How to Follow Cricket: A Simple Guide
New to cricket? Learn the formats, how matches work, and where to watch live, all in plain English.
Cricket basics in two minutes
Cricket is a bat and ball game played between two teams of eleven. One team bats and tries to score runs, while the other team bowls and fields and tries to stop them. After a set number of overs, the teams switch roles. The team with more runs at the end wins. That is the core idea, and everything else is detail you can pick up as you watch.
The first thing to learn is that cricket comes in formats, and the format decides how long a match lasts. Test cricket is the classic long form and can run up to five days. One day matches are done in a single day, usually seven to eight hours. T20 is the short form: each side faces twenty overs and the whole match takes about three hours. If you are new, T20 is the easiest way in, because it is fast, loud, and full of big hits.
To follow cricket well, pick one format to start with. Learn when matches happen in your time zone, since games in different countries start at very different hours. The Fawa News agenda lists cricket matches with start times in your local zone, so you never have to do the math yourself.
How to watch cricket live on Fawa News
- Open the agenda. Go to /agenda/ to see coming cricket matches.
- Pick the match. Check the format and the start time, shown in your local time zone.
- Open the event page. When our licensed stream feed carries that match, the live player loads right on the page.
- No player? The event page still shows the schedule, so you know exactly when to come back.
Tip: Test matches pause overnight and resume the next day. T20 and one day games are played to a finish in one sitting.
Formats, overs and how a match unfolds
An over is a set of six balls bowled in a row. In T20, each team faces twenty overs. In one day cricket, each team faces fifty overs. In Test cricket, there is no over limit per side, and each team usually bats twice across the five days. The team batting second knows the target and chases it, which makes the finish exciting.
Big moments to watch for are wickets, when a batter gets out, and boundaries, when the ball reaches the rope for four runs or clears it for six. Bowlers try to take wickets and keep runs down. Batters try to score fast without getting out. Once you can spot these two battles, every match makes sense.
Cricket FAQ
Where can I watch cricket live?
Open the Fawa News agenda, find the cricket match you want, and open its event page. If our licensed stream feed carries that game, the live player appears there.
What is the easiest cricket format for beginners?
T20. It lasts about three hours, the action is fast, and the rules are the same core game in a short package.
How long does a cricket match last?
About three hours for T20, around seven to eight hours for one day matches, and up to five days for Test cricket.
What is an over?
An over is six balls bowled in a row by one bowler. Twenty overs per side in T20, fifty in one day cricket.
Why do match times look strange in my country?
Cricket is played around the world, so start times vary a lot. Fawa News shows every start time in your local time zone.