Game and Field Structure

Test matches last 5 days and have 2 innings of unlimited balls thrown.

One-Day matches last 8 hours, and have 1 inning per team of 300 balls / 50 overs.

Twenty20 matches are 3 hours long, and have 1 inning per team of 120 balls / 20 overs.

Scoring

Pitching / Bowling, and Plate Appearances / Partnerships

Fielding

Special Cases

Ties and Prolonged Games

Shortened Games

If sports were species of animals, baseball and cricket would be consider closely related, at least as close as English rules rugby is to American football. Having said that, it's been hard to find fellow fans of both sports. So, in the hopes of increasing the number of crossover fans, I've prepared the following 'translation guide' to explain one sport in terms of the other as closely as possible.There are 9 innings of 3 outs each.There is/are 1 (or 2) innings of 10 outs each.Innings continue until the batting team has 3 outs.Innings continue until EITHER the batting team has 10 outs or the prescribed number of legal balls (pitches) have been thrown.Batters are out from 3 strikes, ball caught in air, or being run out at a base.Batsmen are out from their wicket being knocked over, ball caught in air, or being run out.There is one prevalent format played at the major league level in North America and Japan.There are three prevalent formats played, and many players compete in multiple formats in the same year.The team with the most runs after all their innings is the winner.The team with the most runs after all their innings is the winner.The final inning for the team batting second ends immediately if that team is winning.The final inning for the team batting second ends immediately if that team is winning.1 runner must reach all 4 bases to score a run.2 runners (a batsman and their partner) must reach each other's base to score a run.When a runner reached home, the leave play to wait for their turn to bat again.A batsman and their partner may score up to 4 runs on the same ball by running back and forth.A fair ball that leaves the field of play without touching the ground first is a 'home run'. The batter and all runners advance to home, scoring 1 run each.A ball that leaves the field without touching the ground first is a 'six', scoring six runs.A fair ball that touches the ground and THEN leaves play (even if it does so by leaving the 90 degree arc of fair territory) is a 'ground rule double', in which the batter advances to 2nd base, and all other runners advance 2 bases.A ball that touches the ground and THEN leaves play is a 'four', scoring four runs.A plate appearance continues until 3 acceptable throws (strikes) are thrown, or 4 unacceptable throws (balls) are thrown, or the ball is hit into 'fair territory'.An over continues until 6 acceptable throws (balls) are thrown. This is true even if a batsman is out in the middle of an over. Unacceptable throws (no balls) do not count to this limit, and award the batting team 1 run.After a plate appearance, the next batter in the cycle of 9 is used.After an over, the current batter and running partner change roles. Neither player is replaced until that player is out.A batter MUST run if the ball is hit in fair territory.A pair of batters MAY CHOOSE TO run if the ball is hit in fair territory.A hit ball is considered 'fair' if it remains in the 90-degree arc directly in front of the batter until it lands or leaves play. (Between 1st and 3rd base) Otherwise it is a 'foul ball' in which the batter and runners cannot advance. The batter can still be caught out on a foul ball. A foul ball counts as a strike, but cannot be a batter's third strike.A hit ball is considered 'fair' regardless of its direction, even directly behind the batter.(This section has cricket first intentionally for clarity, you didn't miss anything)11 fielders in total, including 1 bowler and 1 wicket-keeper.9 fielders in total, including 1 pitcher and 1 catcher.The 11 players that field during one half of the game are the same 11 that bat during the other half. This includes multiple bowlers (pitcher), which may be so far down the order that they rarely bat.With some exceptions, the 9 players that field during one half of the game are the same 9 that bat during the other half. Exceptions include the pitcher (bowler) in some leagues, and between-innings substitutions called pinch hitters or pinch runners.There are two bases. One base is occupied by the current batsman, the other by their running partner.There are 4 bases. A batter starts at home base and advances to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and back to home in order. The other three bases start unoccupied and can become occupied by batters (called runners when not batting) during an inning.Finally...Ties are (nearly) impossible. If teams are tied after 9 innings, extra innings are played until one team has scored more runs than the other in the same number of innings.Ties are possible. If teams are tied after the prescribed number of balls thrown (or, equivalently, the number of overs) for each side, then the game is a tie. In playoff situations, extra overs may be played in a format parallel to baseball's extra innings.The rules determining what happens when a game ends early, change from league to league. A shortened game of 5 or more innings is considered complete. A game of less than 5 innings (for the losing/trailing team), or a game that was cut short when tied, is either continued at a later date or started again at a later date.Results and score targets for shortened games are dictated by the Duckworth-Lewis method of estimating each batting team's resources used, in terms of remaining balls (pitches) and wickets (outs). This system changes the number of runs that the team batting second needs in order to tie or win the game based on the amount that the game was shortened.Furthermore, for those looking for more information about cricket, I suggest you start with this 6 minute long YouTube video by Ninh Explains https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqtpNkMvj5Y