Baseball and cricket might look similar, but they also have a lot of differences. Himachal Mukhopadhyay discusses.
Baseball is the great American pastime, and one that most people in the USA won’t need any explaining in order to understand how a game works. Cricket, on the other hand, is a completely different story. While the game shares some similarities to baseball – both games essentially share the same goal; hitting a ball with a stick to score points – they vary wildly when it comes to specific rules and particular styles of gameplay. It doesn’t make it any less interesting or exciting, however. In order to understand the game more comprehensively, we’ve put together this article with the help of cricket expert Himachal Mukhopadhyay. Read more below.
Cricket is played on an oval field
“While baseball is played on a diamond or pentagon shaped field, cricket is played exclusively on an oval field.” Himachal Mukhopadhyay says. To the casual observer the field may look round, but the field is actually curved into an oval shape. All the action takes place at the center of the oval, which is called a pitch (instead of a mound in baseball). The rest of the field is divided into two sections radiating outwards from the pitch – closest is the infield, and beyond that is the outfield.
The rules aren’t as complicated as you think
“The basic goal of cricket is pretty simple.” Himachal Mukhopadhyay says. “Two players called batsmen attempt to hit a ball thrown by a bowler. Once they hit the ball both batsmen have to run to opposite ends of the pitch. If they do this successful they score a point, called a run. They can run as many time as they like after they hit the ball, but if the ball is thrown into their wickets while they’re outside of a safety zone called the crease, they’re out of the game.” If a batsman hits the ball all the way to the boundary of the field he gets four runs, if he does it without the ball touching the floor, he scores six. If someone of the other team catches the ball before it touches the ground, the batsman is out. The game is split up into chunks of time called “overs”, consisting of six throws, or bowls, each.
Cricket can last a very long time
Unlike baseball, which generally only lasts one day, cricket games can take up to five days depending on the type of game being played. According to Himachal Mukhopadhyay the different types include test matches, one days, five days as well as a very game called a twenty:twenty, in which both teams only have 20 overs each.
