Cricket field

A cricket field consists of a large circular or oval-shaped grassy ground on which the game of cricket is played. There are no fixed dimensions for the field but its diameter usually varies between 450 feet (137 m) to 500 feet (150 m). On most grounds, a rope demarcates the perimeter of the field and is known as the boundary.

ICC standard dimensions

These are the standard requirements as per the ICC standard test match, ODI and 20-20 playing conditions:

Playing area: minimum from boundary to boundary square of the pitch. Pitch should be minimum from one boundary square of the pitch. When this minimum distance is used the pitch has to be minimum from the opposite square boundary. The straight boundary at both ends of the pitch shall be minimum from the centre of the pitch.

These dimensions are for those grounds which are used for ODI or Test or 20-20 match after 1st July 1995. Grounds used before that date are exempt from maintaining these dimensions

The pitch

Most of the action takes place in the centre of this ground, on a rectangular clay strip usually with short grass called the pitch. The pitch measures long.

At each end of the pitch three upright wooden stakes, called the stumps, are hammered into the ground. Two wooden crosspieces, known as the bails, sit in grooves atop the stumps, linking each to its neighbour. Each set of three stumps and two bails is collectively known as a wicket. One end of the pitch is designated the batting end where the batsman stands and the other is designated the bowling end where the bowler runs in to bowl. The area of the field on the side of the line joining the wickets where the batsman holds his bat (the right-hand side for a right-handed batsman, the left for a left-hander) is known as the off side, the other as the leg side or on side.

Lines drawn or painted on the pitch are known as creases. Creases are used to adjudicate the dismissals of batsmen and to determine whether a delivery is fair.

Parts of the field

For a one-innings match played over a set number of fair deliveries, there are two additional field markings. A painted oval is made by drawing a semicircle of 30 yards (27.4 m) radius from the centre of each wicket with respect to the breadth of the pitch and joining them with lines parallel, 30 yards (27.4 m) to the length of the pitch. This line, commonly known as the circle, divides the field into an infield and outfield. Two circles of radius 15 yards (13.7 m), centred on middle stump guard on the popping crease and often marked by dots, define the close-infield. The infield, outfield, and the close-infield are used to enforce fielding restrictions.

See also

• List of Test cricket grounds