Know your baseball? Then you know some cricket too Quiz

Answer: Almost the same size as a baseball

A cricket ball is between 8 13/16 inches and 9 inches (224 and 229 mm) in circumference while a baseball is fractionally larger with a circumference of between 9 and 9.25 in (229 and 235 mm). A cricket ball is about 10% heavier, weighing between 5.5 and 5.75 oz (156 and 163 g) - while a baseball weighs between 5 and 5.25 oz (142 and 149 g).

A cricket ball has a single, raised seam. Both have a leather outer casing.

Answer: 90 - 100 mph (145 - 161 kph)

Pitchers, especially closers, are more likely to approach 100 mph, while the top end of the speed range is far less common in cricket. Fast bowlers are more typically in the 90-95 mph range. One fundamental difference is that in cricket, the ball is meant to hit the ground once before it reaches the batsman.

Hence good bowlers move the ball in the air as in baseball, but can also make the ball deviate when it hits the ground.

Answer: approx 60 feet (18.3 m)

In baseball, the distance from the pitcher's rubber to the plate is 60.6 feet. The distance between the two sets of stumps - the bowler's target in cricket - is 66 feet (20.1 m). But the bowler releases the ball about 3 feet closer to the batsman and the batsman stands about 3 feet in front of the stumps.

Hence the batsman or batter has about 0.4 seconds to pick up the ball in flight, decide what shot to play and then execute it. No matter which sport, this is extremely challenging!

Answer: Run

Once on base in baseball, a batter (or pinch runner) can be out if they are tagged out or forced out when the ball reaches the on-base fielder before the batter reaches the base. In cricket, the batsman will be out if the ball hits the stumps before the batsman crosses the crease - a line drawn on the ground before the stumps. This is called being 'run out'.

Answer: The team scoring the highest number of runs

Unlike baseball, scores of well over 300 runs are possible in cricket! The winner is still the team who scores the most number of runs - it doesn't matter whether they are stylish runs, very big hits or runs scored by scrapping very hard. Also different to baseball, a batsman continues batting after making a run - he only stops when he is 'out'.

Answer: Innings

In baseball, 3 outs make an innings and each team bats for 9 innings (or 8 for the home team if they're leading after the top of the 9th). There are now 3 different game durations for international cricket. Test matches last for 5 days(!) where both teams get two innings. Shorter forms are one innings per team where there are a defined number of balls (pitches) per team.

The World Cup is based on 300 balls per batting team. These games last for approx 7 hours. Since the start of the 21st century, an even shorter form, called 20-20 cricket, has each team receiving just 120 balls, so the game is finished in a TV-friendly time of 3-4 hours. Unlike baseball, there are 10 outs in each innings.

There are 11 players on each team. When a batsman is out, another batsman replaces him (or her, women's cricket is also very popular!).

Answer: yes

Being caught is one of the most common ways for a batsman to be out (dismissed) in cricket. Two other common methods of dismissal include: i) being 'bowled' - when the ball hits the stumps after the bowler 'pitches' it at the batsman; ii) the curiously named 'leg before wicket' - this is where the ball would have hit the stumps to bowl the batsman except that his body (most often the leg) gets in the way.

The nuances of the leg before wicket rules are quite complex and can be learned after watching the game for a long time!

Answer: Umpires

In cricket there are two umpires on the field at one time. One stands directly behind the stumps at the bowlers end and makes decisions about whether the batsman has edged the ball (foul tip) to be caught, whether the batsman is out 'leg before wicket' (did you read the I.I. for question 7?) and counts the number of deliveries (pitches) by the bowler.

The other umpire stands at right angles to the stumps at the batters to judge whether the batsman has been run out. In both sports there is a forensic examination of every close call!

Answer: An unlimited number

An unlimited number of times to miss the ball is one of the reasons the game can take so long! A good strategy for batsmen is to play very carefully any ball that is going to hit the stumps and try to hit any ball that is missing the stumps very hard. Unlike baseball, in cricket there is no compulsion to run after the batsman hits the ball. Both batsmen decide whether they can safely get to the other end without being run out (they call to each other about this). If so, they run. If not, they stay where they are and score zero.

Answer: There is no restriction at all - it can go anywhere

There is no restriction at all where the ball can go! Hence fielders have to cover the full 360 degrees around the oval shaped ground. Unlike baseball, fielders use bare hands to catch and field the ball except for the wicket-keeper (equivalent to catcher) who wears two gloves to catch the ball. Like baseball, careful thought goes into where the field is positioned based on the game situation and the strengths and weaknesses of the batsman.