Since I follow both sports religiously, I thought of writing about the differences in these two sports. I’m not going to explain how these two sports are played but instead just some basic differences. (Wait until the last paragraph. I found out an important rule only last Sunday night.)
Game vs Match
The competitive event in Football is called a game.
The competitive event in Cricket is called a match.
Officials
In Football, they are generally referred to as referees (which is technically incorrect).
The people in the officiating crew actually have different titles.
In Cricket, they are referred to as umpires.
Number of Officials
In Football, there are seven officials on the field. Referee, Umpire, Head Linesman, Line
Judge, Back Judge, Field Judge, and Side Judge. The lead official is the Referee (who
wears a white cap). The other six officials wear black caps.
In Cricket there are two officials on the field. Both are called Umpires
Duration of a Game/Match
In Football, the game is split into four quarters, 15 “game minutes” of playing time for
each quarter. The total game time is usually around 3 hours.
In Cricket, the match is dependent upon the type of game that is played, i.e. Test, ODI,
or T20.
Test is five days with time off for lunch, tea, drinks, etc.
ODI is 50 overs bowled from each team which usually lasts 7 hours.
T20 is 20 overs bowled from each team which usually lasts around 3 hours.
Captain
In Football, a captain is only an honorary title. The captain comes in only for the coin
toss before the game begins.
In Cricket, a captain has many more responsibilities. He decides whether to bat or field
(if he wins the coin toss), the batting order, adjusting the field placements, which player should bowl, and declaring
the innings among many others.
Weather
In Football, the game will proceed regardless of what type weather is present. The
game will continue even through heavy rain or heavy snowfall.
In Cricket, the match will be stopped if there is rain.
Penalties (just a sample)
In Football, there is a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Unsportsmanlike conduct
includes, among others, excessive celebration and/or excessive taunting of the opponent.
I’m not aware of any penalties in cricket for unsportsmanlike conduct.
And finally, I learned this last Sunday night. I was watching a Football game between San Francisco 49ers vs the Philadelphia Eagles. There was an alteration on the sideline between 2 opposing team players. The Chief of Security who was standing there went over and put his hands on the San Francisco 49er player (presumably trying to difuse the situation). The 49er player then gave the Chief of Security a boxing style left hook on his face.
The Referee ejected both the 49er player and the Chief of Security from the stadium. 49er player was ejected for making a contact with a non-player. The Chief of Security was ejected because if there is an altercation between players on the ground, it is the sole responsibility of the referee to intervene. Per referee, the Chief of Security's responsibility is crowd control and not interfere in players disputes.
Looks like in Football, referees have the right to eject anyone from the stadium. I never knew this until last Sunday.
In cricket, not only two umpires but also one more umpire in the booth to review some controversial decision appeal ,(limited) and can over power the online field umpire
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments seema. I was referring to officials on the playing ground and not in the AC room upstairs.
DeleteThere are penalties in cricket which will be awarded as runs to opposing team.
ReplyDeleteOf course, there are penalties in cricket. I was wondering if there is any penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct in cricket.
DeleteType of game in cricket you spoke about ODI, T20 and Test match. There may be more modified version played across the globe. What about 100 ball match/game payed in England.
ReplyDeleteYes. There are many different types of cricket matches have come now like growing mushrooms.
DeleteSo much good information SG thank you for that ....
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Dee.
DeleteThanks for this informative post. Quite interesting how different games are. Referees must have powers because they are the ones who have to enforce discipline. Otherwise it will become a free for all.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pradeep for your comments. I never knew referees can eject chief of security from the stadium.
DeleteO, you have noticed the pros and cons of each match, well explained. The interest of the rule-fixing players, yonder might have been born in these entertainments. ( Keralites use words like cricket match, football match etc., don't know if correct or not.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Sarala. Long time no see. Hope you are doing well.
DeleteI just found out it is just the difference between American English and British English
DeleteVery informative.
ReplyDeleteEven a small man who knows only earth and sky like in Africa will find your blog posts useful.
Thanks for your comments Kirtivasan .
DeleteInteresting read. I think the remuneration to players in football is very high compared to cricket. I think the round ball played with legs and not touched by hands except goalkeeper is called soccer and the elliptical shaped ball is American football. Am i right?”
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Mr. KP. You are correct. American Football, most of the time, is played with hands.
DeleteDidn't know so much :)
ReplyDeleteBoth games have their fans.
In India, cricket has more fans.
Thanks for your comments Anita. In India, cricket is a religion.
DeleteVery interesting comparison. I always get some new informations from all your blogs. The penalties in cricket are only for the mistakes like no ball, wide, hit outs, handling the ball, etc. and not for the unsportsmanlike conduct as you correctly said. I hope you remember, Javed Miandad of Pakistan team tried to hit the opponent team player with his bat but was not ejected or penalised in anyway
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Gowri.
Delete