II.

Equipment and Playing Area

A cricket ball is about the same size as a baseball, made of alternating layers of cork and wool and covered by either red or white leather. It cannot weigh less than 156 g (5.5 oz) or more than 163 g (5.75 oz) and cannot be larger than 23 cm (9 in) in circumference. The cricket bat is long and flat, made of willow, and is fitted with a cane handle with a rubber grip. It cannot be longer than 97 cm (38 in) or wider than 11.5 cm (4.5 in), though it can be any weight. The only fielder in cricket allowed to wear gloves is the wicket-keeper (the “catcher” in cricket), who wears two large, shallow-pocketed leather gloves.

Cricket is played on a large, circular, grassy area called a ground. Cricket grounds can be any size, but those used in professional cricket are usually between 114 m and 160 m (375 ft and 525 ft) in diameter. Most of the action in cricket takes place in the center of the ground on a manicured strip of grass, 20 m (66 ft) long and about 3 m (10 ft) wide, called the pitch. At each end of the pitch, set upright in the ground, are three wooden poles called stumps. Collectively the stumps are known as a wicket. The wicket is 71 cm (28 in) high and 23 cm (9 in) wide. Resting in grooves on top of the stumps are two small pieces of wood called bails. Four feet in front of and parallel to the wicket is a long white chalk line called the popping crease. Running between the two wickets, 2.7 m (8.7 ft) apart, are two other white lines called the return creases.