Cricket rules in five minutes
Rules baseline: MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 Code, third edition (2022), which remains in force through 30 September 2026. MCC's fourth edition takes effect on 1 October 2026; ICC and domestic playing conditions modify the Laws.
- Objective: score more runs than the opposition while dismissing its batters and managing the allotted innings, overs, or time.
- Players, field, and equipment: two teams of 11 use a central pitch with a wicket at each end inside an oval field; bat, ball, wickets, boundary, and protective equipment are regulated.
- How play begins: a toss decides which captain chooses to bat or field, and an over begins when the bowler delivers from one end to the striker.
- Possession and turns: one side bats while the other bowls and fields; six valid balls normally form an over, after which a different bowler delivers from the opposite end.
- Scoring: batters score by running between the wickets, hitting boundaries worth four or six, and receiving extras such as no-balls, wides, byes, and leg byes.
- Length and winner: format controls the contest—Tests allow up to five days and two innings per side, while ODIs and T20s limit each side to 50 or 20 overs under ICC conditions.
- Main dismissals and offences: bowled, caught, LBW, run out, and stumped are common dismissals; no-balls, wides, unfair play, dangerous bowling, and time breaches carry runs or other sanctions.
- Restarts and penalties: the next delivery normally restarts play after the ball becomes dead; invalid balls may have to be re-bowled, and penalty runs or free hits depend on the playing conditions.
- Competition differences: ICC Test, ODI, and T20I conditions change fielding restrictions, reviews, over limits, new balls, ties, rain calculations, and match timing; domestic competitions add their own rules.
- Go deeper: start with LBW, no-balls and wides, run outs and stumpings, penalty runs, and the full explainer list below.