@mrmhead Said
So when they say a Cricket match can last days, what is the break point?
Obviously they don't play 72 hours straight.
Are there timed periods?
Is it based on some event in the game (outs, score, team rotation) ?
I will quote from an English website:
Cricket is a bat and ball game played between two teams, 11 players each, on a field which has a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch in the centre. The game is played by 120 million players world-wide making it the second most popular sport in the world. The purpose of the game is to score more runs than your opposing team.
A Cricket match is divided into periods called innings. It is decided before the game begins, if both teams will have one or two innings. During the innings one team bats while the other fields. All 11 players on the fielding team are on the pitch at the same time however only two batsmen are on the field at any one time.
Team captains toss a coin to decide who should bat first.
Cricket fields tend to be oval in shape. The end which is marked off is called the boundary, with the rectangle “pitch” in the centre.
At each end of the pitch are the wickets, 22 yards apart. A bowling crease is in line with the wicket and the batting or popping crease is 4ft in front of the wicket.
The aim is for the fielding team to get out 10 batsmen in total and then when it is their turn to bat, to gain more runs in their innings.
A batsman is out if at least one bail is dislodged by the ball or if the batman does it with his bat or part of his clothing or body. If a fielding player catches the ball off the batsman's glove or his bat without it bouncing. If the batsman prevents the ball hitting the wicket with his leg, LBW leg before wicket, or a run out, if the batsman fails to get inside the batting crease before the fielder removes the bails.
The batsmen stand at opposite wickets, the batsman who is receiving the ball from the bowler is the striking batsman, the other is known as the non-striking batsman. The batsmen are allowed to step forward of their creases, though at some risk as the wicket keeper (one of the fielding team) is positioned directly behind the wicket.
The remaining 9 fielders are spread out around the pitch. The team captain usually tells the 9 fielders where to stand with the aim of anticipating where the batsman will hit the ball.
A bowler stands some yards behind the wicket, runs up and delivers the ball over hand, on or before the bowling crease. If he delivers the ball beyond this crease it is a no ball, also if he flexes his elbow too much this is a throw and again a no ball. The batting team will get a penalty or an extra run for a no ball and the batsman cannot be given out (unless he is run out). If the ball is delivered out of the reach of the batsman, then this is a 'wide', and again a penalty/extra run for the batting team. If the bowler hits the wicket and removes at least one bail the batsman is out.