Pitch (cricket)

In a cricket match, most actions happen on the pitch. A cricket field is of variable size and shape, though normally round or oval with a diameter of 140 to 160 yards. The pitch is a prepared rectangular area in the centre of the field.

Cricket pitch (not to scale) showing the creases and the positions of the wickets.

At each end of the pitch, the wickets are sited and creases are painted as shown in the diagram above. The pitch is 22 yards (20.12 m) long (the length of an agricultural chain) between the wickets and is ten feet (3.05 m) wide. It is a flat surface, and has very short grass that tends to be worn away as the game progresses.

Pitch conditions have a significant bearing on the match. Team tactics are always determined with the state of the pitch, both current and anticipated, as a key factor. Groundsmanship is very important in cricket, and considerable care—mowing, watering, and rolling—is necessary to prepare and maintain pitch surfaces. In addition, there are rules about covering the pitch during a match when bad weather occurs.

Creases

View of a cricket pitch and its creases and wickets. The batter's sightscreen is in the distance.

At each end of the pitch, four white lines are painted. These are known as creases. They are dual-purpose as they define the batter's safe territory and determine the limit of the bowler's approach. Their names are the popping crease (sometimes called the batting crease), the bowling crease and two return creases.

The stumps are precisely aligned in the centre of the bowling crease which is 8 feet 8 inches long and marks the end of the pitch. This crease has nothing to do with bowling any more, so its name is a misnomer. As they define the ends of the pitch, the two bowling creases must be 22 yards apart.

The popping crease is parallel to and four feet in front of the bowling crease. The two return creases are painted perpendicular to and adjoining the ends of the popping crease through the ends of the bowling crease to a length of eight feet. The popping crease and the return creases matter to the bowler because, when he bowls the ball, his back foot in his "delivery stride" must land within the two return creases while his front foot must land on or behind the popping crease. If he breaks either of those rules, the umpire calls a "no ball", which means the fielding team are penalised by the addition of one extra to the batting team's score; in addition, the delivery being null and void, it must be bowled again.

The popping crease is even more important to the batter because, as well as using it to stand on when facing the bowler, it marks the limit of his "safe territory" and he can be stumped or run out (two common forms of dismissal) if he is "out of his ground" (i.e., forward of the popping crease) when the wicket is broken with the ball by a member of the fielding team. The popping crease is drawn to the length of twelve feet but is in fact unlimited in its length. The return creases are perpendicular to the other two; they are adjoined to the ends of the popping crease and are drawn through the ends of the bowling crease to a length of at least eight feet behind the popping crease but, again, are actually unlimited in length.

Wickets

A wicket. It is made of wood, and built with three upright stumps topped by two bails.

The wicket is a small wooden structure sited at each end of the pitch. Made entirely of wood (usually polished ash), a wicket consists of three upright stumps placed in a straight line and surmounted by two horizontal bails which are placed across the two gaps. The dimensions of a wicket are 28.5 inches high by 9 inches wide.

In all levels and forms of cricket, the essence of the game is that the wicket is a target being attacked by a bowler using the ball, and defended by a batter using his bat.

The word has other usages in the game. It is also used, very loosely, as an alternative name for the pitch. More generally, it is applied to the batters in the sense of "losing their wicket" when they are dismissed. Common expressions are "six wickets down", meaning that six batters have been dismissed. The converse of that is "four wickets standing", meaning that the fielding team needs to dismiss four more batters before the batting team is all out.

The wicket has to be broken, with at least one of the bails dislodged, for certain types of dismissal to be effective. If the bowler hits and breaks the wicket by bowling a legitimate delivery, the batter has been bowled out. If the batter is "out of their ground"—i.e., is in front of the popping crease—they can be run out by a fielder throwing the ball and breaking the wicket, or stumped by the wicket-keeper breaking the wicket with the ball in their hand. A less common form of dismissal is hit wicket, which happens when the batter accidentally breaks the wicket while playing the ball. Also relevant is leg before wicket (lbw), a complex form of dismissal which basically means that the batter would have been bowled out if the ball had not hit his leg first.