Claim: The laws of cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a cricket field , at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch with a wicket -LRB- a set of three wooden stumps -RRB- at each end . One team bats , attempting to score as many runs as possible , whilst their opponents field . Each phase of play is called an innings . After either ten batsmen have been dismissed or a fixed number of overs have been completed , the innings ends and the two teams then swap roles . The winning team is the one that scores the most runs , including any extras gained , during their innings .   At the start of each game , two batsmen and eleven fielders enter the field of play . The play begins when a member of the fielding team , known as the bowler , delivers the ball from one end of the pitch to the other , towards the wicket at that end , in front of which stands one of the batsmen , known as the striker . The striker `` takes guard '' on a crease drawn on the pitch four feet in front of the wicket . His role is to prevent the ball from hitting the stumps by use of his bat , and simultaneously to strike it well enough to score runs . The other batsman , known as the non-striker , waits at the opposite end of the pitch near the bowler . A dismissed batsman must leave the field , and a teammate replaces him . The bowler 's objectives are to prevent the scoring of runs and to dismiss the batsman . An over is a set of six deliveries bowled by the same bowler . The next over is bowled from the other end of the pitch by a different bowler .   The most common forms of dismissal are bowled , when the bowler hits the stumps directly with the ball ; leg before wicket , when the batsman prevents the ball from hitting the stumps with his body instead of his bat ; and caught , when the batsman hits the ball into the air and it is intercepted by a fielder before touching the ground . Runs are scored by two main methods : either by hitting the ball hard enough for it to cross the boundary , or by the two batsmen swapping ends by each simultaneously running the length of the pitch in opposite directions whilst the fielders are retrieving the ball . If a fielder retrieves the ball quickly enough to put down the wicket with a batsman not having reached the crease at that end of the pitch , that batsman is dismissed -LRB- a run-out occurs -RRB- . Adjudication is performed on the field by two umpires .   The laws of cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council -LRB- ICC -RRB- and the Marylebone Cricket Club -LRB- MCC -RRB- . There are various formats ranging from Twenty20 , played over a few hours with each team having a single innings of 20 overs -LRB- i.e. 120 deliveries -RRB- , to Test cricket , played over five days with unlimited overs and the teams playing two innings apiece . Traditionally cricketers play in all-white kit , but in limited overs cricket they wear club or team colours . In addition to the basic kit , some players wear protective gear to prevent injury caused by the ball , which is a hard , solid object made of compressed leather enclosing a cork core .   Although cricket 's origins are uncertain , it is first recorded in south-east England in the 16th century . It spread globally with the expansion of the British Empire , leading to the first international matches in the mid-19th century . ICC , the game 's governing body , has over 100 members , ten of which are full members who play Test cricket . The sport is followed primarily in Australasia , Britain , the Indian subcontinent , southern Africa and the West Indies . Women 's cricket , which is organised and played separately , has also achieved international standard .