Famous Sports

Cricket
Baseball has the great
advantage over cricket
of being sooner ended.
George Bernard Shaw

Pre-Reading

Quick Facts

A. Warm-Up Questions

Sport:

1. Do you play or have you ever played cricket?

2. D
 o you know how many
players are on a cricket team?

Cricket

Originated in:
Equipment:
Teams key players:

3. Do you know where cricket originated?

4. Do you know where cricket is popular?

Nickname:

The Gentlemans Game

5. Is cricket a good spectator sport?

B. Vocabulary Preview
Match the words on the left with the correct meanings on the right.
1.

Commonwealth

a) a rectangular area where the batter stands and runs

2.

spectator

b) a person who watches

3.

outscore

c) an official who makes final decisions related to scoring and rules

4.

oval

d) a long rounded shape, like an egg

5.

pitch

e) to get a higher score

6.

wicket

f) a player on the defensive team that tries to get the batters out

7.

bail

g) former members of the British Empire

8.

fielder

h) a set of three stumps topped with a crosspiece

9.

bowler

i) the person who pitches the ball in a game of cricket

10. boundary line

j) the crosspiece that goes on top of the stumps in a wicket

11. umpire

k) a person you are competing against

12. opponent

l) the area where a field of play ends

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Cricket

Famous Sports

Reading
1. Cricket is a team sport that uses a bat and a ball. It became popular
in Britain as early as the 13th century, and gradually spread to the
Commonwealth countries, including Australia, India, and South Africa.
Today, professional cricket is very competitive, and it is one of the most
popular spectator sports in the world.
2. Like baseball, the object of cricket is to outscore the other team
in runs. Unlike baseball, cricket is played on an oval field with a
rectangular pitch in the middle. Equipment includes a cricket ball, a
cricket bat, and two wickets. While a baseball bat is thin and rounded,
a cricket bat is flat and wide. Each wicket is made up of three stumps
with a bail on top. The wickets are placed at opposite ends of the pitch
like bases.
3. There are 11 players on each cricket team. The teams take turns being
fielders and batters. The batsmen score the runs, and the fielders try
to reduce the runs and get their opponents out. Unlike in baseball, the
fielders are bare-handed. The person who pitches the ball is called the
bowler. In cricket, a pitch can bounce on the ground before it reaches
the batter.

*Innings vs. Inning

CRICKET
In the game of cricket, the term
innings is used rather than
inning. The s is used when
referring to the singular or
plural form.
In the first innings,
oneteambats while the
otherfields andbowls.
BASEBALL
This is not the case in baseball.
In baseball, the terms inning
and innings are both used.
In baseball there are nine
innings. Both teams get a
turnat bat each inning.

4. The beginning of a cricket game is called the first innings.*

Twoplayers on the batting side stand in front of the wickets with their
bats. The bowler on the fielding team pitches the ball. When one batter
hits the ball, both batters run to the opposite side of the pitch to score
one run together. Batters can run back and forth more than once if
the ball is hit hard enough. Extra runs are automatically awarded if
theball reaches or goes over the boundary line. The fielders try to
getthebatsmen out.
5. Two umpires make the final decision about when a batsman is out.
If the ball hits the wicket, the batsman is out and a new batsman
joins the other batter. A batsman is also out or caught if a fielder
catches the ball that a batsman hit. If a fielder hits the wicket with a
ball before the runner reaches it, the batter has been run out. Finally,
if abatsman stands too far forward and misses the ball, the wicketkeeper (like a catcher in baseball) can stump the batsman by hitting
the wicket before the batsman touches it.
6. When 10 players are out on the batting side, this is the end of the
firstinnings. In the second innings, the teams change roles, and
thenew batters try to beat their opponents score from the first
innings. The length of the game depends on the type of cricket being
played. Cricket matches can last anywhere from six hours to five days.

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Cricket

Famous Sports

Comprehension
Read the statements below. Write T if the statement is true.
Write F if the statement is false, and correct the information
in your notebook. Write NM if the fact is not mentioned.
1. Baseball and cricket have some similarities.
2. Cricket originated in India.
3. In cricket, two bowlers work together at the same time to score runs.
4. A batter scores extra points if he hitsthe ball past the boundary line.
5. A wicket-keeper in cricket makes a similar salary to a catcher in baseball.
6. The second innings starts after10batters are out.

Vocabulary Review
A. Complete the Sentences
Complete the sentences using vocabulary from page 1.
You may need to change the word forms.
1. We our opponents 51. It was an easy game.
2. In cricket, the batters run between two to score points.
3. catch the ball without gloves in the game of cricket.
4. An decides whether or not a batsman is out.
5. In cricket, the is a rectangular box on an oval field.

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Cricket

Famous Sports

Vocabulary Review cont.

B. Summarize
Choose several bolded words from
the text. Using this vocabulary,
write a summary for a child
explaining How to Play Cricket.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Discussion
1. Is cricket a popular sport in your native country? Why or why not?
2. How is cricket like baseball? How is it different?
3. Would you rather watch or play a game like cricket?
Give a reason for your preference.
4. How do sports spread from country to country?
5. What injuries do cricket players likely get?

Copyright 2015, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL Library in accordance with membership terms.

Cricket

Famous Sports

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION:

LEVEL: Intermediate

Students read about the game of cricket. The lesson includes

TIME:

areading, comprehension check, vocabulary review, and

1.52 hours

TAGS: c ricket, sports, World Cup, India, Pakistan,

discussionquestions.

baseball, athlete, Commonwealth, Britain

Pre-Reading

Vocabulary Review

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS

A. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES

Individual answers.

1.

outscored

3.

Fielders

2.

wickets

4.

umpire

5.

pitch

B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW
1. g

3. e

5. a

7. j

9. i

11. c

2. b

4. d

6. h

8. f

10. l

12. k

B. SUMMARIZE
Individual answers. Encourage students to use the vocabulary.
Have students compare summaries. Alternatively, you could

Quick Facts

worktogether as a class to build a summary on the board.

Originated in:England

Discussion

Equipment:ball, bat, wickets

Teams key players:bowler, batter, fielder, wicket-keeper

Answers will vary.

Comprehension
1.

2.

F Cricket originated in England.

3.

F In cricket, two batters work together

4.

5.

NM

6.

at the same time to score runs.

Copyright 2015, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL Library in accordance with membership terms.