Cricket is the second most popular sport played and viewed worldwide, with over a billion fans. It’s most popular in South Asia but has a large presence in the Caribbean, Australia, Aotearoa (New Zealand), the UK, and South Africa as well. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has 111 participating countries. The ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup 2026 final between India and New Zealand had over 600 million viewers.
It’s far less popular in Turtle Island (North America), especially outside of diaspora communities. So what exactly is cricket, and how do you play?
Cricket was played to represent and reinforce British culture in colonized regions, particularly the Indian subcontinent. During the struggle for independence, however, the game was also used as a symbol of resistance. Many colonized populations began reclaiming the game despite its exclusionary imperial legacy — traditionally nicknamed “the gentleman’s game.” Today, the far-reaching universality of cricket allows the sport to be used for unity, solidarity, and diplomacy.
It’s played with a bat and ball, with the purpose being to score the most runs.
It’s played with a bat and ball, with the objective being to score the most runs. There are two teams of 11 players. The fielding team can have all 11 players on the field and can stand anywhere, as long as it’s not on the pitch. The batting team has two players on at a time.
The field is usually shaped like an oval, with a patch of grass (the pitch) in the middle. The pitch has wickets at each end. Wickets consist of three stakes called stumps and two bars called bails. An inning, or full round of batting, involves bowlers from one team and two batters — a striking batter and a non-striking batter that are on either side of the pitch — from the opposing team. From the pitch, the bowler bowls the ball to the other team’s batter. Each bowler only bowls the ball six times before being replaced, known as an over.
After hitting the ball, the batters and non-batters run between the wickets at opposite ends of the pitch, switching places to score a point, known as a run. The goal is to run from one end of the field to the other as many times as possible before being out. An inning can also end after 10 wickets fall, whatever comes first. Batters can also score runs through hitting the ball down the ground to the boundary line which equates to four runs in addition to hitting the ball over the boundary line which counts for six runs.
An out, also known as a wicket or dismissal, means the batters must leave the field. An inning ends when 10 (out of 11) batters are out. A common way to get out is for the wicket to be broken (the bails falling off), either by the bowler bowling or another player throwing the ball.
Some forms of cricket have a specific number of overs — the most commonly played professional version is Twenty20 with a maximum of 20 overs per inning. Most forms have just one inning per team. Other forms include One-Day International with 50 overs and one inning, and Test with 2 innings each. Test Cricket has unlimited overs, with matches lasting up to five days!
Despite its widespread popularity, cricket has not been in the Olympics since 1900. However, it will be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in the T20 format.
SFU has a Cricket Club with drop-ins every Monday. If you’d like to try cricket, you can register on the SFU Recreation Cricket Club webpage. You can also follow them on Instagram at @sfucricketclub.
