How cricket works, from the Laws to the ICC.

This section explains how cricket is organised and how its rules work, not how to play. Batting, bowling, fielding and wicketkeeping are learned in person from a qualified coach, and injuries are a matter for doctors. What these pages offer is the structure around the game: which bodies make the rules, what the Laws say, how international matches are classified and officiated, and how children are introduced to cricket.

Every rule here is given as a named body's rule, with the document and its edition or effective date, and the Law or clause number where the source gives one. Where sources disagree, each version is given with who says it, and anything we could not confirm is said to be unconfirmed. Equipment rules and helmet standards are in the equipment section, safety and concussion in safety, and the vocabulary in the glossary.

Which rulebooks, which editions

Rule texts change. The current edition of the Laws, the playing conditions of the competition and the umpires on the day always have the final word.

The shortest possible version

• A match is played between two sides of eleven (Law 1.1) on a pitch 22 yards long (Law 6.1), in overs of 6 valid balls (Law 17.1). Whether each side bats once or twice, and for how many overs, is agreed before the match (Law 13.1).
• The MCC says it has been recognised as the sole authority for the Laws since its formation in 1787. The current text came into force on 1 October 2026 with 73 material changes, by the MCC's count.
• The ICC, founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference, runs international cricket. By its own count it approved its 111th member, Mauritius, on 15 July 2026.
• There are nine ways to be out (Laws 32 to 40), and no batter is given out without an appeal (Law 31.1).
• The ICC's women's ODI playing conditions (July 2026) set revised targets in interrupted matches with the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, and allow a Decision Review System, where both boards agree and the technology is in place, with at most two unsuccessful player reviews per team per innings.

The pages in this section

1. What cricket is: the game as the 2026 Laws define it.
2. Formats: Tests, ODIs, T20Is, first-class, List A and The Hundred.
3. The ICC: founding, members by date, leadership and suspensions.
4. The MCC and the Laws: who writes the Laws and every Code since 1744.
5. National boards: founding dates, disputed dates and what boards decide.
6. How a match works: team sheets, officials, the pitch, the toss, overs and conduct.
7. Dismissals: the nine ways out, Law by Law.
8. Extras, the follow-on and results: No balls, Wides, penalty runs and how matches are decided.
9. Duckworth-Lewis-Stern: how interrupted matches get a target.
10. Umpires and DRS: the third umpire and player reviews.
11. The 2026 Laws changes: what changed on 1 October 2026.
12. Women's cricket: status, the Size 2 ball and helmet guidance.
13. Disability cricket: the ECB's formats and the Pan-Disability series.
14. How people learn: the boards' entry programmes for children.
15. How many people play: each body's own figures, dated.

Match and tournament results are not on these pages. They belong to the events section, and the story of how the game and its bodies developed is in history.