Cricket is played by two sides of eleven. One side bats to score runs while the other bowls and fields. Two batters occupy the pitch during an innings; ten dismissals normally leave the side all out because the remaining batter has no partner. The players’ individual roles can include batter, wicketkeeper, pace bowler, spin bowler and all-rounder.
How scoring and dismissals work
Batters can score by completing runs between the wickets or by hitting boundaries. Four normally marks a ball reaching the boundary after touching the ground, while six normally marks a ball clearing it on the full. Extras add to the team total under their own rules. A score of 100/3 means 100 team runs with three wickets lost.
A standard over contains six legal deliveries. Wides and no-balls do not count toward those six, so an over can contain more than six physical deliveries. Dismissals include bowled, caught, leg before wicket, run out and stumped. Not every dismissal is credited to the bowler; a run-out is one example.
The format determines the length and result
Test cricket can give each side two innings across several days. An uninterrupted ODI normally gives each side one innings of up to 50 overs; a T20 gives up to 20. In a normal limited-overs chase, the target is one more than the opponent’s completed total. A defending win is usually expressed in runs, while a successful chase is expressed in wickets remaining.
The MCC Laws provide the general framework. Competition playing conditions add details such as overs limits and tie-breaking procedures. A draw, a tie and a no result describe different outcomes and should not be treated as synonyms.