Wicket

In the sport of cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...

 the word wicket has several distinct meanings:

Meanings of wicket

Set of stumps

Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps

Stump (cricket)

Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:1. part of the wicket, 2. a manner of dismissing a batsman, and 3. the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...

 and two bails

Bail (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, a bail is one of the two smaller sticks placed on top of the three stumps to form a wicket. The bails are used to determine when the wicket is broken, which in turn is one of the critical factors in determining whether a batsman is out bowled, stumped, run out or hit wicket...

 at either end of the pitch

Cricket pitch

A cricket pitch is the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets. The pitch is 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the pitch.In amateur matches,...

 (dimensions). The wicket is guarded by a batsman who, with his bat

Cricket bat

A cricket bat is used by batsmen in the sport of cricket. It is usually made of willow wood. Its use is first mentioned in 1624.This specialised bat is shaped something like a paddle, consisting of a long, padded handle similar to - but sturdier than - that of a tennis racquet, which is usually...

, attempts to prevent the ball

Cricket ball

A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket.-Manufacture:Cricket balls are made from a core of cork, which is layered with tightly wound string, and covered by a leather case with a slightly raised sewn seam...

 from hitting the wicket.

The origin of the word is from the standard definition of wicket

Wicket gate

A wicket gate is a small gate or door, particularly one built into a larger one.The cricket term wicket comes from this term.The term wicket gate is also used in English to refer to automatic ticket barriers or older staffed ticket gates on Japan's railway network.Wicket gates are also a key...

 as a small gate. Historically, cricket wickets had only two stumps and one bail and looked like a gate.

Dismissing a batsman

Wicket also refers to the event of a batsman getting out. The batsman is said to have lost his wicket. If dismissed by a bowler

Bowler (cricket)

A bowler in the sport of cricket is usually a player whose speciality is bowling, analogous to a pitcher in baseball. A bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder....

, the bowler is said to have taken his wicket. The number of wickets taken is the primary measure of a bowler's ability.

For a batsman to be dismissed by being bowled

Bowled

Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler...

, run out

Run out

Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...

, stumped

Stump (cricket)

Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:1. part of the wicket, 2. a manner of dismissing a batsman, and 3. the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...

 or hit wicket

Hit wicket

Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the laws of cricket. The striker is out "hit wicket" if, after the bowler has entered his delivery stride and while the ball is in play, his wicket is put down by his bat or his person...

, his wicket needs to be put down. What this means is defined by Law 28 of the Laws of cricket

Laws of cricket

The laws of cricket are a set of rules framed by the Marylebone Cricket Club which serve to standardise the format of cricket matches across the world to ensure uniformity and fairness...

. The wicket is put down if a bail

Bail (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, a bail is one of the two smaller sticks placed on top of the three stumps to form a wicket. The bails are used to determine when the wicket is broken, which in turn is one of the critical factors in determining whether a batsman is out bowled, stumped, run out or hit wicket...

 is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or a stump is struck out of the ground by the ball

Cricket ball

A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket.-Manufacture:Cricket balls are made from a core of cork, which is layered with tightly wound string, and covered by a leather case with a slightly raised sewn seam...

, the striker's bat, the striker's person (or by any part of his clothing or equipment becoming detached from his person), a fielder

Fielding (cricket)

Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after 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 in flight or running the batsman out. A fielder or fieldsman...

 (with his hand or arm) and providing that the ball is held in the hand or hands so used, or in the hand of the arm so used. The wicket is also put down if a fielder pulls a stump out of the ground in the same manner.

If one bail is off, removing the remaining bail or striking or pulling any of the three stumps out of the ground is sufficient to put the wicket down. A fielder may remake the wicket, if necessary, in order to put it down to have an opportunity of running out a batsman.

If however both bails are off, a fielder must remove one of the three stumps out of the ground with the ball, or pull it out of the ground with a hand or arm, providing that the ball is held in the hand or hands so used, or in the hand of the arm so used.

If the umpires

Umpire (cricket)

An umpire in cricket is a person who has the authority to make decisions on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...

 have agreed to dispense with bails, because, for example, it is too windy for the bails to remain on the stumps, the decision as to whether the wicket has been put down is one for the umpire concerned to decide. After a decision to play without bails, the wicket has been put down if the umpire concerned is satisfied that the wicket has been struck by the ball, by the striker's bat, person, or items of his clothing or equipment separated from his person as described above, or by a fielder with the hand holding the ball or with the arm of the hand holding the ball.

Partnership

The sequence of time over which two particular batsmen bat together, a partnership

Partnership (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, two batsmen may bat in partnership, although only one is on strike at any time. The partnership between two batsmen will come to an end when one of them is dismissed or retires, or the innings comes to a close In the sport of cricket, two batsmen may bat in partnership,...

, is referred to as a specifically numbered wicket when discriminating it from other partnerships in the innings

Innings

An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring...

.

• The first wicket partnership is from the start of the innings until a first batsman gets out.
• The second wicket partnership is from when a first batsman gets out until a second batsman gets out.
• etc...
• The tenth wicket or last wicket partnership is from when a ninth batsman gets out until a tenth batsman gets out.

Winning by number of wickets

A team can win a match by a certain number of wickets. This means that they were batting last, and reached the winning target with a certain number of batsmen still not dismissed. A team's innings ends when ten batsmen are dismissed, so, for example, if the side scored the required number of runs to win with only three batsmen dismissed, they are said to have won by seven wickets.

The pitch

The word wicket is also sometimes used to refer to the cricket pitch

Cricket pitch

A cricket pitch is the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets. The pitch is 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the pitch.In amateur matches,...

 itself. According to the Laws of Cricket

Laws of cricket

The laws of cricket are a set of rules framed by the Marylebone Cricket Club which serve to standardise the format of cricket matches across the world to ensure uniformity and fairness...

, this usage is incorrect, but it is in common usage and commonly understood by cricket followers. This usage probably derives from the days when the outfield was kept short by grazing sheep on it and the playing surface, which was specially prepared, was protected from them by a light wicker fence around it. Since many regular grounds had resident bat-makers it is quite possible that the branches cut off from the willow wood used for the bats formed all or part of this fence. Much willow is employed in making wicker-work.

The term sticky wicket

Sticky wicket

Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance, particularly in cricket.-Origins:...

refers to a situation in which the pitch has become damp, typically due to rain or high humidity. This makes the path of the ball more unpredictable thus making the job of defending the stumps that much more difficult. The full phrase is thought to have originally been "to bat on a sticky wicket." Such pitches were commonplace at all levels of the game (i.e. up to Test Match level) until the late 1950s.

In other sports

The arches used in croquet

Croquet

Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport, which involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...

 and roque

Roque

Roque is an American variant of croquet played on a hard, smooth surface. Popular in the first quarter of the 20th century and billed "the Game of the Century" by its enthusiasts, it was an Olympic sport in the 1904 Summer Games, replacing croquet from the previous games.-Roque court and...

 are sometimes referred to as wickets, especially in American English

American English

American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.English is the most common language in the United States...

. These arches descend from the ancestral game of ground billiards (which may also be related to cricket), and were formerly called the hoop, arch or port. The port remained a prominent feature of indoor table billiards until well into the 18th century.