Comparison of baseball and cricket
Comparison table

Comparison of baseball and cricket

Section Title: Comparison table
Table Section Text: None

Analogous concepts and similar terms

Term	Cricket	Baseball

each team's batting turn	an innings (either singular or plural)	a half-inning or side; innings is a plural term – but most commonly, one batting turn is called either the "top" or the "bottom" of an inning, depending on which team bats first and which team is batting now

player who delivers the ball to start play	a bowler, who bowls	a pitcher, who pitches

player who strikes at the ball	batsman (The term batter is used in women's cricket.) The batsman facing the bowler is the striker, the other is the non-striker	batter (The term batsman is often used, however, in the phrase "hit batsman.")

distance between above two players	22 yards (66 feet) or 20.1 metres (approx. 58 ft or 17.7 m between the bowler and batsman at delivery)	60 feet 6 inches or 18.4 m (approx. 58 ft or 17.7 m between pitcher and batter at delivery)

fielder behind the player batting	wicket-keeper (or "keeper" for short)	catcher

batting order	flexible	predetermined

player's batting turn	(batting) innings, knock, dig	plate appearance, at-bat, ups

batting stance	(a.k.a. guard) bat held vertically, with the handle upwards, and the bottom edge on the ground	bat held cocked in the air behind the head

hitting the ball	shot or stroke (The batsman need not run)	hit – also shot, stroke, knock, etc. (The batter must run if the ball is hit into fair territory)

carrying bat after striking	batsman carries bat while running and uses it as an extension of his body	batter drops bat after hitting and while running

edge of the field	boundary: lines, ropes, fences, other objects, no physical marker (Law 19)	fence, wall

scoring over the boundary or fence	runs are scored if the ball touches or lands over the boundary; six runs (six) if on the full, four runs (four) if on the bounce or along the ground.	home run if on the fly (and fair) – one, two, three, or four runs depending on the number of runners on base; automatic double ("ground-rule double") if on the bounce from fair territory – batter and any runners on base may advance only two bases; thus, only a maximum of two runs may be scored

Hits inside the field result in...	as many runs as the batsmen can complete. Normally between zero and three, but there is theoretically no upper limit in unusual circumstances such as misfields, overthrows or lost balls.	runners advancing, with possibility of one or more runners reaching home for a run.

batsman scoring no runs in an innings	duck. Known as a golden duck if out on the first ball faced or a diamond duck if out without facing a ball and/or out on the first ball of the team's innings.	struck out (common even for a skilled batter), "left stranded" (which occurs when a batter hits the ball and gets on base, but the team gets all out before he is able to score a run – something which doesn't happen in cricket except in the case of a "diamond duck" when a batsman is run out without having faced a ball)

hitting the ball in a specific area	placement	place hitting

hitting the ball high into the air, liable to being caught	skyer (or skier), spooning it up, "scooping the ball", "flier"	fly ball, pop fly, popup, "skying it"

catching the ball in flight	catch	fly out or catch (see in flight)

dismissing a batsman/batter	a wicket	an out

dismissal types	bowled, caught, leg before wicket, run out, stumped, hit wicket—or, very rarely: hit the ball twice, obstructing the field, timed out or handled the ball	tag out, fly out, force out, strike out, interference (similar to obstructing the field in cricket, but more common)

dismissal procedure	appeal to an umpire – a wicket cannot be given without an appeal from the fielding side, unless the batsman leaves the field on his own (Law 27).	automatic – most outs are called immediately by umpires; some potential outs require an appeal play to be called but this is rare.

curving deliveries	leg break, off break, googly, doosra, leg cutter and off cutter change direction after bouncing. Often these will also drift while in the air.	breaking balls curve in the air; the curveball/slider/cut fastball away from the pitching-hand side, the sinker, splitter, and forkball unexpectedly dip downwards (as can a curveball; see 12–6 curveball), the rare screwball bends toward pitching-hand side, as will the increasingly common circle change, and the unpredictable knuckleball which relies on atmosphere and wind can literally move in any direction, and even may corkscrew on its way to the plate

a delivery not in a good hitting zone	wide (and a penalty run can be awarded if the batsman is unable to reach the ball in his normal batting stance)	ball

fielding miscue	misfield	error

central/inner playing arena	wicket, pitch, deck or strip	infield or diamond

sides of the field	Assuming a right-handed batsman, the "Off side" is the side to his right, while the side to his left is called the "Leg side" (as that is the side closest to the batsman's legs) or sometimes the "On side".	"Left field" is always to the batter's left and "right field" is always to the batter's right (when facing the pitcher), regardless of the side of the plate he hits from.

substitution	injured players can be replaced for fielding and running, not bowling, batting or keeping wicket (Law 2)	players can be replaced in line-up for any reason; once removed they cannot return (except in certain youth leagues such as Little League which allow a "courtesy runner" for a pitcher, some recreational leagues and exhibition games, and in special rules such as designated hitter); baseball substitution rule was originally also only in case of injury; unlike cricket, the replacement could also bat

delivery toward the head	"bouncer", "beamer" or sometimes "beamball" – umpire may warn or eject the bowler	"beanball" – umpire may warn or eject the pitcher

Words used in both sports, possibly with different meanings

a ball	any legal delivery by the bowler	a legal delivery not entering the strike zone nor swung at by the batter. If a batter receives four balls during one plate appearance, he is awarded a base on balls or walk.

drive	powerfully hit ball from the face of the bat, usually with the bat positioned vertically or close to vertically	powerfully hit ball, often used to describe when the ball comes off the bat fast and flat "Line Drive" (could be a hit, or caught for an out)

infield	the area of the field less than 30 yards (27 m) from the pitch (basically oval in shape, marked by a restriction line in limited- overs cricket)	the area of the field inside the grass line and immediately near the "diamond"; the "diamond" is the area inside the baselines, which are straight lines either drawn between bases (home plate to first – third to home plate) or imaginary (first to second and second to third); the "diamond" is thus a square 90 feet (27 m) on a side but is called such because of how it appears as seen from home plate.

inning(s)	an innings is a period of batting, it can refer to that of a whole team, or an individual player	an inning is one period of batting for each team (3 outs per half-inning)

line-up	the "batting lineup" means the players who are regarded as strong batsmen. a "strong or long batting lineup" might mean 7 or 8 recognised batsmen.	the players playing in a given game, particularly with respect to their batting order

out	a batsman is "given out" by an umpire when he is dismissed in any of several ways. "outs" is never used.	batters can be "out"; when there are three "outs" the half-inning is over; the term "retired" is also used.

outfield	the area of the field more than 30 yards (27 m) from the pitch	the fair-territory area outside the grass line

pinch hitter	batsman promoted up the batting order to score runs quickly in a one-day game (deliberately borrowed from the baseball term)	substitute for another batter

pitch	the playing arena (term also used in soccer) the area on the pitch in which the bowler bounces the ball	the act of throwing the ball toward the batter

play and time	Applies to an entire interval, such as an innings	Applies to a single pitch.

pull	an aggressive shot hit with a horizontal bat towards the legside boundary, typically played to a short delivery	similarly, to hit a pitch towards the side of the field closer to the hitter (left field for a right-handed hitter and vice versa)

retire	a batsman can stop batting part way through their innings (when the team is doing well, to give junior batsmen a chance to get experience – "retired out"; rarely or never in high-level matches), or "retire hurt" (this is usually due to injury (or being taken ill), in which case they have "retired not-out", and can resume play later in the team's innings.)	to retire a batter means to get the batter out; when three outs are completed, ending the batting team's turn in an inning, the team on the field is said to have "retired the side"

run	unit of scoring, achieved by the batsmen changing ends in one movement, or awarded for a boundary (4 or 6 runs), or for a penalty (1 to 5 runs)	unit of scoring, achieved by a batter or pinch runner who safely reaches home plate after visiting first, second and third bases in succession, in up to four movements

single	stroke which scores one run	hit which allows the batter to advance to first base. It can score one run or more if runners are on base.

walk	to leave the field when out, without waiting for the umpire's decision	slang for a base on balls: to advance to first base after receiving four balls

Sentence(s)

The distance is 58 ft (17.7 m) between the delivery point and batsman.

final_sentence: The distance is 58 ft (17.7 m) between the delivery point and batsman.