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Cricket rules, formats, statistics and roles

Cricket is governed by the Laws of Cricket, written by the MCC, and by playing conditions that the ICC publishes for each international format. A match is played between two sides of eleven players, and almost everything else — how runs are scored, the ten ways a batter can be dismissed, what counts as a no-ball or a wide, how long a match lasts — depends on the Law or playing condition in force. These guides explain the rules first, then the formats, the statistics and the roles players take.

They sit alongside Cricket Sport Career Simulator, our cricket career game, in which you create one cricketer, choose their role and style, and develop batting, bowling and fielding skills as the career builds.

Our cricket app

Cricket Sport Career Simulator follows one player rather than a team: you make the key decisions in a match while fast simulation handles the rest, and develop skills from batting technique and scoring to pace and spin bowling, fielding and cricket IQ between matches.

Where to start

  • Start with the rules

    The beginner’s guide to the rules covers the basics; the scoring guide explains runs and extras, and the guide to ways of getting out walks through every dismissal, with LBW, no-balls and wides covered on their own.

  • Then the formats

    The formats guide compares Test, one-day and T20 cricket, and the guides to the follow-on, draws, powerplays, the super over, net run rate and the DLS method explain the rules each format adds.

  • Then the players

    The guides to player roles, fielding positions, batting shots, pace and spin bowling and cricket statistics explain what each player does and how their contribution is measured.

Start here

Rules and how the sport works

Statistics and what they measure

Getting more from the simulators

Good to know

Cricket: common questions

What is Cricket Sport Career Simulator?
A cricket career game built around one player. You create a cricketer, choose a look, a role and a style or randomise one, and develop batting, bowling, fielding, athleticism and cricket IQ. Matches combine interactive decisions with fast simulation and live stats, and the career brings daily goals, coach and team choices, rewards and rivals.
Who writes the rules of cricket?
The Laws of Cricket are written by the MCC. International matches are played under the ICC’s playing conditions for each format, which build on the Laws and set format rules such as fielding restrictions and the number of overs.
How many ways can a batter be out in cricket?
Ten under the 2026 edition of the Laws: bowled, caught, hit the ball twice, hit wicket, leg before wicket, obstructing the field, run out, stumped and timed out, plus retired out. Handled the ball was a separate dismissal until 2017 and is now part of obstructing the field. The dismissals guide explains each one.
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