After dealing with the players, the laws move on to discuss equipment and pitch specifications,
except for specifications about the wicket-keeper's gloves, which are dealt with in Law 40. These
laws are supplemented by Appendices A and B (see below).
* Law 5: The ball. A cricket ball is between 8 13/16 and 9 inches (22.4cm and 22.9cm) in
circumference, and weighs between 5.5 and 5.75 ounces (155.9g and 163g). Only one ball
is used at a time, unless it is lost, when it is replaced with a ball of similar wear.
It is also replaced at the start of each innings, and may, at the request of the
fielding side, be replaced after a certain number of overs have been bowled
(80 in Test matches,34 in ODIs). The gradual degradation of the ball through the innings
is an important aspect of the game.
* Law 6: The bat. The bat is no more than 38 inches (96.5cm) in length, and no more than 4.25 inches
(10.8 cm) wide. The hand or glove holding the bat is considered part of the bat. Ever since
the Heavy Metal incident, a highly publicized marketing attempt by Dennis Lillee, who
brought out an aluminium bat during an international game, the laws have provided that the
blade of the bat must be made of wood (and in practice, they are made from White Willow wood).
* Law 7: The pitch. The pitch is a rectangular area of the ground 22 yards (20.12 m) long and 10ft
(3.05 m) wide. The Ground Authority selects and prepares the pitch, but once the game has
started, the umpires control what happens to the pitch. The umpires are also the arbiters of
whether the pitch is fit for play, and if they deem it unfit, with the consent of both
captains can change the pitch. Professional cricket is almost always played on a grass surface.
However, in the event a non-turf pitch is used, the artificial surface must have a minimum
length of 58ft (17.68 m) and a minimum width of 6ft (1.83 m).
* Law 8: The wickets. The wicket consists of three wooden stumps that are 28 inches (71.1 cm) tall.
The stumps are placed along the batting crease with equal distances between each stump. They
are positioned so they are 9 inches (22.86 cm) wide. Two wooden bails are placed on top of the
stumps. The bails must not project more than 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) above the stumps, and must,
for men's cricket, be 4 5/16 inches (10.95 cm) long. There are also specified lengths for the
barrel and spigots of the bail. There are different specifications for the wickets and bails
for junior cricket. The umpires may dispense with the bails if conditions are unfit (ie it is
windy so they might fall off by themselves).
* Law 9: Bowling, popping, and return creases. This law sets out the dimensions and locations of the
creases. The bowling crease, which is the line the stumps are in the middle of, is drawn at each
end of the pitch so that the three stumps in the set of stumps at that end of the pitch fall on
it (and consequently it is perpendicular to the imaginary line joining the centres of both middle
stumps). Each bowling crease should be 8 feet 8 inches (2.64 m) in length, centred on the middle
stump at each end, and each bowling crease terminates at one of the return creases. The popping
crease, which determines whether a batsman is in his ground or not, and which is used in
determining front-foot no balls (see law 24), is drawn at each end of the pitch in front of each
of the two sets of stumps. The popping crease must be 4 feet (1.22 m) in front of and parallel to
the bowling crease. Although it is considered to have unlimited length, the popping crease must be
marked to at least 6 feet (1.83 meters) on either side of the imaginary line joining the centres
of the middle stumps. The return creases, which are the lines a bowler must be within when making
a delivery, are drawn on each side of each set of the stumps, along each sides of the pitch
(so there are four return creases in all, one on either side of both sets of stumps). The return
creases lie perpendicular to the popping crease and the bowling crease, 4 feet 4 inches (1.32 m)
either side of and parallel to the imaginary line joining the centers of the two middle stumps.
Each return crease terminates at one end at the popping crease but the other end is considered to
be unlimited in length and must be marked to a minimum of 8 feet (2.44 m) from the popping crease.
* Law 10: Preparation and maintenance of the playing area. In cricket, when a ball is bowled it almost always
bounces on the pitch, and how the ball behaves depends very much on the condition of the pitch.
Therefore detailed rules on the pitch itself are necessary. This law sets down rules governing how
pitches should be prepared, mown, rolled, etc.
* Law 11: Covering the pitch. Covering the pitch affects how the ball will react when it bounces on it. For
example, a ball bouncing on wet ground will react differently to one bouncing on hard ground.
In general, a wet pitch will have uneven bounce, a dry pitch won't. The laws stipulate that the
regulations on covering the pitch shall be agreed in advance. Bowlers' run-ups also need to be dry
to reduce the chances that they will slip. The laws therefore require these to be covered wherever
possible when there is wet weather.
