In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:

Meanings of wicket

Each wicket consists of three stumps, upright wooden poles that are hammered into the ground, topped with two wooden crosspieces, known as the bails. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries For other uses see Stump (disambiguation Stump is a term used in the Sport of Cricket where has three different meanings In the Sport of Cricket, a bail is one of the two smaller sticks placed on top of the three stumps to form a Wicket.

Set of stumps

Primarily, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch (dimensions). For other uses see Stump (disambiguation Stump is a term used in the Sport of Cricket where has three different meanings In the Sport of Cricket, a bail is one of the two smaller sticks placed on top of the three stumps to form a Wicket. A Cricket pitch is the central strip of the Cricket field between the Wickets The pitch is 1 chain or 22 yards (20 The wicket is guarded by a batsman who, with his bat, attempts to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket. Mike Powell cricketerjpg|thumb|200px| Warwickshire batsman Mike Powell]] A batsman in the sport of Cricket is depending on context Any A cricket bat is used by batsmen in the sport of Cricket. It is usually made of Willow wood A cricket ball is a hard solid Ball used to play Cricket. Manufacture Cricket balls are made from a core of cork, which is layered

The origin of the word is from the standard definition of wicket as a small gate. Historically, cricket wickets had only two stumps and one bail and looked like a gate.

Dismissing a batsman

Wicket also refers to the event of a batsman getting out. Mike Powell cricketerjpg|thumb|200px| Warwickshire batsman Mike Powell]] A batsman in the sport of Cricket is depending on context Any The batsman is said to have lost his wicket if dismissed by a bowler, while the bowler is said to have taken his wicket. Muralijpg|thumb|250px|right|The world's leading off-spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan sends down a delivery]] A bowler in the Sport of Cricket is usually The number of wickets taken is the primary measure of a bowler's ability.

For a batsman to be dismissed by being bowled, run out, stumped or hit wicket, his wicket needs to be put down. Mike Powell cricketerjpg|thumb|200px| Warwickshire batsman Mike Powell]] A batsman in the sport of Cricket is depending on context Any Bowled is a method of dismissing a Batsman in the Sport of Cricket. For the term run out, used in equestrian sport see Refusal Run out is a method of dismissal in the Sport For other uses see Stump (disambiguation Stump is a term used in the Sport of Cricket where has three different meanings Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the Sport of Cricket. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the Laws of cricket. What this means is defined by Law 28 of the Laws of cricket. The laws of cricket are a set of rules framed by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC which serve to standardise the format of Cricket matches across the world to ensure The wicket is put down if a bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or a stump is struck out of the ground by the ball, the striker's bat, the striker's person (or by any part of his clothing or equipment becoming detached from his person), a fielder (with his hand or arm) and providing that the ball is held in the hand or hands so used, or in the hand of the arm so used. In the Sport of Cricket, a bail is one of the two smaller sticks placed on top of the three stumps to form a Wicket. A cricket ball is a hard solid Ball used to play Cricket. Manufacture Cricket balls are made from a core of cork, which is layered Fielding in the Sport of Cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the Batsman, in such a way as to either The wicket is also put down if a fielder pulls a stump out of the ground in the same manner.

If one bail is off, removing the remaining bail or striking or pulling any of the three stumps out of the ground is sufficient to put the wicket down. A fielder may remake the wicket, if necessary, in order to put it down to have an opportunity of running out a batsman.

If the umpires have agreed to dispense with bails, because, for example, it is too windy for the bails to remain on the stumps, the decision as to whether the wicket has been put down is one for the umpire concerned to decide. An umpire in Cricket (from the Old French Nompere meaning not equal i After a decision to play without bails, the wicket has been put down if the umpire concerned is satisfied that the wicket has been struck by the ball, by the striker's bat, person, or items of his clothing or equipment separated from his person as described above, or by a fielder with the hand holding the ball or with the arm of the hand holding the ball. A cricket bat is used by batsmen in the sport of Cricket. It is usually made of Willow wood

Partnership

The sequence of time over which two particular batsmen bat together, a partnership, is referred to as a specifically numbered wicket when discriminating it from other partnerships in the innings. In the Sport of Cricket, two batsmen bat in partnership, although only one is on strike at any time An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of Sports &ndash most notably Cricket and Baseball during

• The first wicket partnership is from the start of the innings until a first batsman gets out.
• The second wicket partnership is from when a first batsman gets out until a second batsman gets out.
• etc. . .
• The tenth wicket or last wicket partnership is from when a ninth batsman gets out until a tenth batsman gets out.

Winning by number of wickets

A team can win a match by a certain number of wickets. This means that they were batting last, and reached the winning target with a certain number of batsmen still not dismissed. A team's innings ends when ten batsmen are dismissed, so, for example, if the side scored the required number of runs to win with only three batsmen dismissed, they are said to have won by seven wickets.

The pitch

The word wicket is also sometimes used to refer to the cricket pitch itself. A Cricket pitch is the central strip of the Cricket field between the Wickets The pitch is 1 chain or 22 yards (20 According to the Laws of Cricket, this usage is incorrect, but it is in common usage and commonly understood by cricket followers. The laws of cricket are a set of rules framed by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC which serve to standardise the format of Cricket matches across the world to ensure This usage probably derives from the days when the outfield was kept short by grazing sheep on it and the playing surface, which was specially prepared, was protected from them by a light wicker fence around it. Since many regular grounds had resident bat-makers it is quite possible that the branches cut off from the willow wood used for the bats formed all or part of this fence. Much willow is employed in making wicker-work.

The term sticky wicket refers to a situation in which the pitch has become damp, typically due to rain or high humidity. "Sticky Wicket" was episode twenty-one of the first season of the TV series M*A*S*H. This makes the path of the ball more unpredictable thus making the job of defending the stumps that much more difficult. The full phrase is thought to have originally been "to bat on a sticky wicket. " Such pitches were commonplace at all levels of the game (i. e. up to Test Match level) until the late 1950s.

See also

• Cricket terminology
• Cricket Dictionary
• Cricket Videos & Ranking