Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2017 May 27

= May 27 =

Crease (cricket)
What's the point of the bowling crease? Our article says that bowlers formerly were required to bowl from behind it (but now they can go as far as the popping crease), but it doesn't otherwise mention the purpose. Google found me lots of copies of laws of the game specifying the location of the bowling crease and lots of places mentioning it but not explaining the point (or only mentioning the old law about the bowler's rear foot), plus one forum where someone asked "what's the point" but got no answer, but nothing actually explaining. Maybe it's just something that's retained for the sake of tradition? Nyttend (talk) 02:33, 27 May 2017 (UTC)
 * If I'm reading the diagram correctly, the bowling crease marks the distance of the stumps from the popping crease. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:53, 27 May 2017 (UTC)
 * This is technically true, but inverted: it's the bowling creases and the stumps on them, which must be 22 yards apart, from which all of the other creases are measured. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.129.108 (talk) 19:45, 28 May 2017 (UTC)
 * There is also a rule that the wicket keeper must not move in front of the stumps before the ball passes the batsman - the line lets the umpires judge that. They also make it clear exactly where to put the stumps in. Wymspen (talk) 08:31, 27 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Your final sentence initially confused me — I didn't realise until just now that the stumps were taken out after the end of the second innings. I just assumed that they were a permanent part of the pitch, taken out only if some sort of maintenance had to be performed on the field.  As a result, I discounted Bugs' statement (it was something I'd already observed), since of course that's true, but who cares since the stumps are always there anyway.  Thanks!  Nyttend (talk) 18:15, 27 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Presumably they store them when not in use, as opposed to putting a tarp over them like you would with a baseball infield. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:32, 27 May 2017 (UTC)
 * They're often souvenired by players at the end of test matches, but they're otherwise stored for future use. Cricket fields are usually used for all sorts of other sporting events, so having 3 pieces of wood permanently sticking out of the ground in the middle of the field would offend all known concepts of sporting occupational health and safety.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:32, 27 May 2017 (UTC)
 * At major matches, if the players and/or umpires didn't quickly secure them they would likely be taken by spectators as souvenirs: even plain wooden stumps (plus bails) are not negligible in price, and in televised matches at least one at each end will, these days, contain a miniature TV camera. In multiple-day matches (which all first class matches are), they're always removed to the pavilion at the end of the day's play. Additionally, should play be temporarily suspended because of rain, the wicket (i.e. the strip and adjacent areas will be covered by tarpaulins (the covers, hence the name of the fielding position where traditionally they were kept), necessitating the stumps' removal. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.129.108 (talk) 19:45, 28 May 2017 (UTC)
 * As a comparison, if a baseball park is used for football, the bases and the pitcher's mound will be removed, and likewise the goalposts or nets will be removed when it's time for baseball. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 09:50, 28 May 2017 (UTC)
 * The stumps need to be removable because you need to see if the ball has hit the wicket: and, if the stumps come out of the ground, it's clear that the wicket has been broken. Fast bowlers delight in watching stumps cartwheel some distance behind the wicket, it's one of the most exciting sights in cricket! --TammyMoet (talk) 10:15, 28 May 2017 (UTC)


 * A cricket field has a central area, called the square, with room for several different pitches. Have a look at an aerial phot of a major test ground, and you will clearly see the different pitches which are in various stages of regrowth. It is normal to use one strip for a match, then to leave that area to recover, and for the next match move the stumps to a fresh strip. The stumps are always removed between matches - not least because the ground will need to be rolled, and the grass may need to be cut. Major cricket fields are rarely used for other sports - so much effort is put into keeping the central square smooth and level, that there is a reluctance to let lots of men wearing studded boots to run about on it. Wymspen (talk) 09:57, 28 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Do they try to time it so the central strip gets to be used for the most important matches? Or is the center between two strips? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 14:45, 28 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Not in a precise sense, since the variabilities of weather and the consequently variable rates of degredation during a match and recovery afterwards would make this impossible to predict so accurately. A cricket ground is large (and is often not entirely symmetrical) while the strip relatively small, so it doesn't need to be at the exact centre, at least four or five will be sufficiently central to be used for any important match. Strips further from the centre (traces of which will be evident from any overhead shot of the ground) will be used for lesser matches and for practice. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.129.108 (talk) 19:45, 28 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Are there any cricket matches played with a (packed) soil strip like baseball? (no grass) Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 00:12, 31 May 2017 (UTC)
 * No - because unlike baseball the cricket ball is bounced off the ground. That does tend to break up the surface over time, but the grass roots bind the soil and stop it from getting too bad. Some junior and practice pitches have an artificial surface (matting or asphalt), but it is part of the game that the surface does start to break up during the course of a long match. That is why the fast bowlers always go first, as they like a smooth, hard surface to bounce the ball hard, while the spin bowlers can later make use of a slightly damaged surface to make the path of the ball unpredictable. Wymspen (talk) 11:54, 31 May 2017 (UTC)
 * "Cricket is unusual among major sports (along with golf, Australian rules football and baseball) in that there is no official rule for a fixed-shape ground for professional games." Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:00, 30 May 2017 (UTC)
 * The St Lawrence Ground where Kent play first class county cricket is famous for actually having a tree in the playing area - so famous, that when the tree was badly damaged some years ago, a new one was planted to replace it. No-one thought that it might make life easier not to have the tree there at all. Wymspen (talk) 11:58, 31 May 2017 (UTC)
 * If the batsman hits it he might be dismissed, based on the principle, "Strike tree! You're out!" ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 18:32, 31 May 2017 (UTC)