Cricket is the second most popular sport in South Africa. It is a game that is played with a bat and a ball on a large field which is referred to as the ground. There are two teams of 11 players each and the aim of the game is to score runs when batting and to get the batsman out when you are playing in the field. Each team also has a reserve player who is used if any player is injured during the game. The original player can return to the game once they have recovered. There are three umpires for each game and they are responsible for making decisions and upholding the rules.
Test cricket spans over two innings. One team must bowl the other team out twice and score more runs than their opponent to win the match. In test cricket, there is no limit to the length of the innings. In one day and Twenty20 cricket matches there is a certain number of overs per inning.
The game begins with a coin toss and the winner gets to decide whether they will bat or field first. The batting team must score runs while the field team must bowl ten people out and close the batting team’s innings. Only ten people need to be bowled out. Batting is done in pairs. Once the first team has been bowled out the second team goes in to bat.
The batsman must score runs and that means they must run to each other’s end of the pitch. This is one run. The batsman can do multiple runs per shot. Runs can also be scored by hitting boundaries. This will score 4 or 6 runs. There are other rules that include no balls, wide balls, byes, and leg byes. There are a number of ways that the batsman can be got out. When a bowler gets a batsman out he gets a wicket and there are a number of ways this can happen including bowled, caught, leg before wicket, stumped, run out, hit wicket, handled the ball, time out, hit the ball twice, and obstructing the field.
There are three different types of cricket match that can be bet on. The longest of these is the five-day Test match. These are usually the most competitive with teams battling it out over four innings. There are shorter One Day (ODI) games as well, and there is the Twenty20 format. The shorter matches allow for more excitement and a more attacking style of play. Be sure to check what type of match you are betting on before handing over your money.