Crease (cricket)
In the sport of
Four creases (one popping crease, one bowling crease, and two return creases) are drawn at each end of the
History
The origin of creases is unsure but they were certainly in use by the beginning of the 18th century, being created by scratch marks, the popping crease being 46 inches in front of the wicket at each end of the pitch. In the course of time the scratches became cuts which were an inch deep and an inch wide. Such cuts were in use until the second half of the 19th century.[1] Sometime during the early part of his career, Alfred Shaw suggested that the creases be made by lines of whitewash and this practice was gradually adopted during the 1870s.[2]
Crease lines
Popping crease
The origin of the term "popping crease" is derived from the earlier feature of cricket pitches, the popping hole. One popping crease is drawn at each end of the pitch in front of each set of stumps. The popping crease is 4 feet (1.2 m) in front of and parallel to the bowling crease, and thus 58 feet (18 m) from the other popping crease.[3] Although it is considered to have unlimited length (in other words, running across the entire field) the popping crease need only be marked to at least 6 feet (1.8 metres) at right angles to, and on both sides of, the middle of the pitch.[4][5] The popping creases are the edges of an area which is an "unsafe zone" for batsmen (they risk being out when they are in this area); the ball must travel through this area when initially bowled to the batsman.
For the fielding side
For the fielding team the popping crease is used as one test of whether the bowler has bowled a
For the batting side
For a batsman the popping crease – which can be referred to as the batting crease in the context of batting – determines whether they have been stumped or run out. This is described in Laws 29, 38, and 39 of the
- If the batsman facing the bowler (the striker) steps out of his ground to play the ball but misses and the wicket-keeper takes the ball and puts down the wicket, then the striker is out stumped.[5]
- If a fielder puts down either wicket whilst the batsmen are running between the wickets (or otherwise forward of the popping crease during the course of play), then the batsman nearer the ground of the downed wicket is out run out.
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The popping crease is visible here, with England's Marcus Trescothick playing a shot that has involved him moving forward over his own crease to intercept the ball. In taking a successful run, he must ground his bat behind the corresponding crease at the other end of the pitch, and his batting partner must in turn ground himself behind Trescothick's crease.[5] Should Trescothick have ventured beyond his crease in playing his shot, he risked being stumped.[4][5]
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Jim Allenby bowling; he must ground some part of his foot behind his popping crease and within the return creases for the ball to be a legal delivery. As a member of the fielding side, he can also – after delivering the ball – attempt to run out a batsman by breaking the stumps with the ball before the batsman manages to return to the popping crease.[4][5]
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Here the batsman has played a shot and missed, with the wicketkeeper receiving the ball. The 'keeper, believing that in playing his shot the batsman has ventured beyond his popping crease, has broken the stumps with the ball in an attempt to dismiss him 'stumped'. He is appealing to the umpire to review and either accept or refuse the dismissal. It now falls to the umpire to adjudge whether the batsman had indeed ventured beyond his crease, a decision that in modern cricket is assisted by technology and replays.
Bowling crease
Drawn parallel with the popping crease and four feet away from it. The bowling crease is the line through the centres of the three stumps at each end. It is 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) long, with the stumps in the centre.
Return crease
Four return creases are drawn, one on each side of each set of stumps. The return creases lie perpendicular to the popping crease and the bowling crease, 4 feet 4 inches (1.32 m) either side of and parallel to the imaginary line joining the centres of the two middle stumps. Each return crease line starts at the popping crease but the other end is considered to be unlimited in length and need only be marked to a minimum of 8 feet (2.4 m) from the popping crease.[4][5]
The return creases are primarily used to determine whether the bowler has bowled a no-ball. To avoid a no-ball, the bowler's back foot in the delivery stride must land within and not touch the return crease. This is to stop the bowler from bowling at the batsmen from an unfair angle (i.e. diagonally).[4]
Using the crease
Though the relatively small size of the crease is such that they limit the degree to which a batsman or a bowler can alter where they stand to face or deliver a ball, there is a degree of latitude afforded whereby both can move around the crease as long as they remain within the aforementioned confines. Batsmen 'use the crease' when they move toward
See also
- Batsman's ground
- Cricket terminology
- Laws of Cricket
References
- Notes
- ^ Altham, p. 25.
- ^ Altham, p. 95.
- ^ Wister, Jones. A "Bawl" for American Cricket.
- ^ a b c d e f "Law 7 - The creases". Marylebone Cricket Club. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Law 29 When a Batsman is Out of his Ground". Marylebone Cricket Club. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ "Law 24 No Ball". Marylebone Cricket Club. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ "Cricket for beginners – part II". BBC News. 25 August 2005. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ "{% DocumentName %} Law | MCC". www.lords.org. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ "{% DocumentName %} Law | MCC". www.lords.org. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ Marylebone Cricket Club, Tom Smith's Cricket Umpiring and Scoring, Marylebone Cricket Club, 2019
- ^ "Law 18 Scoring Runs". Marylebone Cricket Club. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^ "MCC announce eight Law changes". 30 September 2010. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011.
- ^ "To bowl from close to the stumps or wide of the crease - an analysis from a fast bowler's perspective".
- Sources
- The Laws of Cricket at Lord's Cricket Ground
- Altham, H. S. (1962). A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914). George Allen & Unwin.
- The Laws of Cricket. Wisden. 2010.
- MCC Laws of Cricket. Marylebone Cricket Club. 1993.
- Rundell, M. and M. Atherton (2008). The Original Laws of Cricket. Bodleian Library. ISBN 978-1851243129.