Line and length in cricket refers to the direction and point of bouncing on the pitch of a delivery. The two concepts are frequently discussed together. Jump to: navigation, search A cricket match in progress. ... A cricket pitch is the central strip of the playing area between the wickets. ... A delivery in cricket is simply the bowling of a ball towards the batsman, performed by a designated bowler as part of their over. ...

Line

The line of a cricket delivery is the direction of its trajectory measured in the horizontal axis. More simply, it is a measure of how far to the left or right the ball is travelling, compared to a line drawn straight down the pitch. It is usually referred to in terms of the directions off (away in front of the batsman) and leg (in towards or behind the batsman), rather than left and right, however. Horizontal is an orientation relating to, or in parallel with the horizon, and thus perpendicular to the vertical. ... For usage in other sports, see offside rule. ... Cricket batsman A batsman in the sport of cricket is a player whose speciality in the game is batting. ... The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket. ...

Line controls how much room the batsman has to play various shots, and sometimes dictates what shot he must play. A line directed at the wicket, for example, must be defended with the bat, as failing to hit the ball will result in the batsman being out bowled. This article is about the cricket term. ... In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out (also known as taking a wicket) // Ways of getting out A batsman can be dismissed in a number of ways, the most common being bowled, caught, leg before wicket (LBW), stumped and run out. ... Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. ...

Despite this most direct method of getting the batsman out, bowlers often concentrate their line outside off stump, where the batsman does not necessarily have to hit the ball to avoid being out. A line just outside off stump is sometimes referred to as the corridor of uncertainty, as the batsman may be in two minds whether or not he needs to hit the ball to prevent it hitting his wicket. In this state, the batsman has little choice but to attempt to hit the ball, as not doing so could be disastrous. By thus forcing the batsman to play at the ball with some element of uncertainty, the bowler's goal is to induce a poorly executed shot that may offer a catch to a fielder, or ricochet the ball into the wicket. In the sport of cricket, the term stump has three different meanings: part of the wicket, a manner of dismissing a batsman, and the end of the days play (stumps). Part of the wicket The stumps are three vertical posts supporting the bails to form a wicket at each...

Line can also be used strategically to restrict run scoring. One method is to stack the fielders predominantly on either the leg or off side of the field, and then bowl consistently with a matching line, to make it difficult for the batsman to hit the ball to the opposite side of the field. Fielding in the sport of cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the batsman in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball or running the batsman...

A deliberate policy of aiming the line of the ball at the batsman's body was employed by England during their 1932-1933 tour of Australia. This dangerous tactic has since been outlawed. See Bodyline for full details. Jump to: navigation, search The English cricket team is a national cricket team which nominally represents England and Wales, but is a de facto United Kingdom team. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Bill Woodfull evades a Bodyline ball. ...

Length

The length of a delivery is how far down the pitch towards the batsman the ball bounces. It is described as being either short (bouncing closer to the bowler), long or full (bouncing nearer the batsman), or a good length (an optimal length, somewhere in between).

The length of a ball controls how high the ball rises from the pitch as it reaches the batsman's stance position. A ball pitched too short rises relatively high and loses some of its pace, making it easier to hit. A ball pitched too long does not have time to deviate horizontally in its flight, also making it easier for the batsman to hit. A good length ball is a compromise between these two, bouncing far away enough from the batsman for lateral deviation to be significant, but far enough away for him to react and easily hit it.

A bowler can use variation in length to upset the rhythm of a batsman. A typical sequence would be a series of slightly short balls to force the batsman into playing shots with his weight on the back foot, to allow him more time to hit the ball, followed by a full ball bouncing near the batsman's legs. If the batsman does not react to the change in length quickly enough, he can be left with his weight on the back foot and, if he misses the ball with his bat, in danger of being out either bowled or leg before wicket. In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. ...

Another attacking ploy is to pitch a ball very short, making it bounce up around head height as it passes the batsman. Such a bouncer requires the batsman to avoid being hit, and may intimidate him into uncertainty about the next few balls. For other uses, see Bouncer (disambiguation). ...