If you’ve driven around Wylie, there’s a big chance you’ve driven by a large field or park speckled with bright jerseys and men playing cricket. 

While the game itself is relatively similar to some western sports we have, it’s still not super popular here in America. The sport lacks publicity here. So here’s what you need to know about it.

First, there’s two teams, each with 11 people. The bat used is rectangular and wooden, and the ball used is the around size of your palm and hard. 

There’s a wicker-keeper (which you can think of like an umpire in baseball) who wears a mitt and other safety garments. Then there’s also a bowler who pitches the ball to the striker. 

A rectangle boundary called a crease is marked and determines outs and ins. There are also three stakes set behind the striker called wickets. The main point is that the bowler tries to throw the ball past the striker and into the wickets. 

The field is a large oval shape with players in different positions speckled across it, but in a casual neighborhood game it can be whatever you please. The scoring of the game depends on both the wickets that have been hit and the amount of runs that have been made, so it comes out looking sort of like a fraction. 

The game works in innings, much like baseball, and also shares a very similar process to baseball when it comes to getting outs and trying to get opposing strikers out. 

So there’s your quick cricket 101 of the game that gets little fame in the United States. Obviously there’s far more nuance and rules, but hopefully now you’ll understand slightly more of what’s happening if you ever see it around.