Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 

eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a 20-metre

 (22-yard) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising 

two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side 

scores runs by striking the ball bowled at the wicket with the 

bat, while the bowling and fielding side tries to prevent this

 and dismiss each player (so they are "out"). Means of dismissal include being bowled, when the ball hits the stumps and 

dislodges the bails, and by the fielding side catching the ball 

after it is hit by the bat, but before it hits the ground. When ten 

players have been dismissed, the innings ends and the teams 

swap roles. The game is adjudicated by two umpires, aided by 

a third umpire and match referee in international matches.

 They communicate with two off-field scorers who record the 

match's statistical information.

There are various formats ranging from Twenty20, played over 

a few hours with each team batting for a single innings of 

20 overs, to Test matches, played over five days with unlimited 

overs and the teams each batting for two innings of unlimited

 length. Traditionally cricketers play in all-white kit, but 

in limited overs cricket they wear club or team colours. In 

addition to the basic kit, some players wear protective gear to 

prevent injury caused by the ball, which is a hard, solid 

spheroid made of compressed leather with a slightly raised 

sewn seam enclosing a cork core which is layered with tightly 

wound string.

Historically, cricket's origins are uncertain and the earliest 

definite reference is in south-east England in the middle of the 

16th century. It spread globally with the expansion of 

the British Empire, leading to the first international matches in 

the second half of the 19th century. The game's governing body 

is the International Cricket Council (ICC), which has over 100 members, twelve of which are full members who play Test

 matches. The game's rules are held in a code called the Laws of

 Cricket which is owned and maintained by Marylebone Cricket

Club (MCC) in London. The sport is followed primarily in 

the Indian subcontinent, Australasia, the United 

Kingdom, Ireland, southern Africa and the West Indies, its 

globalisation occurring during the expansion of the British

 Empire and remaining popular into the 21st century.Women's

cricket, which is organised and played separately, has also 

international standard. The most successful side 

playing international cricket is Australia, having won 

One Day International trophies, including five World Cups, 

more than any other country, and having been the top-rated

Test sidemore than any other country.