Get coaching
This page explains what the Laws of Cricket, governing bodies and standards bodies publish. It is not a substitute for coaching from a qualified coach, and it does not replace medical advice.
One set of Laws for every kind of match
The Laws of Cricket are written and owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The current text is the 2017 Code 4th Edition (2026), which came into force on 1 October 2026. Every Law cited on this page is from that edition unless another edition is named. The MCC's preface says the game has been governed by a series of Codes of Laws for more than 280 years, and its list of significant dates records cricket as recognised by 1700.
The same Laws cover multi-day matches such as Tests and short limited-overs matches alike. They manage this by leaving the shape of a match to the people organising it. Under Law 13.1, whether each side has one innings or two, and whether innings are limited by overs or by time, is agreed before the match starts. Governing bodies then add their own playing conditions on top of the Laws, as the formats page explains.
Who plays
Law 1.1 sets a match between two sides of eleven players, one of whom is captain. Sides may agree to have more or fewer than eleven players, but no more than eleven may field at any one time. The two captains carry particular weight: Law 1.4 and Law 41.1 make them responsible for play being conducted within the Spirit of Cricket as well as within the Laws.
Two umpires control the match, one at each end (Law 2.1), and two scorers record runs, wickets and, where relevant, overs (Law 3.1). The how a match works page covers their duties.
What the game needs
The Laws list the essentials in their own order:
- A ball (Law 4). The 2026 edition defines three sizes, called Size 1, Size 2 and Size 3. Until the 2026 edition the Laws called them the men's, women's and junior balls.
- A bat (Law 5), made of a handle and a blade, with a blade made solely of wood.
- A pitch (Law 6), a rectangle 22 yards (20.12 m) long and 10 ft (3.05 m) wide.
- Two wickets (Law 8), one at each end of the pitch, each made of three wooden stumps with two wooden bails resting on top, 9 in (22.86 cm) wide and standing 28 in (71.12 cm) above the ground.
- Runs scored by the batters (Law 18) and boundaries (Law 19).
- Ways of being out, set out in Laws 32 to 40 and described on the dismissals page.
Wikipedia's summary of the game, a secondary source, puts it the same way: a bat-and-ball game between two teams of eleven on a field with a 22-yard pitch at its centre.
Overs, runs and boundaries
The ball is bowled from each end in turn, in overs. The 2026 wording of Law 17.1 is an over of 6 valid balls, and Law 17.3 says No balls, Wides and balls called dead before the striker could play them do not count among those six. Earlier editions and many summaries simply say an over has 6 balls; the MCC's change list does not record this as a change of substance, so we treat the newer wording as a clarification rather than a new rule. A bowler may not bowl two overs in a row in the same innings (Law 17.6). Underarm bowling is not allowed unless agreed before the match (Law 21.1.2).
Runs come from the batters running between the wickets and from boundaries. Under Law 19.7, a ball struck by the bat that lands beyond the boundary without touching the ground inside it scores 6; a ball that reaches the boundary after landing inside it, or that was not struck by the bat, scores 4. The Laws also add runs for extras such as No balls and Wides, covered on the extras and results page.
How a match ends
A side wins by scoring more runs than the other (Law 16.1 for two-innings matches, Law 16.2 for one-innings matches). Law 16.7 sets how a win is described: a side batting last that wins is said to win by the number of wickets it still had to lose, and a side fielding last that wins is said to win by runs. When all innings are complete and the scores are level, the match is a Tie; a match not decided in any of the listed ways is a Draw (Law 16.5).
The Spirit of Cricket
The Laws open with a Preamble on the Spirit of Cricket, part of the Laws since the 2000 Code, according to the MCC's preface. The ICC's playing conditions reproduce a version of it (we read the one in the ICC's women's ODI playing conditions, effective July 2026). That version puts respect at the centre of the game and gives captains the main responsibility for fair play, a responsibility it extends to all players, to match officials and, in junior cricket, to teachers, coaches and parents.
Who runs the game
Two bodies matter most. The MCC is the guardian of the Laws. The International Cricket Council (ICC), which the MCC's preface calls the sport's global governing body, runs international cricket and sets the playing conditions for international matches. Each is covered on its own page: the MCC and the Laws and the ICC. National boards run the game in each country; see national boards.
The words used on these pages follow the Laws. The 3rd Edition (2022) replaced "batsman" with "batter", and the MCC says the 2026 edition removed all remaining gendered language. Terms are explained in the glossary.