Laws of cricket

The laws of cricket are a set of rules established by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) which describe the laws of cricket worldwide, to ensure uniformity and fairness. There are currently 42 laws, which outline all aspects of how the game is played from how a team wins a game, how a batsman is dismissed, through to specifications on how the pitch is to be prepared and maintained.

The MCC is a private club based in London in England and is no longer the game's official governing body, but the MCC retains the copyright in the laws of the game, and only the MCC may change the laws, although since 2005 this is usually only done after discussions with the game's global governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). Cricket is one of the few sports for which the governing principles are referred to as 'Laws' rather than as 'Rules' or 'Regulations'.

However, regulations to supplement and/or vary the laws may be agreed to for particular competitions as required. Those applying for international matches (referred to as "playing conditions") can be found on the ICC's website.

The origins of cricket are debatable, but it probably derived from numerous games and sports involving hitting a ball with a bat or club (see History of cricket). In the eighteenth century, it expanded to become a betting game especially popular with the British aristocracy. The earliest laws were drawn up in that context, to help regulate a game on which large sums of money were being staked. The earliest existing known Code of cricket was drawn up by certain "Noblemen and Gentlemen" who used the Artillery Ground in London in 1744. In 1755 there is further reference to the laws being revised by "Several Cricket Clubs, particularly the Star and Garter in Pall Mall", followed by a revision of the Laws by "a committee of Noblemen and Gentlemen of Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex and London at the Star and Garter" in 1774. A printed form of the laws was published in 1775 and a further revision to the laws was undertaken by a similar body of Noblemen and Gentlemen of Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex and London in 1786.

However, these laws were not universally followed, with different games played under different guidance. On 30 May 1788, the Marylebone Cricket Club, which had been formed by the leading noblemen and gentlemen playing the game just one year before, produced its first Code of Laws. Whilst the MCC's version of the Laws were not accepted fully immediately, or applied consistently, it is the successor of these Laws that governs the game today. The next major change in 1809 saw further standardisation of the weight of the ball from between 5 and 6 ounces (142 to 170 g) to between 5.5 and 5.75 ounces (156 to 163 g), and the width of the cricket bat was standardised for the first time. The law to score runs of a ball hitting the non-striker stumps was made redundant and the length of stumps was increased from 22 to 24 inches and bails from 6 to 7 inches to help the bowlers, and the importance of umpires was further enhanced. Finally, a new method of dismissing a batsman was introduced. Previously, as cricket uses a hard ball and leg-pads were not used, players would naturally play with their legs away from the wicket. As batsmen started to wear pads, they became willing to cover their stumps with their legs to prevent the ball hitting the stumps and bowling them. Therefore, a "leg before wicket" rule was introduced so that a batsman preventing the ball hitting his stumps with his legs would be out.

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