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Here are some general cricket terms you will come across:

Bails:These are the small sticks that are placed horizontally over the stumps to form a cricket wicket.

*You should note that at least one bail must be knocked off the stumps for a batter to be dismissed.

Wicket:Keep up with this one will you, a wicket is the area where batting and bowling take place. It is the stumps with bails on top of them and when a batter is dismissed, you are seen to have taken a wicket.

Stumps:Three upright pieces of timber on either end of the pitch. You will also hear this word at the end of a days play during a test match.

Leg-side:The area of the field on the side of the batters non-dominant hand.

Off-side:The area which corresponds to the batters dominant hand.

Innings:The period of time spent by a batting team (or indeed an individual).

The BCCI is the official governing body of India for cricket. They are custodians of the game in India, while the ECB looks after the game in England. These bodies wield quite substantial clout on the international stage due to the high participation of the sport in their countries but also due to the success of their countries.

Although many see Lords as the home of cricket, its birthplace is arguably Hambledon in Hampshire. The cricket club established there sought to articulate how the game should be played and many of this is still relevant today!

Public schools in the UK are largely responsible for the games popularity. Famously, there was an annual game that was called the Gentleman vs. Players which was the highlight of the then summer season. The Gentleman were amateur players from the schools who took on their semi-professional opponents, the Players.

Although major traditional cricket matches last up to five days, alternatives soon crept in and made the game somewhat more palatable for the novice fan. Limited overs matches reduced the game to just a few hours at a time.

• Test Match Cricket: A match for the purist, it is the form of cricket with the longest match duration. A standard day of test match cricket usually sees three sessions of about two hours a day, the break between sessions being about 40 minutes and 20 minutes for lunch and tea respectively.
• One Day International: An ODI is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams. Usually the number of fixed overs is fifty. This was the first introduction of colours, a modernised atmosphere for fans and a commercial selling point for fans.
• T20: A form of cricket which changed the climate of the game once again. The T20 format was introduced in 2003. The focus shifted from traditional rules and etiquette per say and attracted a new audience to cricket. This, without question, ushered the sport into a new realm of relevance.