You always see three wickets each on either side of a cricket pitch. But do you know what forms a wicket? What are the dimensions of wickets and its components? No? Don’t worry, we have got you all covered. In this article, we will be telling you about cricket wickets, stumps, pitches and a lot more:
What is the term wicket means?
In cricket, a wicket is a set of three stumps placed along with two bails at the top. The term wicket also has other meanings in the game. When a bowler dismisses a batsman, then also it is termed as a wicket, while the pitch is also called a wicket as said in the laws of cricket.
If we go back into the history, the cricket wickets earlier had two stumps and a bail. But, in 1775, the third stump was added when a bowler named Lumpy Steven bowled three consecutive deliveries to John Small that went straight between the two stumps without hitting them.
Whenever a bowler dismisses a batsman, it is said that the batsman has lost his wicket, whereas the bowler has taken a wicket. Also, this language is used even when the stumps are not being dismissed and the batsman is caught on the field.
What is a stump?
Stumps are three vertical posts which are 9 inches wide and 28 inches tall and when supports with the bail form a wicket. There are three stumps placed in a wicket- off stump, centre stump and leg stump.
OFF STUMP– It’s the stump placed on the offside of the wicket.
MIDDLE STUMP– It’s the stump placed on the middle side of the wicket.
LEG STUMP– It’s the stump placed on the leg side of the wicket.
The term stump is also often said by an umpire, which also means the end of the play, mostly used in test cricket.
What are bails in cricket?
The bails are two small sticks placed on the top of the stumps to form a wicket. The size of the bail should not be more than 0.5 in 1.27 cm above them.
Each bail must have the following specifications:
Overall length – 4.31 in/10.95 cm
Length of barrel – 2.13 in /5.40 cm
Longer spigot – 1.38 in/3.50 cm
Shorter spigot – 0.81 in/2.06 cm
If one or both the bails fall, the batsman will be termed out.
What is a cricket Pitch?
Cricket pitch is the 22-yard rectangular area where the action between bat and ball takes place. The pitch is 66 feet in length and 10 feet in width.
Also, there are four white lines drawn at each end of the crease, which comprises of a popping crease, batting crease, bowling crease and two return creases.
