CRICKET VS BASEBALL

cricket baseball blog

Cricket is played in many parts of the world and is popular mainly in places like England, South Asia, Australia, and Africa.

Baseball, on the other hand, is less popular internationally but is played extensively at a professional level in the United States, Japan, and Cuba.

Although the games look very similar, there are some major key differences between the sports that set them apart. Let’s go over the differences between these two batting sports!

EQUIPMENT

cricket baseball equipment

Both sports involve hitting a ball with a bat, but the equipment is quite different.

BALL

Both sports use a ball with a cork core wrapped in yarn or twine with a leather cover. However, they are different in both color and size.

Cricket balls are mainly red, weigh around 5.5 ounces, and are about 8.8 inches in circumference. Baseballs are white with red stitching across the covering, weigh about 5 ounces, and are 9.2 inches in diameter.

BAT

Cricket bats and baseball bats look entirely different.

Cricket bats have a flat surface and are around 38 inches long with a 12-inch handle. 

Baseball bats are about 34 inches long with a 10-12-inch handle. The bat is a cylinder shape rather than flat.

PLAYERS

A cricket team comprises of 11 main players, while a baseball team has only 9.

In cricket, the fielding positions are:

  • Bowler
  • Wicketkeeper
  • Outfielders

The outfielders tend to change their positioning around the field, and there are no set rules on where the fielders should stand.

In baseball, the fielding positions are more stringent and the positions are as follows:

  • Pitcher
  • Catcher
  • 1st baseman
  • 2nd baseman
  • 3rd baseman
  • Shortstop
  • Left fielder
  • Right fielder
  • Centerfielder

FIELD

Baseball and cricket differ a lot when it comes to field shape.

The shape of a cricket pitch is oval. There is an infield strip in the center of the field with a wicket on each side. Cricket fields range in diameter from 447 to 492 feet.

Baseball fields are triangular, with a diamond-shaped infield made of sand and an outfield bordering the infield made of grass. There are four bases spread around the infield, home plate, 1st base, 2nd base, and 3rd base. Baseball fields also have a pitcher’s mound in the center of the infield that is slightly raised. Baseball fields range in diameter from 325 feet to 400 feet.

GAMEPLAY

cricket gameplay

Some aspects of cricket and baseball gameplay are quite similar, but they are very different games overall.

DURATION

Cricket and baseball are similar in that neither game has time limits in place, and both games are made up of innings.

Baseball games have 9 innings, with a top and a bottom of each inning. During each half of an inning, one team attempts to score as many runs as possible before the defensive team gets 3 outs.

Cricket games only have 2 innings. During each inning, the entire team is allowed to bat, and the inning ends when the fielding team gets 10 of the 11 players out, or the predetermined number of overs is reached.

Baseball games last an average of 3 hours, while cricket matches last an average of 7.5 hours.

BATTING

baseball gameplay

In baseball, batters have three attempts to hit the ball. They are out if they swing and miss three times and fail to swing at a strike 3 times. However, batters get more attempts if the pitcher throws a ball out of the batting box. The ball must go forward and land between the 2 foul lines; otherwise, the ball is foul, and the batter must try again.

In cricket, the batsmen are allowed many more attempts to hit the ball. The batsmen essentially continue to hit the ball until they are called out. Two batsmen are on the field at any given time, and they continue to run back and forth between the 2 wickets to score runs until they are called out.

OUTS

In baseball, you can get called out for the following reasons:

  • The umpire calls 3 strikes during your at-bat.
  • You hit a fly ball that a fielder catches.
  • A fielder tags you with the ball before you reach a base.
  • During a “force out,” a fielder with the ball stands on the base you are running to.

Here are the ways to get called out in cricket:

  • A fielder catches a ball you hit.
  • The bowler knocks over your wicket during your at bat
  • You obstruct the ball from hitting the wicket with a part of your body
  • A fielder knocks over your wicket before you reach it

SCORING

There are two ways to score points in cricket. You can score runs by running the full length of the pitch and safely making it to the other wicket without getting called out. The other way to score runs is to hit the ball past the boundary. Hitting the ball over the boundary awards the team 6 points, and hitting the ball so it rolls past the boundary awards the team 4 points.

In baseball, runs are scored by running around all four bases and making it to home plate without getting called out. A home run is when a batter hits the ball over the outfield fence. When this happens, all runners, including the batter, get to score a run.

WINNING

Baseball games never end in a tie, if there is no winner at the end of the 9th inning, the teams play extra innings until one team comes out on top.

Cricket matches very rarely end in a tie, but it is possible. At the end of the 2nd inning, the team with the highest score wins.

Lev
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