Cricket rules quiz: from LBW to maiden overs
Know your duck from your hat-trick? Test your cricket basics.
10 multiple-choice questions, with the answer explained after each one.
Answer each question, see why, and beat your best score.
All 10 questions and answers
Want to check an answer or run the quiz out loud? Every question is here, with the answer hidden until you open it.
- How many players are in a cricket team on the field?
- 12
- 9
- 15
- 11
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11. Each side fields 11 players.
- How long is a cricket pitch, from stumps to stumps?
- 30 yards
- 18 yards
- 22 yards (about 20.12 m)
- 25 yards
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22 yards (about 20.12 m). The pitch is 22 yards, or one chain.
- How many legal balls are in an over?
- 6
- 8
- 5
- 10
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6. An over is six legal deliveries. Wides and no-balls don't count.
- How many runs is the ball worth if it's hit over the boundary without bouncing?
- 5
- 8
- 4
- 6
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6. Over the rope on the full is six. If it bounces first, it's four.
- What does LBW stand for?
- Long ball wide
- Leg before wicket
- Left by wicket-keeper
- Late bowled wicket
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Leg before wicket. A batter can be out if the ball would have hit the stumps but hit their leg (or body) first.
- What is a 'duck'?
- Being out without scoring a run
- A ball that doesn't bounce
- Scoring 100 runs
- Three wickets in three balls
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Being out without scoring a run. A golden duck is out first ball for zero.
- What is a hat-trick?
- Three catches in a match
- Three wickets in three consecutive balls by one bowler
- Three centuries in a series
- Three sixes in an over
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Three wickets in three consecutive balls by one bowler. The three balls can even be spread across two overs.
- How many overs does each side face in a T20 match?
- 20
- 10
- 40
- 50
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20. T20 stands for Twenty20: twenty overs per side.
- What does an umpire signal by raising both arms above their head?
- Four
- No-ball
- Six
- Out
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Six. A wave across the chest signals four, and one raised finger means out.
- What is a maiden over?
- A bowler's first over
- An over bowled by a debutant
- An over in which no runs are conceded
- An over with a wicket
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An over in which no runs are conceded. Maiden overs show tight, accurate bowling.