MAIN Sports Cricket

As a team sport, cricket claims millions of rabid fans worldwide, including a growing fan base in the US. thanks to a steady influx of immigrants from India, Pakistan and the West Indies.

On the Net, you can follow live scores, news updates, pictures and plenty of action packed video clips to follow top cricket matches around the world.

Those that prove themselves world class year-after-after include teams from the UK, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Australia, and the West Indies followed by literally thousands of amateur cricket clubs around the world.

Cricket for Dummies: For cricket newbie, the sport involves two teams of eleven who play with willow bats, leather balls and wickets. Although the rules are different, cricket has some similarities to American baseball.

The two teams bat in successive innings and attempt to score runs. One team takes the field whilst the other team bats. Batters come up two at a time and stand at opposite ends of the cricket field. One batsman is the striker and one the non-striker. Both may score runs, but only the striker gets to bat the ball.

The team on the field must stop the batsmen from scoring runs. On this team, there is a wicket-keeper and a bowler. The bowler delivers the ball to the striker. Each member of the team on the field takes a turn at being bowler until ten of the batsmen are out. At that point the teams switch and the team that was on the field gets a turn to score runs.

Of course, it's a bit more complex than that, but those are the cricket basics. Skill in batting, bowling and fielding takes concentration and practice. Advanced techniques can make the ball more difficult to strike or to field.

Cricket on the Net: Whether you are a beginner, an expert player or you just love the sound of leather on willow, check out more about the game in news updates, live scores, fan forums, pictures and video clips at top sites that have just what you're looking for...

International Cricket Council - The ICC is the official home of cricket online. Complete rules are available for downloading.

Cricinfo.com - You name it, it's here - including video and audio reports, live scores, news stories and updates, pictures, fixtures and results, and player stats and profiles in a comprehensive, searchable database of over 45000 players and officials.

BBC Sports Academy - Cricket - From the basic moves and equipment to more developed skills in the master classes videos, the BBC will have you moving from a tail-ender to an all rounder with links to local clubs plus the latest cricket news from around the world...

Cricket 365 - Cricket live coverage, photos, news and opinions on this site with international coverage. If you have a gripe or want to tell everyone why you love cricket, stop in at the very active forum to chat with others who share your passion...

An Explanation of Cricket - This archived page is one of the best overall explanations of the game of cricket. It assumes that you know nothing and gives a very easy to understand background on how cricket is played and how a batsman gets out. If you are not at all familiar with cricket...start here to make sense of the action on the field...

Lords - the Home of Cricket - Lords is part of the Marylebone Cricket Club and the site is distinctly British. If you're looking for a good history of the Ashes or news on local teams and matches in England, this is the place...

Cricket World - Good coverage of international cricket with news, in-depth articles, and an active forum. Links to club and school news, postcards plus a fun and games section that has a few activities to keep you busy when there are no matches scheduled...

also see -> Champions Trophy | Cricket World Cup