Questions on Cricket? Ask Here!

[Bluto11]

if someone gets a milestone with a certain ball, like 500 wickets or 7,000 runs to they get to keep the ball during the match or do they wait until its over?

[Craig the Aussie]

They get it at the end of the match. A ball can't be changed during an innings, unless:

* it has been used for 85 overs, in which case a new ball is offered;
*it becomes damaged, or lost, in either of which cases it is replaced with a ball of similar wear & tear.

[OldFanatic]

it becomes damaged, or lost, in either of which cases it is replaced with a ball of similar wear & tear.

To elaborate more on this:

I think there have been times when a ball is hit so hard out of the park, that there is hope of retrieving it. (Went in some body of water outside the stadium, lost in a parking lot, whatever.) In such cases, umpires call for a substitute "new" ball, and try to achieve the same level of shine on it as the lost ball. This is done by rubbing the ball on a piece of cloth e.g. trousers, etc. It is a trial-and-error art, but the best it can be done.

The big deal about wanting to use the same ball as much as practically possible is that, unlike baseball, a cricket ball has its life during the match. Since the ball bounces on a surface, depending on the shine of the ball, a bowler can get radically different performance (swing, seam, spin) depending on if the ball is old or new. It would be unfair to the batsmen or bowlers to arbitrarily substitute balls the way they do it in baseball.

[Craig the Aussie]

To elaborate more on this:

I think there have been times when a ball is hit so hard out of the park, that there is hope of retrieving it. (Went in some body of water outside the stadium, lost in a parking lot, whatever.) In such cases, umpires call for a substitute "new" ball, and try to achieve the same level of shine on it as the lost ball. This is done by rubbing the ball on a piece of cloth e.g. trousers, etc. It is a trial-and-error art, but the best it can be done.



At the first class and test levels the umpires have a box of balls of various wears (20 over sold, 30 overs old etc) that they can choose a replacement from.

[Bluto11]

thanks for the info on the balls being retreived. i figured they would want to use the same one for the whole game, but has anyone ever hit one out of a ground, like in a Test match or First class match and it took them a while to find it?

[Andy TAUS]

but has anyone ever hit one out of a ground, like in a Test match or First class match and it took them a while to find it?Yes. See two & three posts above in Chandu's & Craig's posts.

[Bluto11]

i read that part, but i was just wondering if like they actually spend time trying to look for the ball, like in the parking lot, and then decide to use the new ball. or if they just say screw it and use the new ball without even looking

kind of a stuipd question

[Andy TAUS]

i read that part, but i was just wondering if like they actually spend time trying to look for the ball, like in the parking lot, and then decide to use the new ball. or if they just say screw it and use the new ball without even looking

kind of a stuipd questionThey'll try to find the ball, but the umpires will not waste too much time in doing so. If that's the case, then they'll replace the ball with one as near to the lost one in quality/age/shape/colour as they can. Their box of replacement balls has a variety of such aged balls. The umpires ("umps") have some idea of how many "overs" each replacement ball has been used for previously.

[Bluto11]

are the replacement balls made to be "game used" for 20, 30, 40 overs, etc?? or are they balls from real games that weren't used anymore so are therefore used as replacements?

[Andy TAUS]

are the replacement balls made to be "game used" for 20, 30, 40 overs, etc?? or are they balls from real games that weren't used anymore so are therefore used as replacements?Balls from real games, which have finished after the various number of overs.

[white riot]

In club cricket if the fielding side is on the wrong end of a hiding in a 'timed' game they may pretend that they can't find the ball or they may kick it into a bush to waste a little time, I did this once and I lost the bugger which was pretty embarrasing because some kids saw me do it and they grassed me up, we had to use a replacement.

[OldFanatic]

In club cricket if the fielding side is on the wrong end of a hiding in a 'timed' game they may pretend that they can't find the ball or they may kick it into a bush to waste a little time, I did this once and I lost the bugger which was pretty embarrasing because some kids saw me do it and they grassed me up, we had to use a replacement.

Hehehe, that's hilarious. That's why we need security cameras all over the place, even more so than the threat of terrorists. :D

[silky-smooth]

They get it at the end of the match. A ball can't be changed during an innings, unless:

* it has been used for 85 overs, in which case a new ball is offered;
*it becomes damaged, or lost, in either of which cases it is replaced with a ball of similar wear & tear.
80 overs. ;)

[Fleetwood Mac #1]

I know some people have problem understanding LBW's (Leg Before Wicket). Computer generated graphics in the clip below should make them more clear. Needless to say umpire got the (non)call wrong.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=28P8PU73 (788 kb)

[MasterShake29]

I know in soccer the national coach picks the team. In cricket, it seems there is this board that picks the team. Is there any particular reason why this is?

I ask because of the U.S. team getting kicked out of some ICC tournament because they couldn't agree on a team.

[Matt Clark]

It's a legacy thing - back in the day, all national sports teams were selected by a board of selectors from the game's governing association. The England football team that went to the 1950, '54, '58 and '62 World Cups were picked not by the manager, but by the FA Selection Committee.

Rugby was the same until relatively recently. In Cricket, they just haven't got round to moving on to a more modern system, although in practice the captain has a very strong say in who gets to play in any given match.

[Craig the Aussie]

Further to that, the whole concept of a "coach" in cricket is a very new one. In the past coaches worked with players on technique etc at training, but had nothing to do with tactics or what happened on match day.

Traditionally the Board picked the team, and from the team picked the captain. The captain then ran the team, set the tactics etc - supported by a manager whose job was basically to take care of the off-field stuff (hotel bookings, making sure noone missed the team bus etc). Coaches as we know them now only appeared in the late 1980's, and a lot of old time players still don't believe in them.

[Bluto11]

underarm bowling. how does it work? i've read about the match in 1981 between NZ and Aus. does anyone have a link to a video clip of someone doing this? did it bounce at all or just roll on the ground like a bowling ball?

[Craig the Aussie]

underarm bowling. how does it work? i've read about the match in 1981 between NZ and Aus. does anyone have a link to a video clip of someone doing this? did it bounce at all or just roll on the ground like a bowling ball?

In that case it rolled along the ground. NZ needed to hit a 6 off the last ball. Rolling it made this impossible. It was legal at the time, so long as the umpire was informed.

Now 2 things prevent this happening - one you can't bowl underarm without the other teams permission (happens in junior games, and in games where players may be disabled), and also the ball can't roll or bounce more than twice before reaching the batsman.

[quentinc]

How are the amount of points determined in county matches. To me, it just seems like an arbitrary figure.