I don’t understand Cricket! Living and working in a county that doesn’t play cricket, means I hear this statement all too often. As a company, STATSCORE, provides a cricket feed in our SportsAPI, and for me it’s always a real pleasure to explain the finer points of this game to both colleagues and friend (if I can get them to listen).

Being British with a father from the Caribbean, Cricket was as much part of my upbringing as Football. I can remember endless summer days playing this great game with other like minded kids on our street. In this post I would just like share the basic formats of the international game to you.

THE TEAMS

Cricket is always between two teams of eleven, no matter what format of the game is being played. Teams are made up of two types of players, those that specialize in batting and those that specialize in bowling, although there is always room for the “all-rounder” who is good at both disciplines.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CRICKET

Cricket is won by the team that scores the most runs, but a draw is also possible. Runs are scored by hitting the ball when it’s bowled to you. Each team will have a number of bowlers (usually 4 or 5). and the blowers will take it in turn to bowl six times. Each bowl they have is know as “a ball” and six balls are know as “a over”.

THE MATCH CRICKET

This is considered the most traditional and purest format of Cricket. International test matches were first played in 1877. Sometimes referred to as “red ball cricket” so it can be distinguish from the more recent formats of the game. Test Match Cricket is played over 5 days! That said, and just to complicate things a little more, the five days are not always required. The biggest difference between Test Matches and other forms of the game, is teams have the opportunity to bat twice (again, not always needed).

ONE DAY CRICKET

This is another very traditional format of Cricket and as the name suggests, it’s played over a single day. To make this achievable, both teams are limited to a maximum of 50 overs each. At the end of the match, the team with the most runs wins! Going back to the term “red bat cricket” one day matches are often played with a white ball.

More: read about 5 reasons to power up your business with STATSCORE’s SportsAPI.

TWENTY20 CRICKET

This is the most recent format added to the world of international cricket, and the first matches took place in 2005. Played very much along the lines of one day cricket, but instead of 50 overs, team are restricted to only 20 overs. This form of the game is by far the most explosive and there’s lots of action to be seen in a short space of time. Add to this it can be played from start to finish in a afternoon or an evening, makes it’s great for TV and has bought a whole new audience to the world of cricket!

If you want to get in touch to find our more about Cricket and other sports available in our SportsAPI, please contact our Customer Success Team at cst@statscore.com, so we can schedule a call and discuss how STATSCORE’s SportsAPI can help your organization!