LENGTHS OF CRICKET PITCH IN FEET , METER, YARDS AND FOOTSTEPS |TYPES OF CRICKET PITCH

Cricket pitch is one of the important factors which has an important role to play in a cricket match. So it is very important to know everything related to the pitch especially the length of the pitch( in feet). The nature and condition of the pitch have a significant impact on the end result of the game. According to the nature of the Pitch, it can be favorable to batsmen or bowlers. 

If a pitch is favorable to batsmen then the team with great quality batsmen will have a notable advantage over the opposition. If a pitch is favorable to bowlers then the team with terrific quality bowlers will have a significant advantage over the opponent. So pitch can very much affect the end result of a game.

Even the selection of the final 11 depends on the pitch. So it's very important to know about all aspects of the pitch including the length, width, type, and elements of the pitch.

DIMENSIONS OF A PITCH IN FEET

1)Length of the cricket pitch in feet is 66 (feet). The length of a cricket pitch is the distance between the two wickets on a pitch.

2)Length of the cricket pitch from crease to crease in feet is 58 (feet)

3)Length of the full cricket pitch from edge to edge in feet is 74 (feet)

4)Total width of the cricket pitch in feet is 12 (feet)

5)Width of cricket pitch used during a game in feet is 10 (feet)

DIMENSIONS OF A CRICKET PITCH IN METER

1)Length of the cricket pitch in the meter is 20.12 (meter). It is the distance between the two wickets.

2)Length of the cricket pitch from crease to crease in meter is 17.68 (meter)

3)Length of the full cricket pitch from edge to edge in meter is 22.56 (meter)

4)Total width of the cricket pitch in meter is 3.66 (meter)

5)Width of the cricket pitch used during a game in meter is 3.05 (meter)

DIMENSIONS OF A CRICKET PITCH IN YARDS

1)Length of the cricket pitch in yards is 22 (yards). It is the distance between the two wickets.

2)Length of the cricket pitch from crease to crease in yards is 19.3 (yards)

3)Length of the full cricket pitch from edge to edge in yards is 24.6 (yards)

4)Total width of the cricket pitch in yards is 4 (yards)

5)Width of the cricket pitch used during a game in yards is 3.33 (yards)

DIMENSIONS OF A CRICKET PITCH IN FOOTSTEPS

1)Length of the cricket pitch in footsteps is 26. It is the distance between the two wickets.

2)Length of the cricket pitch from crease to crease in footsteps is 23

3)Length of the full cricket pitch from edge to edge in footsteps is 29

4)Total width of the cricket pitch in footsteps is  4.75

5)Width  of the cricket pitch used during a game in footsteps is 4

TYPES OF CRICKET PITCHES

1)GREEN PITCH

SOURCE:CRICKET AUSTRALIA 

As the name suggests these pitches have a large amount of grass on them. These types of pitches are generally seen in countries with colder climates like ENG, NZ, and AUS. These pitches have comparatively more moisture than a normal pitch due to the extra grass on them.

Green pitches are very beneficial for fast bowling. These types of pitches help to produce extraordinary swing movements which can frustrate the batsman. The extra swing is due to the less friction produced by the pitch due to the slippery nature of the green grass on them.

2)DUSTY PITCH

Source:india.com

Dusty pitches are mainly seen in the Indian subcontinent(it includes PAK, SL, BAN, NEPAL). These pitches have literally no grass on them and are also very dry and dusty. These pitches are also not well rolled so it makes the pitch less bouncy. Due to this nature of the pitch, it gets dried out quickly and form cracks and boot-marks which help the spinners by providing extra turn.

These pitches get more cracked and dry when the match reaches day 3 or 4 and make batting extremely difficult. It is this condition in the Indian subcontinent which provides an advantage for the Indian team over the none Asian like NZ, SA, AUS, and ENG.

3)FLAT WICKETS

Flat wickets are also called as dead wickets. In flat wickets, there will be literally no moisture and grass. The moisture and grass on these pitches are lost due to the continuous rolling on the pitch. The pitch produces only reasonable bounce and it is easy for batsmen to play drives and flicks at that bounce.

These pitches are perfect for batting and are mainly used in limited-overs cricket. These pitches do not provide any help for both fast bowlers and spinners. These wickets help batsmen to score huge runs.

4)HARD AND BOUNCY PITCH

These pitches produce an extraordinary bounce which makes batting very difficult. The pitch becomes hard due to the increased amount of clay in it. These pitches are mainly seen in South Africa. In these pitches, even the ball which pitches in the good length area can bounce up to the chest level.

ELEMENTS OF A CRICKET PITCH

There are mainly 3 elements in a cricket pitch they are crease, wickets, and bails

A)THE CREASE: crease is the white lines on the pitch indicating various measurements. There are mainly three types of crease.

1)POPPING CREASE: It is the line within which the batsmen should keep any part of the body (mainly foot) or bat to avoid run-outs or stumping. It is also used to identify whether a bowler is bowling a no-ball. A ball is called no-ball if the bowler lands his front foot across the popping crease while bowling.

2)BOWLING CREASE It is the line in which stumps are dug into. It is parallel to the popping crease.

3)RETURN CREASE: Return crease can be also called the wide crease. It is the two parallel lines that are perpendicular to the bowling crease. It helps to determine whether a ball bowled is wide or not. It is also used to indicate backfoot no-ball by a bowler. Backfoot no ball is when the bowler's back foot crosses the return crease through the side while bowling.

B)WICKETS:  A wicket is a set of 3 stumps placed at the both ends of a cricket pitch. wickets are made out of wood and have equal height. Modern-day wickets are equipped with sensors and LEDs to precisely identify a wicket fall.

C)THE  BAILS: Bails are two small wooden pieces kept on the wickets to even identify the small touches of the ball on them. Bails are very lightweight so small hits of the ball on wickets can be identified by the fall of the bails.

DIMENSIONS OF A CREASE

The distance of popping crease from the stump is 1.22 meters or 4 feet

The distance of return crease from the stump is 1.32 meters

The width of the popping crease in cricket is 3.66 meters

The distance between return crease in cricket is 2.64 meters

The width of bowling crease in cricket is the same as the distance between two parallel return creases is equal to 2.64 meters 

HOW TO READ A CRICKET PITCH?

1)Grass on the pitch

A pitch with a considerable amount of grass can produce extraordinary swing movement. It will make batting difficult and batsmen should be very careful while leaving a ball because the extra swing can make the ball hit your wickets. If you see a green pitch you should choose to bowl.

2)Hardness of the pitch

Depending on the hardness of the pitch it can be classified as flat or bouncy pitch. If the pitch is reasonably hard than the normal pitch then the ball will come quickly onto the bat and can make batting easier.

If the pitch is extraordinarily hard then it will produce unusual bounce which will make batting difficult So it is important to properly analyze the condition of the pitch before selecting batting or bowling

3)Moisture on the pitch.

Depending on moisture on the pitch, it can be classified as dry or damp. A dry pitch can provide an advantage for spinners. But if the pitch is damp balls will get slower and batting and bowling will get difficult and the score will be low. 

4)Cracks and footmarks made by bowler

If you see some cracks on the pitch when you are analyzing it before the toss then you must include 2 or 3 specialist spinners on your team because when the match gets to the 3rd or 4th day the pitch will start getting prominent cracks that will provide a great advantage to the spin bowlers. 

LENGTH OF PITCH BASED ON AGE CATEGORY

MARYLEBONE CRICKET CLUB

1) UNDER- 9  CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 18 yards

2) UNDER-10 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 18 yards

3) UNDER-11 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 20 yards

4) UNDER-12 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 20 yards

5) UNDER-13 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 21yards

6) UNDER-14 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 21 yards

7) UNDER-15 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 21 yards

8) UNDER-16 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 22 yards

ENGLAND AND WALES CRICKET BOARD

1) UNDER- 9  CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 18 yards

2) UNDER-10 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 19 yards

3) UNDER-11 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 20 yards

4) UNDER-12 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 21 yards

5) UNDER-13 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 21 yards

6) UNDER-14 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 22 yards

7) UNDER-15 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 22 yards

8) UNDER-16 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 22 yards

CRICKET AUSTRALIA

1) UNDER- 9  CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 15.3 yards

2) UNDER-10 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 15.3 yards 

3) UNDER-11 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 17.5 yards

4) UNDER-12 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 17.5 yards

5) UNDER-13 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS 19.7 yards

6) UNDER-14 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS  22   yards

7) UNDER-15 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS  22   yards

8) UNDER-16 CRICKET PITCH LENGTH IS  22   yards

IMPORTANT RULES RELATING TO CRICKET PITCH

1) Ground authority is responsible for selecting and preparing pitch

2)During the game umpire control its use and maintenance

3)Pitch shall not be watered during game

4)pitch is remarked if the umpire feels it required

MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1)What is the cricket pitch size?

Ans: The size of a cricket pitch is 22 yards or 20.12 meters

2)Why is a cricket pitch 22 yards?

Ans: In early times the only way to measure length is a chain because ropes can stretch. And during those days in Britain, one chain was equal to 22 yards

3) Does different age categories use pitches with different lengths?

Ans: Yes different age categories have different pitch lengths and it is determined by cricket boards in each country or the cricket rule-making body MCC

4)What is the height of stumps used in cricket?

Ans: 28. Inches or 71.10 cm

5)What is the best pitch in cricket?

Ans: There is no best pitch in cricket but a batting wicket is always better for entertainment due to the huge total of runs scored by teams.

6)Why do Indian pitches support spinners?

Ans: Since the temperature in India is high most pitches will get dry quickly and dry pitches  get cracked quickly so it will help spinners