Cricket

Sports are an essential part of student life and have countless benefits for both their mental and physical well-being. Most schools often offer a wide range of sports to students so they can choose the one they love and have fun with while also benefiting from the advantages. With that said, it can be helpful to look at some of the best options that schools typically offer and how they can be more fun than others! So, let's get into it:   Football This is a childhood favorite of mine and a sport that I've played all my life! Football involves teams of 11 or 5 (depending on the size of the pitch), and the objective is to put the ball in the opposing team's net. Players can use any part of their body to score beside their hands and forearms. Each goal equals one point, and the team with the most goals wins at the end. In case of a tie, the teams go to extra time. If the game remains goalless even after that, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out! Football is one of the most accessible and widely offered sports at school and is a great option, especially for students.   Cricket More popular in Asia and Europe, cricket is a sport similar to baseball, where two teams compete to get the most runs. Runs are scored by whichever team is batting at that time, with no more than two batsmen on the pitch at a time. The bowling team can have all eleven players out on the pitch, with one bowler and ten fielders. The team with the most runs in each of their batting performances (known as innings). To play cricket, you'll need at least one bat, a cricket ball, wickets, and a pitch to play on.   Table Tennis Some of my best memories were formed around a table tennis game. All you need is a pair of rackets, a table tennis ball, and a table to play on, which most schools often have. The game requires very little setup and effort to play and packs hours of fun and exercise! The objective is to hit the ball past the other player's half without letting it bounce in your half. At the same time, the ball must bounce in the other player's half at least once, or it will count as a point against you!   Basketball Basketball is another game where you can get full body exercise while having lots of fun and building your teamwork skills simultaneously. The game involves five players on each side who must coordinate to throw the ball into the other team's hoop. If the points are scored from outside the 3-point arc, the team is rewarded with 3 points, while points inside the arc are counted as 2 points. The team with the most points at the end wins! All you need to get started is a basketball court and a basketball.

Feeling inspired after the recent ICC T20 World Cup? Cricket sure looks fun! But what even is this sport, and how do you play it? Compared to something like football, the rules can certainly seem confusing and the terminologies used during the game. Well, fret not because we will discuss everything cricket in this article today! Let's get into it with the following:   What is Cricket? Cricket is an 11-man sport played on a circular field. There are two innings in which both teams alternate between batting and bowling. The team that is bowling has to prevent the other team from scoring runs (points) and boundaries by either making it difficult for them to hit the bowl or trying to get a wicket, which means the batsman goes off. Each team gets ten wickets total, and there can only be two batsmen on the field at a time. All 11 players are on the pitch for the team that is bowling. One player is the bowler, which is rotated between the selected bowlers as the team captain sees fit, while the rest are fielders; scattered around the pitch to prevent boundaries and runs. For a detailed list of the rules, you can look at this guide to get a more detailed idea.   How Can You Get Started With it? There are four essentials to playing cricket: A cricket bat A ball Wickets or stumps A pitch to play in Unlike a baseball bat, a cricket bat is flat on one side and curved on the other, with only the flat side being used exclusively to hit the ball. The bats vary in weight, so when you're starting, it should be helpful to opt for a lighter one and change it if you feel the need later on. Note that the bat's weight is entirely a personal preference depending on the batsman. Moving on, we have the cricket ball, which is unlike any other ball in other sports. The ball is either white or red in colour and is made of leather. The ball tends to be really heavy and is quite hard, which puts new players at risk of injury if it makes contact with the body. Generally, new players and even seasoned ones that play casually tend to use a tennis ball instead of a proper cricket ball. This is because a tennis ball is much softer and lighter and offers a similar experience to the leather alternative. You may see the tennis ball is wrapped in electrical tape to make its flight faster, making for faster bowling and harder shots. Lastly, the wickets and the pitch that you'll be playing in are, in my opinion, not as essential as the first two parts of the equipment. Like street football, street cricket is usually played in any open space where the players can comfortably bowl, and the wickets are made using bricks or rocks lying nearby. However, if you can get a proper pitch with proper wickets, that should certainly make for a better experience.