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Cricket · Level 1

Beginner

5 sub-levels · 27 tests · 270 facts · updated 6 September 2026

Level 1 is the foundation: what a cricket match is and how it is won, tied or drawn; the field, the pitch and its markings; the roles of batter, bowler, wicket-keeper, fielder, captain and the two umpires; the ball and the bat and the protective kit; how play starts with the toss and the first over; how runs are scored off the bat, in extras and in boundaries; when the ball is in play and when it is dead; what the umpires signal and what the scorers record; the formats of the game from the five-day Test to the Twenty20; and who runs cricket, from the MCC as guardian of the Laws to the ICC and the national boards. It teaches the vocabulary and the shape of the game that every later level builds on.

Sub-levels

Sub-level 1.1The Shape of a MatchThis sub-level teaches that cricket is played between two sides of eleven who take turns to bat and to field, with the choice decided by a toss; that an innings is one side's turn to bat and a match is one or two…6 tests · 60 factsSub-level 1.2Ways of Getting OutThis sub-level teaches the ways a batter can be dismissed — bowled and caught as the everyday ones, LBW explained as three plain questions, run out and stumped, hit wicket, and the rare modes; that the fielding side…6 tests · 60 factsSub-level 1.3The Ground and the KitThis sub-level teaches the shape of a cricket ground and its boundary; the 22-yard pitch and the crease lines drawn on it; the wicket of three stumps and two bails and what it means to break it; the ball, its seam…5 tests · 50 factsSub-level 1.4Scoring and ExtrasThis sub-level teaches how runs are made off the bat by running between the wickets; the four and the six; the no-ball and the wide, why each is re-bowled and worth a penalty run; byes and leg-byes; and which extras…5 tests · 50 factsSub-level 1.5The Three FormatsThis sub-level teaches the three forms of the international game — the five-day Test in whites with a red ball, the 50-over one-day international in coloured clothing with a white ball, and the three-hour Twenty20;…5 tests · 50 facts

Written from

MCC Laws of Cricket 2017 code (3rd edition 2022) for the mechanics of play; ICC Playing Conditions for international format and officiating detail, which override the Laws where they differ; ESPNcricinfo and Wisden for history, records and governance. Questions are authored from these sources, not reproduced from them.