Cricket clothing and equipment
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In cricket a wide range of equipment is required. Cricket clothing is slightly loose fitting so that it is comfortable.
[edit] Equipment
- Ball – A red or white ball with a cork base, wrapped in twine covered with leather. The ball should have a circumference of 23 cm (9 inches) unless it is a children's size.
- Bat – A wooden bat is used. The wood used is from the Kashmir or English willow tree. The bat cannot be more than 38 inches (96.5 cm) long and 4.25 inches wide (10.8 cm). Aluminium bats are not allowed. The bat has a long handle and one side has a smooth face.
- Stumps – 3 wooden poles known as the stumps.
- Bails – Two crosspieces known as the bails
- Sight screen – A screen placed at the boundary known as the sight screen. This is aligned exactly parallel to the width of the pitch and behind both pairs of wickets.
- Boundary – A rope demarcating the perimeter of the field known as the boundary.
[edit] Clothing and protective wear
- A polo shirt which is worn by everyone in the match (T-shirt with collar)
- Long trousers (often white, but stained red in parts from polishing the ball)
- Sun hats, cricket cap or baseball cap
- Spiked shoes to increase traction.
- Jumper (a woolen pullover, if necessary)
- Helmet (often with a visor), worn by batsmen and a maximum of one fielder close to the batsman on strike.
- Leg pads, worn by the two batsmen and the wicket-keeper, used to protect the shin bone against impact from the ball, fielders that are fielding in close to the batsmen may wear shin guards as well.
- Thigh Guard, arm guards, chest guard, and elbow guards to protect the body of the batsmen.
- Gloves for batsmen only, thickly padded above the fingers to protect against impact from the ball as it is bowled
- Wicket keeper's gloves for the wicket-keeper which are larger and look like mitts. Usually includes webbing between the fingers
- Abdomen guard or "box" for male batsmen only (often referred to as a cup, box or cricket box). It is usually constructed from high density plastic with a padded edge, shaped like a hollow half-pear, and inserted into the jockstrap of the batsmen and wicket-keeper
Batsmen are allowed to wear gloves while batting. The batsman can be also out caught if the ball touches the glove instead of the bat. This is because the glove is considered to be the extension of the bat. The batsman may also wear protective helmets usually with a visor to protect themselves. Helmets are usually employed when facing fast bowlers. While playing spinners, it might not be employed.
Fielders cannot use gloves to field the ball. If they use any part of their clothing to field the ball they may be penalised 5 penalty runs to the opposition. If the fielders are fielding close to the batsman, they are allowed to use helmets.
The wicketkeeper, due to being directly behind the batsman and therefore having the ball bowled directly at him is allowed to wear shin pads, a helmet, a light internal glove and a large external glove like a mitt.
[edit] Team colours
For Test cricket matches, the clothing (shirts and trousers) worn by the players are full white. The team logo is marked on their shirt. Helmets and caps however are allowed to be in the colour of the team. If a sweater is used, the V–neck border also carries the team colour. Umpires have to wear black trousers and white shirt.
In ODI matches, the entire clothing is coloured according to the team colours. Umpires may also wear hued clothing.
| Country | Background | Foreground and Lettering |
|---|---|---|
| Australia* | Gold/Green (in Australia) | Green/ Gold (in Australia) |
| Bangladesh | Dark Green | Red |
| Bermuda | Light Blue | Red |
| Canada | Red | Black |
| England | Blue | Red |
| Hong Kong | White | Red |
| India | Light Blue | Navy Blue/Yellow |
| Ireland | Light green | Dark blue |
| Kenya | Light green | Maroon |
| Namibia | Dark blue | Green |
| Netherlands | Orange | Dark blue |
| New Zealand** | Black | White |
| Pakistan | Light Green | Dark Green |
| Scotland | Navy Blue | White |
| South Africa | Green | Gold |
| Sri Lanka*** | Navy Blue | Yellow |
| UAE | Grey | Black |
| West Indies**** | Maroon | Silver/Green |
| Zimbabwe | Red | Green |
(*) The Australia 'A' team, which has previously played (unofficial) One-Day International Matches, has used a green background with gold lettering, the opposite to the Australian team.
(**) New Zealand used to have a beige uniform with tan lettering before 1992. In 1988 they played in white with black pads for one series against Pakistan, before changing to grey background and black lettering. In the late 1990s this was changed to Teal. Since 2001, they have used a black background with white lettering. The fabric was developed around 2001, and does not absorb heat even though it is black.
(***)When touring Australian on several occasions in the 1980s, Sri Lanka wore uniforms that were primarily Yellow, with Blue trim, before reversing the colouring.
(****) For their early appearances in World Series Cricket, the West Indies wore pink uniforms. By the mid-1980s their uniforms were grey, with maroon lettering and backgrounds. In the early 1990s, this was reversed to the current Maroon with grey/silver.
