket require
the boundary to be between 60 and 70 yards (54.86 and 64.01 m) from the centre of the pitch
to be used.[1]
In addition, the conditions require a minimum three-yard gap between the "rope" and the
surrounding fencing or advertising boards. This allows players to dive without risk of injury.
The conditions contain a heritage clause, which exempts stadiums built before October 2007.
However, most stadiums which regularly host international games easily meet the minimum
dimensions.
A typical Test match stadium would be larger than these defined minimums, with over
20,000 sq yd (17,000 m2) of grass (having a straight boundary of about 80m).[2] In contrast an
association football field needs only about 9,000 sq yd (7,500 m2) of grass, and an Olympic
stadium would contain 8,350 sq yd (6,980 m2) of grass within its 400m running track, making
it difficult to play international cricket in stadiums not built for the purpose. Nevertheless,
Stadium Australia which hosted the Sydney Olympics in 2000 had its running track turfed
over with 30,000 seats removed to make it possible to play cricket there, at a cost of
A$80 million.[3] This is one of the reasons cricket games generally cannot be hosted outside
the traditional cricket-playing countries, and a few non-Test nations like Canada, the UAE and
Kenya that have built Test standard stadiums.
Pitch
Most of the action takes place in the centre of this ground, on a rectangular clay strip usually
with short grass called the pitch. The pitch measures 22 yd (20.12 m) (1 chain) long.
At each end of the pitch three upright wooden stakes, called the stumps, are hammered into
the ground. Two wooden crosspieces, known as the bails, sit in grooves atop the stumps,
linking each to its neighbour. Each set of three stumps and two bails is collectively known as
a wicket. One end of the pitch is designated the batting end where the batsman stands and
the other is designated the bowling end where the bowler runs in to bowl. The area of the field
on the side of the line joining the wickets where the batsman holds his bat (the right-hand
side for a right-handed batsman, the left for a left-hander) is known as the off side, the other
as the leg side or on side.
Lines drawn or painted on the pitch are known as creases. Creases are used to adjudicate the
dismissals of batsmen, by indicating where the batsmen's grounds are, and to determine
whether a delivery is fair.
Cricket pitches are usually oriented as close to the north-south direction as practical,
because the low afternoon sun would be dangerous for a batter facing due west.[4] This
means that some oval fields are oriented with their longer axes straight of the wicket, and
others have their longer axes square of the wicket.
Parts of the field
For limited overs cricket matches, there are two additional field markings to define areas
relating to fielding restrictions. The "circle" or "fielding circle" is an oval described by drawing
a semicircle of 30 yards (27 m) radius from the centre of each wicket with respect to the
breadth of the pitch and joining them with lines parallel, 30 yards (27 m) to the length of the
pitch. This divides the field into an infield and outfield and can be marked by a painted line or
evenly spaced discs. The close-infield is defined by a circle of radius 15 yards (14 m), centred
at middle stump guard on the popping crease at the end of the wicket, and is often marked by
dots.
See also
List of Test cricket grounds

List of One Day International cricket
grounds
List of Twenty20 International cricket
grounds
List of cricket grounds by capacity
List of Men's Cricket Grounds in
England and Wales
List of cricket grounds in Australia
References
1. "Cricket Rules and Regulations | ICC Rules

of Cricket" (https://www.icc-cricket.com/a
bout/cricket/rules-and-regulations/playin
g-conditions) . www.icc-cricket.com.
Retrieved 27 March 2019.
2. "World's Largest Pakistani Flag by VIP-
Flags.com - Pakistani Flags, All countries
Flags, World Largest Flag, Custom Made
Flags, Applique Flags, Embroided Flags,
Political Parties Flags, Olympics 2008
Flags Pakistan, Corporate Flags, Table
Flags, Indoor Flags,Hand Flags, Badges,
Manufacturers , Exporters, Suppliers,
karachi Pakistan UK USA KOSOVO
NORWAY ITALY FRANCE GERMANY
DENMARK SWEDEN IRELAND" (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20100801013856/htt
p://www.vip-flags.com/largestflag_vip.ht
m) . Archived from the original (http://vip-
flags.com/largestflag_vip.htm) on 1
August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
A flag measuring 340ft x 510ft i.e.
173,400 sq.ft (19,266 sq. yds) was
unveiled at the National Stadium, Karachi.
This video (https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=xfbOUUYohxc) shows that the
rectangular flag, when fully unfurled,
comfortably fit within the playing area.
3. "CSA rules out cricket at FIFA World Cup

venues | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo" (http://w
ww.cricinfo.com/southafrica/content/curr
ent/story/472979.html) . Cricinfo.com.
Retrieved 3 January 2016.
4. "Orientation of outdoor playing areas" (htt

p://www.dsr.wa.gov.au/outdoorplayingare
as) . Government of Western Australia,
Department of Sport and Recreation. 7
August 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
Retrieved from
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title=Cricket_field&oldid=1210115275"
This page was last edited on 25 February 2024,

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A perspective view of the cricket

The Cricket pitch dimensions

List of Test cricket grounds

1. "Cricket Rules and Regulations | ICC Rules

3. "CSA rules out cricket at FIFA World Cup

4. "Orientation of outdoor playing areas" (htt

This page was last edited on 25 February 2024,

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