20/20 Cricket is really exciting. Instead of two full innings by each team until each batsman is “OUT!” in traditional "series" cricket tournaments, the teams in 20/20 have 20 “overs” each. If this is like a foreign language to you – some of the rules of cricket are below which will help you translate it – but first I’d like to make the point on behalf of Wilma Proops that:

Spam is not cricket!

The English claim that the game of cricket is theirs as they do Rugby and Football – the beautiful game! When someone acts in an underhand manner, you can use the term “that’s not cricket”. This points out the underhand nature of the activity and that it does not conform to the rules. Thus Spam is not Cricket!

Women Should watch ALL Male Sports – “if you can’t beat them – join them”

Wilma Proops likes nothing better than watching men play cricket, football, rugby, golf and F1 live and so she has a good understanding of the rules of most games she watches. Here is a quick guide to cricket for novices and women, who might not as yet have discovered, the delights and excitements of watching fit men play competitive sports. Her advice to them is “if you can’t beat ‘em - join ‘em”

An Over: 6 throws of the cricket ball at the wicket of the opposing team. The idea behind the throw (termed a bowl of the ball) is to knock down the wicket of the opposing term.

Bowling: throwing the ball at the wicket of the opposing team.

Bowler: the bloke who throws/ chucks the ball at the wicket who aims to smash it up.
An Over: The Bowling of 6 balls by a team’s designated bowler.

Maiden Over: An over which results in no “runs” being made (see below)

Wicket 1: Three wooden stakes (known as stumps) driven into the ground vertically and parallel with each other. These support the wickets (think Stonehenge in very small scale) which are placed horizontally across the stumps. There are two sets of wickets, one at each end of the wicket (see 2)

Wicket 2: Also refers to the ground between the wickets.

Runs: The idea for the side which is batting is to run between the wickets. Each run between the wickets is known as a run. The more runs the better!

Batsmen: Two batsmen are “in” at the same time but only one plays. Which one plays is decided by which one ends there after they have run. The batman defends his wicket with his bat. He must not be judged by the Umpire (the bloke in charge who makes all the decisions and must not be argued with) to defend his wicket with his leg. Doing so would be judged LBW (see below) and he would be OUT! And would return to the dressing room.

LBW: = leg before wicket = OUT!

Run Out: If one batsman is not in position when the ball smashed the wicket the batting batsman is deemed to be out. (That sentence is for real).

Four: If the batsman hits the ball well and it rolls out of the playing area – the entire cricket field designated by the rope round the edge of the cricket field the batsman automatically scores 4 runs.

Six: If the batsman hits the ball well and it flies through the air and out of the playing area – the entire cricket field designated by the rope round the edge of the cricket field the batsman automatically scores 6 runs.

Caught: If a Fielder catches the ball and that ball does not touch the ground the Batsman is OUT!

Fielders: They are positioned strategically to catch the ball – best case scenario – stump the wicket before the batsman gets back to the wicket or stop the ball rolling over the boundary and scoring 4 runs.

Extra Man: aka the “twelfth man” can come onto the field if a player gets injured – cricket balls are hard and fly fast. The Extra man cannot bat or bowl but can only field.

Other rules: There are more rules – no balls for and against ball tampering for instance are self explanatory and more terms Silly Mid Off for instance which Wilma is not clear about. To discover there meaning you’ll need to ask a real expert or just start watching some games!

Terms Suggested for Inclusion from Xomba Members Comments:

The Golden Duck: What a batsman achieves when he is bowled and declared OUT with no runs.

To Walk:What a batsman does when he is declared OUT. He "walks" back to the dresing room.

NB Wilma Proops supports the West Indies because their supporters are the most flamboyant and simply love to beat the English at their own game. She also supports England when playing anyone else. She admires the other teams and delights at matches between India and Pakistan and wishes they could limit their combat to the game. She is glad that South Africa are now playing internationally but believed in the decision that saw them banned from playing internationally before the end of apartheid – as that was just not cricket.

Although Wilma Proops enjoys 20/20 greatly she much prefers to see all cricketers dressed in traditional “whites” as originally manufactured by the Coggershall’s (her illustrious ancestors on her father’s side). This preference is nothing to do with nepotism (as her family lost their monopoly to make the fabric in medieval times). No, she just thinks men look even sexier dressed in traditional “whites”

OWZAT!: The call which denotes a batsman should be delcared out by the Umpire.

If you think Wilma has missed important rules and terms out - please feel free to add them or correct her in the comments below.

JOIN XOMBA HERE FREE to discuss Cricket, Football, Rugby, Golf, Formula 1 and even American Football and Baseball!

PS If you want to buy Wilma a present - executive tickets to most sports events are always appreciated. She thinks corporate hospitality is great too and is usually available.