Only Right handed Game

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet. The traditional sport of polo is played at speed on a large grass field up to 300 yards in length, and each polo team consists of four riders and their mounts. In arena polo, only three players are required per team and the game usually involves more maneuvering and shorter plays at lower speeds due to space limitations of the arena. The modern game is played on horses - the term 'polo pony' is purely traditional. Players change horses between chukkers (game periods) due to the intensity and speed of the game. All rules are designed to protect the safety of the horse and player - including a rule that players cannot play left-handed. Polo is played professionally in only 16 countries and is not an Olympic sport.

History

Origins

The game first played in Persia (Iran) at dates given from the 5th century BC, or much earlier, to the 1st century AD and originated there, polo was at first a training game for cavalry units, usually the king's guard or other elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen, who played it with as many as 100 to a side, it was a miniature battle. In time polo became an Iranian national sport played extensively by the nobility. Women as well as men played the game, as indicated by references to the queen and her ladies engaging King Khosrow II Parviz and his courtiers in the 6th century AD. Certainly Persian literature and art give us the richest accounts of polo in antiquity. Ferdowsi, the famed Iranian poet-historian, gives a number of accounts of royal polo tournaments in his 9th century epic, Shahnameh (the Epic of Kings). In the earliest account, Ferdowsi romanticizes an international match between Turanian force and the followers of Siyâvash, a legendary Iranian prince from the earliest centuries of the Empire; the poet is eloquent in his praise of Siyâvash's skills on the polo field. Ferdowsi also tells of Emperor Shapur II of the Sassanid dynasty of the 4th century who learned to play polo when he was only seven years old. Naqsh-i Jahan Square in Isfahan is in fact a polo field which was built by king Abbas I in 17th century.

Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan is the site of a medieval royal polo field.

Sultan Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the Turkic Emperor of North India, ruled as an emperor for only four years, from 1206 to 1210 but died accidentally in 1210 playing polo. While he was playing a game of polo on horseback (also called chougan in India), his horse fell and Aibak was impaled on the pommel of his saddle. He was buried near the Anarkali bazaar in Lahore (which is now in Pakistan). Aibak's son Aram, died in 1211 CE [2], so Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, another ex-slave of Turkic ancestry who was married to Aibak's daughter, succeeded him as Sultan of Delhi.

From Persia, in medieval times polo spread to the Byzantines (who called it tzykanion), and after the Muslim conquests to the Ayyubid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt and the Levant, whose elites favored it above all other sports. Notable sultans such as Saladin and Baybars were known to play it and encourage it in their court. Polo sticks were features on the Mameluke precursor to modern day playing cards.

A Persian miniature from the poem Guy u Chawgan(the Ball and the Polo-mallet) during Safavid dynasty of Persia, which shows Persian courtiers on horseback playing a game of polo, 1546 AD

Later on Polo was passed from Persia to other parts of Asia including the Indian subcontinent^[7] and China, where it was very popular during the Tang Dynasty and frequently depicted in paintings and statues. Valuable for training cavalry, the game was played from Constantinople to Japan by the Middle Ages. Known in the East as the Game of Kings. The name polo is said to have been derived from the Tibetan word "pulu", meaning ball.

The modern game

India and Britain

The modern game of polo, though formalized and popularized by the British, is derived from Manipur (now a state in India) where the game was known as 'Sagol Kangjei', 'Kanjai-bazee', or 'Pulu'. It was the anglicised form of the last, referring to the wooden ball which was used, that was adopted by the sport in its slow spread to the west. The first polo club was established in the town of Silchar in Assam, India, in 1834.

The origins of the game in Manipur are traced to early precursors of Sagol Kangjei.^[10] This was one of three forms of hockey in Manipur, the other ones being field hockey (called Khong Kangjei) and wrestling-hockey (called Mukna Kangjei). Local rituals such as those connected to the Marjing, the Winged-Pony God of Polo and the creation-ritual episodes of the Lai Haraoba festival enacting the life of his son, Khori-Phaba, the polo-playing god of sports. These may indicate an origin earlier than the historical records of Manipur, which go back to the 1st Century A.D.

Old polo field in Imphal, Manipur

In Manipur, polo is traditionally played with seven players to a side. The players are mounted on the indigenous Manipuri pony, which stands less than 13 hands (52 inches, 132 cm). There are no goal posts and a player score simply by hitting the ball out of either end of the field. Players are also permitted to carry the ball, though that allows opponents to physically tackle players when they do so. The sticks are made of cane and the balls are made from the roots of bamboo. Colorful cloth pom-poms dangle at sensitive and vulnerable spots around the anatomy of the ponies to protect them. Players protected their legs by attaching leather shields to their saddles and girths.

In Manipur, the game was not merely a "rich" game but was played even by commoners who owned a pony. The kings of Manipur had a royal polo ground within the ramparts of their Kangla Fort. Here they played Manung Kangjei Bung (literally, "Inner Polo Ground"). Public games were held, as they are still today, at the Mapan Kangjei Bung (literally "Outer Polo Ground"), a polo ground just outside the Kangla. Weekly games called Hapta Kangjei (Weekly Polo) were also played in a polo ground outside the current Palace.

The oldest polo ground in the world is the Imphal Polo Ground in Manipur State. The history of this pologround is contained in the royal chronicle "Cheitharol Kumbaba" starting from AD 33. Lieutenant Sherer, the father of modern polo visited the state and played on this polo ground in the 1850s. Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India visited the state in 1901 and measured the pologround as 225 yards long and 110 yards wide. The oldest royal polo square is the 16th century Gilgit Polo Field, Pakistan, while the highest polo ground in the world, Shandur, located in district Chitral, Pakistan at 4307 meters (14,000 ft).A traditional polo tournament between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit takes place every year in July. Maj Cobb from British Raj was a polo fan and he used to come to Shandur for playing polo on the invitation of Mehtar Chitral in moon light. The oldest polo club in the world still in existence is the Calcutta Polo Club (1862).

In 1862 the first polo club, Calcutta Polo Club, was established by two British soldiers, Captain Robert Stewart and Major General Joe Shearer.^[12] Later they spread the game to their peers in England. The British are credited with spreading polo worldwide in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Military officers imported the game to Britain in the 1860s. The establishment of polo clubs throughout England and western Europe followed after the formal codification of rules.^[11] The 10th Hussars at Aldershot, Hants, introduced polo to England in 1834. The game's governing body in the United Kingdom is the Hurlingham Polo Association, which drew up the first set of formal British rules in 1874, many of which are still in existence.

Argentina

Meanwhile, British settlers in the Argentine pampas started practising it during their free time. Among them, David Shennan is credited with having organized the first formal polo game of the country in 1875. The sport spread fast between the skillful gauchos and several clubs opened in the following years in the towns of Venado Tuerto, Cañada de Gómez, Quilmes, Flores and later (1888) Hurlingham. In 1892 The River Plate Polo Association was founded and constituted the basis for the current Asociación Argentina de Polo. In the Olympic Games held in Paris in 1924 a team composed by Juan Miles, Enrique Padilla, Juan Nelson, Arturo Kenny, G. Brooke Naylor and A. Peña obtained the gold medal; this also occurred in Berlín 1936 with players Manuel Andrada, Andrés Gazzotti, Roberto Cavanagh, Luis Duggan, Juan Nelson, Diego Cavanagh and Enrique Alberdi. From then on, the game spread powerfully across the country and Argentina is credited globally as the mecca of polo.

Tang Dynasty Chinese courtiers on horseback playing a game of polo, 706 AD

This version of polo played in the 19th century was different from the faster form that was played in Manipur. The game was slow and methodical, with little passing between players and few set plays that required specific movements by participants without the ball. Neither players nor horses were trained to play a fast, nonstop game. This form of polo lacked the aggressive methods and equestrian skills to play. From the 1800s to the 1910s, a host of teams representing Indian principalities dominated the international polo scene.

A terracotta female polo player, Tang Dynasty, early 8th century, Musée Guimet, Paris

Polo found popularity in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Pakistan and the United States of America.

America

James Gordon Bennett, Jr. on May, 6th 1876 organized what was billed as the first polo match in the United States at Dickel's Riding Academy at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City. The historical record states that James Gordon Bennett established the Westchester Polo Club on May 6, 1876 and on May 13, 1876 the Jerome Park Racetrack in Westchester County was the site of the "first" American outdoor polo match.

The founding fathers of American polo were instrumental in establishing and nurturing the sport of polo in the United States. H.L. Herbert, along with James Gordon Bennett and August Belmont financed the original New York Polo Grounds.. H.L. stated in this 1913 article that they formed the Westchester Club AFTER the "first" outdoor game was played on May 13, 1876. This contradicts the historical record of the club being established before the Jerome Park game..

There is, however, ample evidence that the first to play polo in America was actually the English Texans. The Galveston News said on May 2nd 1876 that Denison Texas had a Polo Club which was before James Gordon Bennett established his Westchester Club or attempted to play the "first" game. The Denison team sent a letter to James Gordon Bennett Challenging him to a match game. The Challenge was published June 2nd 1876 in The Galveston Daily News. By the time the article came out on June 2nd the Denison Club had already received a letter from Bennett indicating the challenge was offered before the "first" games in New York.

There is also an urban legend that the first game of polo in America was played in Boerne, Texas at retired British officer Captain Glynn Turquand's famous Balcones Ranch. The Boerne, Texas legend also has plenty of evidence pointing to the fact that polo was played in Boerne before James Gordon Bennett Jr. ever picked up a polo mallet. See The Texas Polo Club for all of the details and old newspaper articles backing up the Texas origin of American Polo.

During the early part of the 20th century, under the leadership of Harry Payne Whitney, polo changed to become a high-speed sport in the United States, differing from the game in England, where it involved short passes to move the ball toward the opposition's goal. Whitney and his teammates used the fast break, sending long passes downfield to riders who had broken away from the pack at a full gallop.

Rules

Polo in Pakistan

Field polo requires two teams of four players. A full-size field is 300 yards long, and either 200 yards or 160 yards wide if there are side boards—these are generally 6" high. There are tall collapsible goalposts at each end of the field spread 8 yards apart. The object of the game is to score the most goals by hitting the ball through the goal. Polo teams change direction after each goal in order to compensate for field and wind conditions.

In arena polo, which is popular in the United States, the size of the field is ideally 100 yards long by 50 yards wide. The size of arena fields in the United States, where arena polo was first played, is often more variable where indoor armories and riding academies are still occasionally used. The playing boundary is marked by high wooden walls (usually at least 6 feet high). Arena polo requires teams of three riders, and goals are scored by passing the ball into a 10-foot-wide by 12-foot-high goal recessed into the end walls. In arena polo ends are changed at the end of each 6-minute period (chukka, chukker, or chucker) and not after a goal is scored. Arena polo uses a small leather ball between 12.5 and 15 inches in circumference that looks like a miniature football (soccer ball).

In Pakistan, Shandur invites visitors to experience a traditional polo tournament between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit annually in July. The tournament is held on Shandur Pass, the highest polo ground in the world at 3,700 meters. The festival also includes Folk music, dancing and a camping village is set up.

Gilgit, Chitral and Skardu have always played the game of polo closest to its original form. In the past, local Khans, Mirs and Mehtars were the patrons of the game. At times, more than 50% of the annual budget of their principalities would be spent on supporting the game.

A polo game has periods of play, known as chukkas (also chukkers or chuckers). This term originated in 1898 and is derived from Hindi chakkar from Sanskrit chakra "circle, wheel" (compare chakka). Depending on the rules of the particular tournament or league, a game may have 4, 6 or 8 chukkas; 6 chukkas are most common Usually, each chukker is 7 minutes long, but some games are played in shorter chukkers. Between chukkas, the players switch to fresh ponies. In less competitive polo leagues, players may play only two ponies, alternating between them. For more competitive leagues, and in United States intercollegiate polo, each pony is played in at most two chukkers.

An umpire holding a ball pick-up stick and with ball holders strapped across the withers

Games are often played with a handicap in which the sum of the individual players' respective handicaps are compared. The team with the lower handicap is given the difference in handicaps as goals before the start of the game.

The game begins with the two teams of four lined up each team in line forming two rows with the players in order 1, 2, 3, 4 facing the umpire in the center of the playing field. There are two mounted umpires on the field and a referee standing on the sidelines. At the beginning of a game, one of the umpires bowls the ball in hard between the two teams. Teams change goals on ends of the field/arena after each score or chukker in outdoor polo to minimize any wind advantage which may exist. Switching sides also allows each team equal opportunity to start off with the ball on their right side, as all players must hit right-handed.

Common techniques and practices

There are two basic defense techniques allowed in polo. The hook, or hooking, is when a player uses their mallet to block or interfere with an opponent's swing by hooking the mallet of the other player with their own mallet. A player may hook only if he is on the side where the swing is being made or directly in front or behind an opponent. A foul is awarded for any hooking that does not fit this stipulation. For example, a player cannot reach over the mount of another player to hook their mallet, and this would be considered a penalty.

The other defense technique is the bump, or ride-off. This is similar to a body-check in hockey. It is used to break an opposing player's concentration, move him off the line of the ball, or spoil his shot. A ride-off is when one player rides his pony next to an opponent to lead him away from the ball. This is only allowed when the angle of collision is not greater than 45 degrees.

Polo ponies

Polo ponies waiting for the game to begin

The mounts used are called 'polo ponies', although the term pony is purely traditional and the mount is actually a full-sized horse. They range from 14.2 to 16 hands high at the withers (one hand equals four inches or 10.16 cm), and weigh between 900-1100 lbs. The polo pony is selected carefully for quick bursts of speed, stamina, agility and maneuverability. Temperament is critical; the horse must remain responsive under pressure and not become excited or difficult to control. Many are Thoroughbreds or Thoroughbred crosses. They are trained to be handled with one hand on the reins, and to be responsive to the rider's leg and weight cues for moving forward, turning and stopping. A well trained horse will carry his rider smoothly and swiftly to the ball and can account for 60 to 75 percent of the player's skill and net worth to his team.

Polo training generally begins at age three and lasts from about six months to two years. Most horses reach full physical maturity at about age five, and ponies are at their peak of athleticism and training at around age 6 or 7. However, without any accidents, polo ponies may have the ability to play until they are 18 to 20 years of age.

More than one pony per player is needed in order to allow tired mounts to be changed for fresh mounts between or even during chukkers. There are typically between 4 to 8 ponies per player. The group of ponies for a given player is commonly referred to as a "string of polo ponies", with a minimum of 2 or 3 ponies in Low Goal matches (with ponies being rested for at least a chukker before reuse), 4 or more ponies for Medium Goal matches (at least one per chukker), many more for the highest levels of competition.

Players

A girls' polo team, United States

Each team consists of four mounted players, which can be mixed teams of both men and women.

Each position assigned to a player has certain responsibilities:

• Number One is the most offense-oriented position on the field. The Number One position generally covers the opposing team's Number Four.
• Number Two has an important role in offense, either running through and scoring themselves, or passing to the Number One and getting in behind them. Defensively, they will cover the opposing team's Number Three, generally the other team's best player. Given the difficulty of this position, it is not uncommon for the best player on the team to play Number Two so long as another strong player is available to play Three.
• Number Three is the tactical leader and must be a long powerful hitter to feed balls to Number Two and Number One as well as maintaining a solid defense. The best player on the team is usually the Number Three player, usually wielding the highest handicap.
• Number Four is the primary defense player. They can move anywhere on the field, but they usually try to prevent scoring. The emphasis on defense by the Number Four allows the Number Three to attempt more offensive plays, since they know that they will be covered if they lose the ball.

Polo must be played right-handed.

Equipment

Iranian girl polo player

Polo player wearing kneepads, "riding off" an opponent

The basic dress of a player is a protective equestrian helmet (usually of a distinctive color, to be distinguished at the considerable distance from which onlookers are watching the game), riding boots to just below the knees, white trousers (often ordinary denim jeans), and a colored shirt bearing the number of the player's position. Optional equipment includes one or two gloves, wristbands, kneepads (mandatory in some clubs), spurs, face mask, and a whip. The only piece of equipment required by the United States Polo Association (USPA) rules is the helmet or cap with a chin strap.

The outdoor polo ball is made of a high-impact plastic, but was formerly made of either bamboo or willow root. The indoor polo ball is leather-covered and inflated, and is about 4½ inches (11.4 cm) in diameter. The outdoor ball is about 3¼ inches (8.3 cm) in diameter and weighs about four ounces (113.4 g). The polo mallet has a rubber-wrapped grip and a webbed thong, called a sling, for wrapping around the thumb. The shaft is made of manau-cane (not bamboo because it is hollowed) although an increasing number of mallets today are made from Composite materials. Wood Mallets in NZ is the pioneer of this technology. The heads of the mallet are generally a cigar shape made from a hardwood called tipa, approximately 9 1/4" inches in length. The mallet head weighs from 160 grams to 240 grams, depending on player preference and the type of wood used, and the shaft can vary in weight and flexibility depending on the player's preference. The weight of the mallet head is of important consideration for the more seasoned players. Female players often use lighter mallets than male players. For some polo players, the length of the polo mallet depends on the size of the horse: the taller the horse, the longer the mallet. However, some players prefer to use a single length of mallet regardless of the height of the horse. Either way, playing horses of differing heights requires some adjustment by the rider. Variable sizes of the mallet typically range from 50 inches to 53 inches. The ball is struck with the longer sides of the mallet head rather than its round and flat tips.

Polo saddles are English-style, close contact, similar to jumping saddles although most polo saddles lack a flap under the billets, having instead a saddle blanket. Some players omit the saddle blanket. A breastplate is added, usually attached to the front billet. A tie-down (standing Martingale) may be used: if so, for safety a breastplate is a necessity. Usually the tie-down is supported by a neck strap. An overgirth may be used. The stirrup irons are heavier than most, and the stirrup leathers are wider and thicker, for added safety when the player stands in the stirrups. The legs of the pony are wrapped with polo wraps from below the knee to the fetlock to prevent injury. Jumping (open front) or gallop boots are sometimes used along with the polo wraps for added protection. Often, these wraps match the team colors. The pony's mane is roached (hogged), and its tail is braided so that it will not snag the rider's mallet.

The bit frequently is a gag bit or Pelham bit. If a gag bit, there will be a drop noseband in addition to the cavesson supporting the tie-down. There frequently will be two sets of reins, and one set of reins frequently will be a draw rein.

The field

The playing field is 300 yards long by 160 yards wide, the approximate area of nine American football fields. The playing field is carefully maintained with closely mowed turf providing a safe, fast playing surface. Goals are posts which are set eight yards apart, centered at each end of the field. The surface of a polo field requires careful and constant grounds maintenance to keep the surface in good playing condition. During half-time of a match, spectators are invited to go onto the field to participate in a polo tradition called "divot stamping", which has developed to not only help replace the mounds of earth (divots) that are torn up by the horses' hooves, but to afford spectators the opportunity to walk about and socialize.

Outdoor polo

The game consists of six 7 minute chukkas, between or during which players change mounts. At the end of each 7 minute chukka, play continues for an additional 30 seconds or until a stoppage in play, whichever comes first. There is a four minute interval between chukkas and a ten minute halftime. Play is continuous and is only stopped for penalties, broken tack (equipment) or injury to horse or player. The object is to score goals by hitting the ball between the goal posts, no matter how high in the air. If the ball goes wide of the goal, the defending team is allowed a free 'knock-in' from the place where the ball crossed the goal line, thus getting the ball back into play.

County polo

Polo is often regarded as a "rich man's sport",^{[weasel words]} and, indeed, like any sport, there is a lot of money involved at the "top end". However, what people do not realise is that it is not expensive to get started and to play at the "grass roots" level.

With most clubs in the UK, players need to become members, and invest in at least two ponies to be able to play "standard" club chukkas. It is usual to play four back-to-back chukkas using each pony for two chukkas alternately, so that they each play, then rest and then play again.

For many people, this is a too big an initial step to take when they are just taking up a new sport, and this is where County Polo comes in. It is a wonderful initiative, using the concept of a sound, teaching format, and requiring players to use only one pony, which may be hired, or owned. It is usually played with three per side—as opposed to the standard four-player polo—and therefore allows each player to get more involved and develop.

The County Polo chukkas are usually overseen by a qualified mounted Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) instructor / umpire, who will coach and explain throughout the chukka.

With this format, including shorter chukkas, with breaks in between, the ponies are not getting over tired, so there is no need for such a large "string". Players may well continue to play polo at this level for many happy years, or players with more ambition will benefit from the tuition as they move onto more competitive polo.

County Polo is best complimented with regular stick-and-ball sessions, and regular wooden horse practice.

County Polo has had a resurgence in recent years, although the original County Polo Association was formed in 1898* to look after the interests of the country clubs and to run the County Cup Tournaments), the three London polo clubs—Hurlingham, Ranelagh and Roehampton—and from all associations within the Empire where polo was being played.

Arena polo

There are minor variations between the US and British rules of arena polo. The game consists of four periods also called chukkas (six and a half minute chukkas are currently played under British arena rules), between which players change mounts. An individual horse may not play two successive chukkas. Play is continuous and is only stopped for penalties, broken equipment that may be dangerous, or injury to horse or player. The object is to score goals by hitting the ball against the back wall of the recessed goalmouths at each end of the arena. Ends change at the end of each chukka not after goals are scored as in field polo. High wooden boundary walls, which are usually 5–6 feet high, and netting above the walls aim to prevent the ball from going out of bounds. If the ball goes out it is considered a dead ball and the game is restarted (under current British arena rules free hits are awarded against the team that hit the ball out). Although the smaller playing area in arena polo prevents the horses from galloping at the speeds reached in field polo, the game is arguably quicker with non-stop end-to-end action.

Contemporary sport

Polo played as a part of the Olympic games (1900)

Polo is now an active sport in 77 countries, and although its tenure as an Olympic sport was limited to 1900–1939, in 1998 the International Olympic Committee recognised it as a sport with a bona fide international governing body, the Federation of International Polo. The World Polo Championship is held every three years by the Federation of International Polo.

Polo is, however, played professionally in only a few countries, notably Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Iran, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.^[21] Polo is unique among team sports in that amateur players, often the team patrons, routinely hire and play alongside the sport's top professionals.

The most importants tournaments of the world, in a clubs level, are Abierto de Tortugas, Abierto de Hurlingham and Abierto Argentino de Polo, all of them in Argentina (la Triple Corona). This country has a very strong advantage for others, because it has the best players and the best clubs.

The United States Polo Association (USPA) is the governing body for polo in the U.S. The U.S. is the only country that has separate women's polo, run by the United States Women's Polo Federation.

The modern sport has had difficulty grappling with the traditional social and economic exclusivity associated with a game that is inevitably expensive when played at a serious level. Many polo players genuinely desire to broaden public participation in the sport, both as an end in itself and to increase the standard of play, while others value and seek to preserve the social and economic exclusivity of the sport. The popularity of polo has grown steadily since the 1980s^.

Arena (or indoor) polo is an affordable option for many who wish to play the sport, and the rules are similar. The sport is played in a 300 feet by 150 feet enclosed arena, much like those used for other equestrian sports; the minimum size is 150 feet by 75 feet. There are many arena clubs in the United States, and most major polo clubs, including the Santa Barbara Polo & Raquet Club, have active arena programs. The major differences between the outdoor and indoor games are: speed (outdoor being faster), physicality/roughness (indoor/arena is more physical), ball size (indoor is larger), goal size (because the arena is smaller the goal is smaller), and some penalties. In the United States and Canada, collegiate polo is arena polo; in the UK, collegiate polo is both.

East Asia

Indonesia plays against Thailand in SEA Games Polo 2007

Polo was played at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games. Nations that competed in the tournament were Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines. The tournament's gold medal was won by the Malaysian team, followed by Singapore with silver and Thailand with bronze.

The recent surge of excitement in south-east Asia around the game has resulted in its popularity in cities such as Pattaya, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. In Pattaya alone, there are 3 active polo clubs: Polo Escape, Siam Polo Park and Thai Polo and Equestrian Club. Indonesia, a country without royal ruling, has a polo club (Nusantara Polo Club). A South East Asian Polo Federation was formed with initial meeting in March 2008 that involves Royal Malaysian Polo Association, Thailand Polo Association, Indonesian Polo Association, Singapore Polo Association, Royal Brunai Polo Association and The Philippines Polo Association.^{[citation needed]} More recently, Janek Gazecki and Ruki Baillieu have organised polo matches in parks "around metropolitan Australia, backed by wealthy sponsors."

A new Chinese Equestrian Association has been formed and two new clubs have been formed in China itself: the Beijing Sunny Time Polo Club, founded by Xia Yang in 2004 and the Nine Dragons Hill Polo Club in Shanghai, founded in 2005.

Polo Ireland

Polo first began in 1870 with the first official game played on Gormanstown Strand, Co. Meath. Three years later the All Ireland Polo Club was founded by Mr. Horace Rochford in the Phoenix Park. Since then the sport has continued to grow with a further seven clubs opening around the country. The sport has also been made more accessible by these clubs by the creation of more affordable training programs such as from beginner to pro programme at Polo Wicklow

Family Realted Games

Cricket and baseball are the best-known members of a family of related bat-and-ball games. While many of their rules, terminology, and strategies are similar, there are many differences—some subtle, some major—between the two games.

Other present-day bat-and-ball games include softball, stickball, rounders, stoolball, pesäpallo or Finnish baseball, punchball, kickball, and British baseball, which has similarities with both cricket and baseball. Earlier forms include The Massachusetts Game of baseball, which was similar to rounders, and one old cat and two old cat.

Bat-and-ball games

Bat-and-ball games, in general, are sports in which one team (the fielding team) has possession of the ball and delivers it to a member of the other team (the batting team), who tries to hit it. The two opposing teams take turns playing these two distinct roles, which are continuous during a specified interval. This contrasts with "goal-oriented" games, such as all forms of football, hockey and basketball, in which possession of the ball or puck can change in an instant, and thus "attackers" and the "defenders" frequently reverse roles during the course of the game.

In both cricket and baseball, the players of one team attempt to score points known as runs by hitting a ball with a bat, while the members of the other team field the ball in an attempt to prevent scoring and to put batting players out.

In both games, there is a defensive aspect to the batting team concurrent with its "offensive" or "attacking" aspect of trying to score runs. In cricket, the batsman is attempting to defend the wicket. In baseball, the batter is attempting to defend the strike zone.

Once a certain number of batting players are out (different in the two sports), the teams swap roles. This sequence of each team taking each role once is called an inning in baseball, and an innings in cricket (the singular form having a terminal 's'). The single/plural usage in cricket is comparable to the baseball slang term for a single inning as the team's "ups". A baseball game consists of nine innings, while a cricket match may have either one or two innings per team.

Despite their similarities, the two sports also have many differences in play and in strategy. A comparison between cricket and baseball can be instructive to followers of either sport, since the similarities help to highlight nuances particular to each game.

Field

Minimum and example baseball and cricket field dimensions compared at the same scale.

Baseball is played in a quadrant of fair territory between foul lines. The official minimum distance from home plate to the far edge of fair territory is 250 feet (76.2 m), but the recommended distances are at least 325 feet (99 m) along the foul lines and 400 feet (120 m) in center field. This produces a recommended fair territory field area just over 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²). Most Major League Baseball parks have fair territory areas in the range of 110,000 to 120,000 square feet (10,000 to 11,000 m²).

Cricket

In contrast, Test and One Day International cricket is played on a field with a minimum width of 420 feet (128.0 m) and length 426 feet (129.8 m), giving a minimum area of 140,500 square feet (13,050 m²), assuming an elliptical shape. However the shape of a cricket ground is not fixed. Test grounds around the world are typically 450 by 500 feet (140 by 150 m), an area of 175,000 square feet (16,300 m²), and range up to the Melbourne Cricket Ground at 479 by 561 feet (146.0 by 171.0 m) or 270,000 square feet (25,000 m²).

Consequences

Discounting the pitcher/bowler and catcher/wicket-keeper, this means Major League Baseball fielders must cover an average of approximately 16,500 square feet (1,530 m²) per fielder, while Test cricketers cover 19,500 square feet (1,810 m²) per fielder. That average is misleading because the difference between area covered on the parts of outfielders (on the one hand) and infielders (on the other), is vast. In baseball, Infielders cover a small area in which the ball moves very fast, while three outfielders must cover an area that encompasses a much greater proportion of the playing surface. Something similar—if not quite as pronounced—is true in cricket. In practice, fielders in both sports cover variable amounts of territory, with outfielders potentially having to run much farther to field a ball than infielders do.

Another consequence is that the maximum distance from the batsman in cricket to the boundary is far smaller than the maximum distance from the batter in baseball and the outfield wall. Since the pitch in cricket lies at the center of the field, a ball can often be driven beyond the boundary at even the greatest distance from the pitch by a blow that travels around 275 feet (83.8 m) . By contrast, a home run to 'dead center' in baseball must travel more than 400 feet (121.9 m). This is possible, also, because the ball leaves the bat in baseball, when hit squarely, at a higher velocity, and travels farther; but this also means that outfielders in baseball must frequently cover considerably greater distances than any cricket fielding a ball are ever obliged to do.

Also, because almost all hits by the batmen are able to be scored off, even lofting it right behind the wicketkeeper, there are more repertoire of moves a batsman can use to score.

Bowling/Pitching distance

In cricket, the distance between the two wickets that the batsmen defend is 22 yards (20.1 m), 66 feet, or 1 chain (4 rods) in the old English system of measurement. The rectangular area between the two lines is called the pitch. In baseball, the pitcher must deliver from a rubber slab (officially called the "pitcher's plate" and typically called "the rubber") whose front is 60.5 feet (18.4 m) from the point of home plate (officially called "home plate" and often simply "home"). Before the advent of the pitcher's mound and the rubber, the pitcher threw from within a rectangular "pitcher's box". There was a large rectangular dirt area, between the pitcher's box and the batting areas around home, which resembled the cricket pitch.

In cricket, the wicket stumps and the bowling creases are 66 feet apart. The popping creases are 4 feet (1.22 m) in front of the stumps and thus are 58 feet (17.7 m) feet apart. The bowler's release point could be perhaps 1 foot (0.30 m) beyond his popping crease. The batsman tends to "take guard" or "block" on the popping crease, i.e. he stands 4 feet (1.22 m) in front of his stumps. That nets to a typical distances of about 57 feet (17.4 m) between delivery point and bat. In baseball, the pitcher's release point could be about 55 feet (16.8 m) depending on his delivery style, but the batter also tends to stand back or "deep" in the batter's box, to maximize his time to "look the ball over", up to 2 feet (0.61 m) farther from the pitching rubber than the point of home plate is. Although the delivery distance, from release of the ball by the pitcher/bowler to its arrival at the batter/batsman, appears to be similar in both sports, the ball actually travels further in cricket as it bounces off the ground first.

Play

Fielding

A view of the playing field at Fenway Park in Boston.

The main difference from fielding in the two sports is that the fielders in cricket are not allowed to use any sort of protection for the hands – padded or otherwise, even though a cricket ball is harder than a baseball. The only exception to this rule in cricket is made for the wicket-keeper, who is allowed to wear padded gloves as well as leg guards and a box and also, fieldsmen in close-in positions such as silly point and short leg also wear protective equipment such as shinpads boxes and helmets but are still not allowed to wear any gloves. In baseball, catchers and first basemen normally wear mitts, which have no fingers and are specially designed for each position respectively. The other fielders wear gloves, which have fingers. (Note that early baseball was also played bare-handed; gloves were adopted in the latter 19th Century.) This means that the risk of hand injury due the impact of the ball is far higher in cricket. Also, especially in Test cricket, it is common for several fielders to be stationed close to the bat (slips, short leg, silly point and similar positions) since the value of dismissing a batsman off a catch is higher. Catching at these positions require exceptional reflexes, skill and courage, associated with bare-handed catching of a hard ball traveling at up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), with reaction times of the order of 0.2 seconds.

Baseball games have far lower scores than cricket matches. The largest combined runs total in a single game in the history of Major League Baseball is 49, whereas first-class cricket matches, including Tests, have produced combined totals from both innings of over a thousand runs.

For a more direct comparison, matches in Twenty20 cricket, a form of limited overs cricket in which games last about as long in time as a regulation baseball game, regularly produce combined run totals of 300 or more, with the all-time record being 443. Each run in a baseball game is roughly seventy-five times the magnitude of a run in a Test cricket match; therefore moments of poor pitching (akin to bowling in cricket) and individual fielding mistakes are much more costly. A player who is a good batter, but who is not a competent fielder, will not play regularly, or only in the designated hitter position in leagues that use it.

Navy shortstop Nick Driscoll catches throw from Navy catcher Steve Soares and tries to tag out a runner who is sliding headfirst, attempting to reach second base during the annual Service Academy Spring Classic baseball tournament.

Baseball players often need to throw immediately after catching the struck ball (for example, the double play), while this is unnecessary in cricket as the ball is deemed "dead" when a "dismissal" takes place. Hence, fielders in Cricket have a greater incentive to dive and take a catch.

India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni successfully stumps a South African batsman out during a match played in Chennai in 2008.

The configuration of the baseball diamond effectively bars left-handers from the fielding positions that make throwing to first base a primary responsibility. Right-handers can throw to their left—i.e., toward first base—with much greater ease than can left-handers, so virtually all second basemen, shortstops, and third basemen are right-handed. Left-handed catchers are also exceedingly rare; while the reasons appear to be primarily cultural, handling bunts up the third-base line and throws on plays at home pose particular obstacles to left-handed catchers.^[3]

While most throws a first baseman must make go to the right, which a left-hander can generally accomplish with greater speed and fluency, this is a relatively small factor in the advantage for left-handed first baseman. More important advantages are related to the position of a left-handed first baseman with respect to the base. First, a left-handed first baseman has an advantage over his right-handed counterpart when catching a pickoff throw from the pitcher—when a first baseman is in pickoff position, standing in front of the bag, the left-hander can catch the ball and make a tag without having to move his arm across his body. (See the picture in the Strategy over the course of the game section below for the standard pickoff position with a right-handed first baseman.) Second, because the first baseman starts most plays with his left leg closer to the base, the left-hander does not have to make a half-pivot in order to get into the correct position to stretch out for a throw. For these reasons, left-handed throwers are far more common at first base than in the general population of baseball players. In contrast, cricket is fielded in the round: the handedness of the fielder in any given position is of far less consequence, and left-handers and right-handers are found in all parts of the field.

A One Day International cricket match in progress at Eden Park. The lighter strip is the cricket pitch.

Body contact between runner and fielder is frequent in baseball, particularly at home plate. This is driven to a large extent by the manner in which a runner is put out. In both sports, rules prohibit interfering with runners. However, in baseball, the runner himself (or the base he is advancing to, if forced) must be tagged by a fielder holding the ball, in order to be put out. The catcher awaiting a throw will often stand between the plate and the runner. Once he catches it, the runner might try to go around the catcher, or he might simply bowl the catcher over, if he thinks he can dislodge the ball by such contact; and if the catcher does not have the ball, the runner may still bowl the catcher over, which is considered fair because by rule a fielder without a ball cannot impede a runner. By contrast, in cricket, an out or dismissal is made by the ball dislodging the bails from the stumps. The stumps are the target for "tagging" rather than the runner. No contact of the runners is either necessary or allowed. Contact between opposing sides is rare, and is usually not deliberate. Violent contact between players was once even greater in baseball, as before the Knickerbocker Rules it was permitted in some versions of the game to literally "throw out" a runner by hitting him (or "soaking" him) with a thrown ball (in lieu of hitting a base or stake that would equate to cricket's wickets). This rule still exists in some versions of the baseball variant called kickball, which is played with a soccer ball and thus is much less injurious. Kickball also calls for literal "bowling" of the ball, underhand, as with the old rules of both cricket and baseball.

Batting

There are many possibilities for a batsman in cricket.

One of the main differences between baseball and Test cricket is the primary intent of the batsman. Usually, in Test cricket, wickets come at a far higher premium, since survival is of primary importance. While nine innings are played in a baseball game within a few hours, only two are played in Test cricket over five days (thirty hours), so the cost of a dismissal is far higher in cricket. The nuances of batting technique are also greater in cricket, since the interplays between bowling variations, field placements and scoring strengths are more dynamic. Since cricket is played over an extended duration, it gives the bowler and the fielding captain time to "work over" a batsman. Thus, cricket batting requires a very tight technique and the ability to withstand sustained examinations.

Since the cricket bat is wide and flat, while the baseball bat is narrow and round, on the whole cricket batsmen find it easier to hit and direct the ball than baseball batters, resulting in much greater number of runs being scored in a cricket match. While bowlers can influence the ability of the batsmen to do so, perhaps the most famous episode being the now-banned Bodyline tactic, cricket batsmen are able to use a wider variety of batting strokes to direct the ball in many directions into a field which provides much more open space than in baseball. In addition, cricket batsmen are under no obligation to attempt to score a run after any stroke, but must strike balls in order to prevent them from hitting the wicket. Many strokes are in fact defensive in nature against a well-bowled ball and the quality of defensive batting is often the determining factor of a batsman's success over his career, especially in the longer forms of the game.

The follow-through in a baseball swing.

By contrast, the balance of power is largely reversed in baseball. While particularly skilled batters have some ability to place hit and direct the ball to desired locations, the pitcher's influence is much more dramatic. Pitchers induce more ground outs, fly outs, or strikeouts, depending on the style of pitch. Thus particular pitchers are known for causing batters to make certain kinds of outs, depending on their mastered pitches. Also, in contrast to cricket, baseball batters must attempt to take first base on any ball put into fair territory, and failing to do so will result in an out, but the size of the strike zone more strictly limits the set of deliveries that must be swung at compared to cricket. Like cricket, baseball batters do have a defensive tactic available; many batters will often attempt to deliberately foul off pitches that are strikes yet difficult to hit well, by hitting them into foul territory, awaiting an easier delivery later in the at-bat. Since an uncaught foul ball cannot be a third strike (unless it was a bunt attempt), this tactic allows the batter to receive more pitches.

Ricky Ponting swings with a pull shot towards mid wicket region in this picture.

In the early generations of baseball, the emphasis was mostly on bat control, place hitting, bunting, etc., and that is still true for the most part today. An accomplished hitter must know how to bunt, 'serve' a pitch down the line or over the infield, collapse his hands and go the other way, pull in his hands in order to turn on the ball inside, and so on. But, starting in 1919, several factors resulted in a dramatic expansion of strategic orientation, supplementing traditional "small ball" with the "power game": a "livelier" ball, because of better materials and a tighter weave; more frequent substitutions of new balls; lighter, more flexible bats; the outlawing of the spitball; and the increase in attendance which drove owners to build more outfield seating, thus reducing the outfield area significantly. The power game has been encouraged further in recent years, by the construction of new ballparks with smaller outfields than previously, and even the reduction of field size at "classic" ballparks known for spacious outfields; for example, the distance to the fence in deep left field at the original Yankee Stadium was reduced from 430 to 399 feet (130 to 122 m) between 1984 and 1988 (the post-1988 dimensions were maintained at the current Yankee Stadium). Still, it is generally agreed that no one can hit a home run at will, and every successful batter knows never to go to the plate intending to hit a home run. Rather, he should attempt a level swing, try to pull only the ball on the inside of the plate, go the other way with balls low and outside, and otherwise start each at bat intending to drive the ball up the middle, which is the most vulnerable part of the infield (especially if the pitcher is not particularly good at fielding his position).

The games emphasize power hitting to different degrees. Cricket requires the accumulation of large numbers of runs, so placement of the ball between the fielders produces runs efficiently and is generally accepted as a better strategy than "swinging for sixes". In baseball, power hitting can produce runs quickly and frequently in many situations^{[citation needed]}, as well as force pitching changes and other fielding moves; but it can also result (because of the great difficulty of driving a ball off a cylindrical bat) in a great many strike outs, fly outs, and ground outs. "Manufacturing runs" or "small ball" is still the soundest means for scoring runs against good pitching and defense. Teams with winning records are those that combine deep pitching and defense with a good balance of small ball and power hitting. In most game situations, the classic methods for manufacturing runs are the most successful. The final play of the 2001 World Series was a flare single to drive in the winning run. Batter Luis Gonzalez, a power hitting outfielder, stated in the Series DVD commentary that he choked up on the bat and went for a single, a small ball strategy with a much greater likelihood of success than "swinging for the fences". In cricket, however, situations can arise in a match where power hitting, also called "slogging", is required. This typically occurs towards the final overs of a limited overs game. So, though baseball is the game that features more power hitting, as a strategy there are far fewer situations in baseball in which it would be correct to rely on the power game.

Bowling/pitching

A baseball

A cricket ball

Main articles: pitching (baseball) and bowling (cricket)

Cricket bowlers, since they are not restricted to a small strike zone as their target, also use a wide variety of approaches which are not available to baseball pitchers. These involve varying the line and length of deliveries and using unpredictable movement caused by the ball bouncing on the pitch before it reaches the batsman. Baseball pitchers, by contrast, must use changes in ball speed and movement (cricket bowlers also vary ball speed) caused only by air friction and spin to deceive batters, as most pitches which come near touching the ground are ineffectively allowed to pass as balls. The raised undulating stitching on a baseball allows an accomplished pitcher to create a huge variety of motions in the air; even fastballs are thrown in such a way as to create certain kinds of movement. The cricket ball also moves in the air, to a lesser degree than the baseball, bit it achieves its most pronounced movement on the bounce. Furthermore, pitchers must begin their throw from a stationary position, while bowlers may run up to their delivery. (In the early days of baseball, the pitcher pitched from anywhere within a "box" and so had more flexibility as to where to stand when releasing the ball, before the 1880s.) Baseball pitchers also throw from an elevated mound (10 in or 25 cm above the level of home plate), while cricket bowlers are at the same height as the batsman and must bowl with an overarm (or roundarm, a style rarely seen today) rotation of the arm during which the arm must be kept straight. (This was also a restriction on pitchers in the early days of baseball, abolished in the 1880s.) Despite the differences in delivery action, the delivery speeds are similar for both sports with the fastest bowlers and pitchers propelling the ball in the region of 95–100 mph (150–160 km/h): the fastest recorded cricket delivery is 100.02 mph (160.97 km/h) with baseball's record quicker at 105 mph (169.0 km/h). It is the case, however, that baseball pitches near or at 100 mph are considerably more common than bowled balls of comparable velocity in cricket. The bowler in cricket is not permitted to bend and then straighten his arm by more than 15 degrees in delivering the ball, and this is one very significant reason why baseball pitchers can deliver the ball faster with more frequency.

One main difference, however, is that the ball in cricket is harder and heavier in weight. The legal weight for the ball in baseball must weigh between 5 to 5.25 ounces (142 to 149 g). Whereas, the ball in cricket must weigh between 5.5 to 5.8 ounces (156 to 164 g).

Cricket's bowlers are grouped into different categories based on their bowling style—pacemen, seamers, off-spinners (or finger-spinners), leg-spinners (or wrist-spinners)—though a bowler may fall into more than one category (pace and seam bowling, for instance, largely overlap).

The typical bowling action of a fast bowler.

The typical motion of a baseball pitcher throwing from a set position.

Baseball's pitchers are classified primarily by their throwing hand (left or right) and their usual role in games. A starting pitcher begins games, typically not more than one game in five, in a rotation with four teammates who are also starters who will start games in a sequential cycle, and usually pitch five or more innings. Starters rarely appear as substitutes in games started by others. A relief pitcher enters games later, sometimes on short notice in crisis situations in which there are already runners on base and/or the opponent's best hitters due to bat, and usually pitches fewer innings in any given game. But relievers may be called upon to pitch in several games consecutively. Some relievers even specialize further strictly as closers brought in just to pitch the last inning of a game in which his side leads by a narrow margin. Perhaps the most specialized group of relievers is left-handed specialists—left-handed pitchers who pitch almost exclusively to left-handed batters (sometimes to switch-hitters who are weaker batters right-handed). More often than not, such a pitcher will face only one batter in a given game.

Pitchers are sometimes secondarily grouped according to pitching style, type of pitch most often used, or velocity. However, there are many different variations on how the pitch is actually delivered, this includes the conventional overhand, in which the ball is thrown from the 12 o'clock position, and 3/4 styles (with the arm moving towards the plate between 12 and 3 o'clock) as well as the less common sidearm (3 o'clock arm angle, compare roundarm bowling in cricket) and 'submarine' (below 3 o'clock, compare underarm bowling in cricket) deliveries.

For reasons that continue to spur debate, it is historically the case that most right-handed pitchers succeed at higher rates against right-handed hitters than against left-handers, and that most left-handed pitchers succeed at higher rates against left-handed hitters than right-handers.

One substantial strategic element to baseball is to utilize this phenomenon as much as possible. Defenses try to force a match between pitcher and hitter by side, and the attempt by offenses to mismatch them; both sides using substitutions at times to accomplish the desired outcome. One response to this phenomenon is that many hitters, amongst them, a number of the finest and most powerful to play the game, such as Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray, became adept as youngsters to hitting both left-handed and right-handed to prevent defenses from utilizing that advantage against them. Many professional clubs employ as many as two or three switch hitters so as to neutralize the advantage of side selection. However, no switch pitchers have played in the major leagues in modern times.

Leg Spin bowler Shane Warne about to release a Spin delivery during IPL

Australian Fast bowler Brett Lee's follow through

In addition, if a baseball batter is struck with a pitch, he is awarded first base; "hitting" the batter includes hitting loose parts of his uniform without hitting his body (baseball rules specify that a player's person includes his uniform and equipment). Pitchers may throw close to the batters, and a "brushback" is often used as an intimidation tactic. Deliberately hitting a batter is fairly uncommon, however, chiefly because it is punished severely. If the umpire believes a batter was intentionally hit, the umpire has his discretion on a first offense to warn both benches that the pitcher for either team will be expelled from the game if there are any further hit batsmen (the one baseball term in which "batsman" is used). The warning—and the power to expel if it is contravened—is intended not only to protect batters but to avert fighting; being hit by a fastball is taken seriously by batters, and bench-clearing brawls occasionally result when one team decides the other is deliberately throwing at its batters. Amazingly, in the history of the major league game, only one player has ever been killed by a pitched ball striking him in the head. This occurred before the invention of the batting helmet and was the principal cause for introducing this piece of equipment into the game.

In cricket, bowlers consider the right to hit batsmen as part of their armoury; indeed, one of the most common methods of dismissal (leg before wicket) requires the bowler to hit the batsman's body rather than his bat. A fast bowler will punctuate his overs with deliveries intended to bounce up toward the batsmen's head, either to induce a poor shot from self-defence which may result in the batsman being caught out, or to intimidate the batsmen, making him less likely to play forward to the next few deliveries for fear of injury. These tactics have long been an accepted part of cricket. In the modern game, batsmen usually wear helmets and heavy padding, so that being struck by the ball only rarely results in significant injury—though it is nevertheless often painful, sometimes causing concussion or fractures. Baseball batters wear helmets, but they are unsecured and lack the "cage" since only one side of the head/face is exposed. Catchers typically wear a helmet with a cage or protective bars. An equivalent ball to striking the batter in baseball would be a beamer, where the ball hits the batman's upper body area without bouncing first. These are rare and usually caused by the ball slipping out of the top of the bowler's hand. The even rarer intentional beamer provokes strong reaction from batsman and crowd alike. The umpire is authorized to take disciplinary action in such instances. The bowler is generally given a first warning, and is dismissed from the game if the offence is repeated. A notable case of this happening was between Waqar Younis and Andrew Symonds in which Younis was banned from bowling by umpire David Shepherd for delivering a beamer to Symonds During the match between Pakistan and Australia at the 2003 World Cup.

There is a major difference in the way in which different bowlers or pitchers contribute to a single game. In baseball, a single pitcher starts the game, and makes every pitch until a point where the coach replaces the tiring pitcher with a relief pitcher. Replaced pitchers cannot return to pitch again in the same game (unless they are shuttled to another position in the field and thus stay in the lineup, a move rarely done in the major leagues), and a succession of pitchers may come into the game in sequence until it ends. In cricket, multiple bowlers begin the game, with those not actively bowling spending time as fielders. Bowlers alternate bowling overs of six balls each, moving to fielding positions to rest before returning to bowl again later in the game. A bowler will usually bowl for a 'spell' of several (alternate) overs, and will generally bowl the entire spell from the same end of the pitch. A second bowler will bowl the overs missed by the first, from the other end of the pitch, for his own spell. Although moving a pitcher to a fielding position and returning him to pitch later in the game is legal in baseball, it is a rarely used and potentially risky strategy, as the pitcher may be unprepared to play another position.

The terms "bowling" and "pitching", as words, both denote underarm deliveries, as were once required in both games. The rules for delivery were also initially very similar. Once overhand deliveries were permitted in the respective sports, and pitchers were compelled to toe the pitching rubber instead of throwing from anywhere within the "pitcher's box", the actions of bowling and pitching diverged significantly.

The "wide" in cricket and the "ball" in baseball both derive from the concept of a "fair" delivery, i.e. a delivery that the batter or batsman has a fair chance of making contact with his bat. While there is no sharply defined "strike zone" in cricket as there is in baseball, in both cases the umpire must judge whether the ball was delivered fairly. Both the "wide" and the "ball" result in a "penalty". In cricket, a single run is charged and like a no-ball it does not count as one of the six legal balls in an over. In baseball, a ball is called, and if a pitcher gives up four balls the batter is awarded first base. In extreme circumstances, a wide or ball could lead to a cricket match or baseball game respectively being decided.

Running

Running plays a much larger role in baseball because of the low scoring, because they must run much further in order to score, because runners may remain in play (that is, on the bases) without scoring, and because baserunners can advance to the next base before the ball is hit again (steal the base) as soon as the ball is live. Base stealing often requires sliding, in which the runner throws himself to the ground to avoid both being tagged and overrunning the base. The runner may also deliberately slide into the fielder at the base he is trying to steal to keep him from catching the ball or to disrupt a double play. At home plate the runner often will simply, and legally, run into a catcher who is blocking the baseline but who does not have the ball (a defensive player may not impede the runner unless he has the ball or is in the process of catching it).

The equivalent in cricket is almost impossible because the bowler is next to the runner, and in fact used to be able to mankad him if he strayed out of his crease; nowadays the batsman can leave the crease when the bowler's back foot touches the ground during his delivery action without risk of being 'Mankaded'. Tactical running in cricket rarely strays beyond the consideration of "can I make it to the other end before the ball does". One exception of this is towards the end of a limited overs game, where a batsman would sacrifice his wicket in order to allow the better batsman to remain on strike, usually in the last few balls. While in baseball, steals, sacrificial running, forces, double plays, intimidation, and physical contact enter into the equation.

Making contact with a fielder, as baserunners often do, would be unsportsmanlike in cricket, and unnecessary, as play stops when a single wicket is taken. Occasionally a cricket runner will dive over the crease, but in baseball this is a regular occurrence, as players are frequently forced to run even when their chances are slim.

Since a team almost always scores fewer runs in a baseball game than its number of outs, a baserunner will frequently take risks attempting to advance an extra base or score a run, resulting in close plays at a base. In cricket, since the number of runs scored is much greater than the number of wickets taken in a match, a batsman would be very foolish to risk getting run out in an attempt to score an extra run without a very high expected chance of success. In general, cricket batsmen are run out due to exceptional fielding, poor judgment, or a combination of both. In baseball, runners are often out not of their own accord - they are simply forced out.

Strategy

A wide array of factors affect both games (from composition of the pitch or field soil to weather conditions, wind, and moisture) and numerous strategies in both games can be employed to exploit these different factors. Other than the bowler, cricket places very few restrictions on fielding placement, even for the wicket-keeper, and its variety of bowling styles, 360 degrees of open field, wide bowling area (target zone), and so on provide for strategic play. Notable exceptions include the limit of two fielders in the leg side quadrant, introduced to prevent the use of Bodyline tactics, and limiting outfield players in the early stages of one-day cricket matches. In baseball, has very specific rules about the positions of the pitcher and the catcher at the start of each play. The positioning of the other seven fielders is as flexible as cricket, except that each one must start the play positioned in fair territory. The fielders are otherwise free to position themselves anywhere on the playing field, at their discretion based on the game situation.

Condition of the ball

A major element of strategy in these sports is the condition of the ball. Since bowling in cricket has greater number of variations (such as bounce, swing, seam movement, off-spin, leg-spin and so on), the condition of the ball also affects play to a great degree. In Test cricket, the same ball must be used for at least 80 overs unless it is lost and must be replaced with a ball of a similar condition, after which, obtaining a new ball is at the discretion of the fielding captain. Often, the fielding captain might opt for the new ball straightaway, since a new ball is harder, bounces higher and has an intact seam, which produces greater conventional swing. But when a captain feels that a spin bowling attack is more likely to be successful, he will persist with the old ball, which is rougher and better grips the surface as well the bowler's fingers.

The aerodynamics of swing in cricket are different from in baseball. Moreover, the raised seam also causes movement off the pitch in cricket, which is a very important part of medium pace bowling. Once a particular hemisphere of the cricket ball is more rough or scratched than the other, the fielding team meticulously works to shine the other half by rubbing it on their clothes or by applying saliva (no "external" substances can be applied to alter the condition of the ball). Bowlers very carefully regulate their wrist position at the point of release to ensure the shine is preserved only on one half of the ball, since it will swing towards the rough side.

The old ball in cricket also tends to generate greater amounts of reverse swing, which is swing towards the polished side. This can be exploited by a captain with genuinely fast bowlers (usually, those who can bowl over 90 mph or 140 km/h) at his disposal. Especially on pitches in the Indian sub-continent, which tend to have abrasive surfaces, bowlers might resort to bowling across the seam as early as the tenth over, so as to quickly scruff up the ball and generate reverse swing early on. Strategies that rely on early reverse swing also need the backup of effective spin bowlers to be able to exploit the roughed up ball.

Due to these factors, a batsman in cricket needs to very carefully watch how the bowler grips the ball even during his run-up, as well as the type of revolutions on the ball as it approaches. Master spin bowlers like Shane Warne & Muttiah Muralitharan, who can dramatically vary the trajectory, direction and extent of spin, regularly bowl with a scrambled seam to disguise the type of ball actually bowled.

Batting first or last

In cricket, since the strategies are greatly influenced by factors such as soil characteristics of the pitch, condition of the ball, time of the day, weather and atmospheric conditions, the decision to bat first or last is of great tactical importance.

The team that wins the coin toss has the choice of batting first or last. Selection of batting first or last can be crucial to success; particularly in Test cricket. As the pitch is used for up to five consecutive days with little maintenance, the deterioration of the pitch with wear can have a major influence on the result of the match (e.g. Typically the ability of spin bowlers to ‘turn’ the ball increases toward the end of a Test match, whereas fast bowlers often prefer a harder and bouncier pitch often found at the start of a test match). It is usual for some amount of grass to be left on the pitch on the first day of a Test, since it helps bind the surface. The presence of grass on the pitch is conducive for pace bowling, so a grassy pitch may also tempt a captain to bowl first. Sometimes, current weather conditions also influence the decision, since a cloud cover has empirically been known to assist swing bowling. Aggressive captains such as Allan Border of Australia have been known to bat first in Test cricket regardless of the conditions.

In One Day International cricket, the time of day is also a crucial factor in determining the captain's decision at the toss. In some parts of the world, dew on the ground can be significant. For a day-night game, grounds in some countries like India or South Africa become wet due to dew, which makes it difficult for a spinner to grip the ball. The captain must balance this against a consideration for bowling becoming more effective under lights, since the ball might skid off any dew on the pitch or get assistance in swing from the cooler night-time air. Even for a day game, the captain might be inclined to exploit early morning dew on the pitch.

In baseball, on the other hand, the "home" team always bats last. This was not originally the case. In the early years, the winner of a coin toss could decide whether to bat first or last. The more offense-oriented aspect of the early game might influence a team's decision to bat first and hope to get a quick lead. This led to the occasional unfortunate situation where the home town crowd would have to watch their team lose a game in the last of the ninth inning, in "sudden victory" fashion by the visiting team. By the late 1800s, the rule was changed to compel the home team to bat last. At a "neutral" site, such as the College World Series, the "home" team may be decided by coin toss, but that "home" team must bat last.

Fielding strategy

The normal fielding arrangement in baseball.

In cricket, since the batsmen can hit the ball with greater variation and different objectives, the field placements are more important and varied. Modern-day coaches and captains have intricate knowledge of the strengths of opposition batsmen, so they try to plug the dominant scoring areas for each batsman. Moreover, since the bowling attack has greater variety in cricket, the field placements required for each type and line of attack also vary greatly.

Depending on the scoring strengths of the batsman (off-side, leg-side, straight, square, front foot, back foot, power hitter, "finds the gap", "clears the field" and so on), the captain must make adjustments to the field each time the batting pair score a run and change ends, which can possibly happen after every ball in an over. To meet the demands of a speedy over-rate (typically, about 15 overs an hour), the captain must arrange the fielders in a way that they can swiftly interchange positions for the two batsmen. This is especially important if one batsman is right-handed, while the other is left-handed. And also in one- day cricket if the umpires deem the over rate of the team fielding first is too slow they can dock them overs so they may have less than 50 overs to reach their target score.

Fielders in cricket can field in all positions, but modern players have specialized field positions. In particular, slip positions require special skills since the slip fielder is placed behind the batsman and the ball comes directly off the edge of the bat. Close catching positions such as forward short leg and silly point, as well as positions for the cut shot such as gully and point, require very fast reflexes and canny anticipation, so they are also specialist positions.

Cricket strategy requires creative use of the many possible fielding positions.

In baseball, although only the positions of pitcher and catcher are prescribed by the rules, fielders' positions are dictated closely by custom, and shifts in fielders' positions according to circumstance are less dramatic; the strike zone and smaller angle of fair territory limit the usefulness of some strategies which cricket makes available to batsmen. The chief occasion on which fielding placement differs markedly from the usual is the presence of a pull, or dead-pull, hitter at bat (such hitters almost never, except on the rare occasion of a fluke or mishit, hit the ball in any direction except towards the same side of the field as they stand at the plate, i.e. a right-handed pull hitter hits everything toward left field). In such case the fielders will move so far in the direction of the pull that one half of the field is almost completely unprotected. This is called an overshift. A six-man infield has also been used when circumstances warrant. For the great majority of batters, however, the traditional fielding arrangement is used, with minor changes in position to accommodate the batter's power or bat-handling ability, the location of runners, or the number of outs. (For example, with a base runner on third the importance of fielders being able to throw quickly to home plate on a bunt is increased, and the infielders will play closer to home plate.) However, Baseball has no equivalent of Cricket's close-in fielders, because it is impractical to have fielders so close to the bat as they would have virtually no chance of latching onto a ball travelling so fast. It is possible to place a close-in fielder to catch a bunt, but this practice is not followed in real life.

In cricket, coaches cannot intervene or direct gameplay; the captain must make all the calls once the players are out on the field. However, the coach may convey messages to the captain or the players at any time, since there is no restriction on signaling or speaking to players on the field. In dynamic situations, like a run chase with an imminent possibility of rain, it is quite common for coaches to update tactics using signals. Hansie Cronje, the former cricket captain of South Africa, once took the field with a wireless link to the coach, Bob Woolmer. Subsequently, the use of gadgets to transmit messages was banned by the International Cricket Council. Regardless, the coach is merely an adviser, it is almost always the case that the cricket captain has complete authority over the team once play starts. In baseball, by contrast, managers and coaches will often direct the players (through hand signals) to carry out a play (such as a stolen base or hit and run), or to field at a particular depth.

Strategy over the course of the game

Pickoff attempt on runner (in red) at first base

In both sports, strategy varies with the game situation. In baseball, pitcher, batter and fielders all play far differently in the late innings of a close game (e.g., waiting for walks, trying for stolen bases or the squeeze play to score a decisive run) than they do early, or when one team has already scored many more runs than the other (where batters will be likely to swing at many more pitches and try for extra-base hits and even home runs). The number, speed, and position of baserunners, which have no equivalent in cricket, all dramatically change the strategies used by pitcher and batter. A runner on first base must decide how large a lead to take off the base—the larger the lead, the greater the chance of advancing on a stolen base or batted ball, but also the greater the risk of being picked off by the pitcher. In leagues which do not allow designated hitters, strategic thinking also enters into substitutions. For example, in the double switch, the substitution of a relief pitcher is combined with the substitution of a pinch hitter who takes the pitcher's spot in the batting order so that the new pitcher will come to bat later (as almost all pitchers are poor hitters). Since players may not return to the game after being substituted for, a manager cannot take lightly the decision when and if to substitute a better-fielding but worse-hitting player if his team is ahead.

The essential action in baseball is either (for the offense) to advance runners around the bases or (for the defense) to halt that advance. As simple as this is in principle, in practice it generates a remarkably large range of strategies. Any given situation—the number of runners on base, the bases they occupy, their skills as runners or base-stealers, the count on the hitter, the number of outs, the specialties of the pitcher and the batter, the catcher's skill at throwing out runners, the positioning of fielders, which inning is being played, and so on—allows for a considerable variety of possible plays, on either side of the ball. At any moment, one manager may be calculating how to advance his runners (whether to call for the steal, the hit-and-run, sacrifice bunt, sacrifice fly, a double steal, the squeeze, and so on) while the opposing manager is calculating how best to thwart his opponent (not only through the pitching approach and positioning of fielders, but by, say, calling for a pitch-out when a steal is anticipated, and so on). Since the variables that determine which strategies are possible or advisable change from pitch to pitch, and according to all the varieties of play situation that may come about in any game, the game played between the two managers is the most intricate aspect of the game, and for many followers of the sport^[who?] is considered the true 'inner game'. In this sense, baseball is far more of a 'board game' than cricket is.

First-class cricket also has a number of strategic elements not found in baseball, simply because the maximum time duration of the game is fixed (which can be up to five days for Test cricket) and a match not completed by the end of the time duration results in a draw regardless of the relative score. By contrast, baseball games are played to completion regardless of the time duration and there is no possibility for a tie or draw (outside of exhibition games, or in Japan, where games are declared ties after 12 innings). There are no equivalents in baseball of, for example, deciding when to declare or to make your opponent follow on.

Strategy based on the playing surface

The condition of the playing strip (the pitch) in cricket is of vital significance as, unlike baseball, the ball is deliberately bounced on the pitch before reaching the batsman. While in baseball, playing conditions between different stadia are much the same (except for perhaps small differences in the dimensions of the field, whether the outfield is fast or slow, and if the field is grass or artificial turf), the physical characteristics of the cricket pitch can vary over the course of the game, or from one field to another, or from one country to another. On the Indian subcontinent, for instance, pitches tend to be dry, dusty and soft. These pitches offer less assistance to fast bowlers because the ball tends to bounce slower and lower, where most fast bowlers rely on bounce and speed to defeat the batsman. On the other hand, spin bowlers prefer this surface because it gives greater traction to the ball and will result in the ball breaking or turning more when it hits the surface. When such a delivery is bowled, the ball is said to have "turned". Conversely, pitches in Australia tend to be hard, true surfaces, called "batting wickets" or "roads" because the ball bounces uniformly and thus batsman find it easier to score runs, although these wickets suit fast bowlers more than spinners. Accordingly, teams are generally much harder to beat in their own country, where both their batsmen and bowlers are presumably suited to the types of pitches encountered there. On any given pitch, however, conditions will become more suitable for spinners as time progresses as the pitch becomes softer and worn through use, making the spin bowler something of a cricketing "closer".

Baseball parks are also not completely uniform, however many of the variations in playing conditions in baseball also arise in cricket. Stadiums with retractable roofs, for example, usually play differently with and without the roof. For example, with the roof open the wind will affect how far the ball carries. Against a running team the basepaths may be heavily watered. Many stadiums have idiosyncratic features – for example, the short right field and high left field wall (called the Green Monster) at Fenway Park, the hill and flagpole in the outfield (Tal's Hill) at Minute Maid Park, or numerous "porches" (parts of the grandstands hanging over the outfield, such as the "Short Porch in Right" at Yankee Stadium) which allow short home runs. There is an equivalent for this in cricket, where the placement of the pitch may render one perpendicular boundary significantly shorter than the other. For example, at a particular ground, the leg-side boundary may be 15 feet closer to the batsman than the off-side boundary. Such a boundary can then be targeted by batmen in search of quick runs.

The altitude of the stadium (most notably Coors Field) can also impact the distance a batted ball travels and the amount of ball movement a pitcher can generate with his deliveries, although recently balls have begun being placed in humidors at high-altitude parks to negate these effects. The baseball behaves differently in those stadiums with artificial turf as well. The amount of moisture in the dirt on the basepaths can also affect the behavior of ground balls and the ease with which players may steal bases; some teams are known to alter the amount of watering done to the dirt depending on the skills of the home and visiting team. The amount of foul territory is also an important variable, since foul pop-ups that would be outs in some parks (e.g. the Oakland Coliseum) may end up in the stands in other parks, thereby allowing the batter to remain at the plate (e.g. Fenway Park and Coors Field). On the whole, though, these variations do not produce effects as great as variations in cricket pitches, with one arguable exception being Coors Field.

Strategy based on batting order

The batting order in baseball must be declared before the game begins, and can only be changed if a substitution occurs. Batting out of turn is a rule violation resulting in a penalty. When a manager makes a substitution, the new player must occupy the same place in the batting order as the old one. To allow more complicated changes in batting order, managers may use the double switch, substituting for two players simultaneously. This is typically used to replace the pitcher but put the new pitcher in a spot in the batting order that will not come up to bat soon, previously occupied by another fielder (pitchers are almost uniformly poor hitters). However, the rule remains that no individual player can ever change his position in the batting order within the same game.

Unlike baseball, the batting order in cricket is not fixed, and can be changed at any time, provided each player bats at most once. This gives rise to the "pinch hitter" in cricket - a non-specialist batsman promoted up the order to get quick runs -, and the Nightwatchman. This latter is typically a non-batsman promoted up the order at the end of the day to avoid a better batsman having to make two cold starts, a particular risk.

The roles of individual players in the batting order are strikingly similar. In both sports, the players near the top of the batting order are considered superior batters or batsmen. The initial batters or batsmen generally specialize in avoiding making outs, while the third through fifth batters and batsmen are considered their team's best at providing runs. After that, the talent generally drops off, with the pitchers and bowlers generally being the worst at batting. However, since in baseball a batter who puts the ball in play does not get another at-bat until the entire batting order is cycled through, the opposing team may pitch around a skilled batter, walking him or otherwise relying on getting other batters out. In cricket, a batsman remains at the pitch until he is out (or the team is all out or, his captain declares or, the set number of overs have been bowled), and the other team must bowl to him until he is out. The only way captains can negate the influence of superior batters similar to pitching around is to try and keep the more skilled batsman off-strike. This can be seen at the end of closely-fought Test matches, where a captain might try and maximize the number of deliveries his bowlers can bowl at a non-specialist batsman. The exception is if the player is injured and has to leave the field for treatment, the next batsman in the order will take his place. If the original batsman is able to continue later on, he can join the game again when one of his teams batsmen is out.

Game length

A direct comparison is difficult since cricket is predominantly played three different formats: Test, One Day and Twenty20. Of these, the Twenty20 format is similar in terms of the amount of time it takes to play a game of baseball, around three to three-and-a-half hours. Baseball games are generally much shorter than Test and One Day cricket games. Most Major League Baseball games last between two-and-a-half and four-and-a-half hours. Because the Major League playing season is 6 months long (183 days, between April and October with Spring Training in February and March), with 81 games played at home and 81 away (162 in all, not counting the postseason or the All-Star Game), baseball teams often find themselves playing double-headers and series games. A doubleheader entails two games, played back to back, in one day. This usually occurs when a game needed to be rescheduled, and is fairly common. A series occurs when two teams play on several consecutive days. This is an even more common occurrence in baseball because of the number of games required in a season, and because there are large distances between stadiums in the U.S. and Canada, thus conserving time and resources by allowing the teams to spend several days in a single location. In Major League Baseball there is a maximum of 20 days consecutively played before a break in games must be observed.

Test Cricket games can last up to five days with scheduled breaks each day for lunch and tea, giving three sessions of play each day. The one-day games version of the sport usually lasts from five to seven hours, but can sometimes continue for longer than eight hours. Twenty20 has innings of twenty overs per team. The average time it takes to play an individual game of Twenty20 cricket is similar to the amount of time it takes to play a game of baseball, around three to three-and-a-half hours.

ODI and Twenty20 cricket, with their inherent limit on the number of fair deliveries, do not have an exact equivalent in baseball. The closest comparison would be games that have a pre-set number of innings shorter than the standard 9 (as with the second game of a doubleheader at some levels) or a pre-set time limit of some kind, such as a curfew restriction, or in the case of one of baseball's cousins, recreational softball, a pre-set length of the game, such as one hour.

Equipment

Professional baseball bats are typically made of ash or maple; hickory used to be popular, as well.

Baseball players use thin, round bats and wear gloves to field, while cricketers use wide, flat bats and field barehanded (except for the wicket-keeper, who wears gloves and protective leg pads). In cricket a batsman wears protective gear such as pads, gloves, thigh pads, helmet, a chest guard, an arm pad and a box (which is used to protect the groin area), whereas the only required protective gear for baseball batters is an unsecured helmet (as required in major league baseball rule 1.16); many batters also use elbow, shin, ankle, hand, or groin protectors, and most use batting gloves (similar to golf gloves) to aid grip.

Another difference between the two sports involves the condition of the ball as a match progresses. In cricket, if a ball is hit into the stands, the spectators must return it to the field. Also, a ball that is scuffed or scratched will continue in use; a ball must be used for a minimum number of overs (currently 80 in Test cricket & 34 in One-Day-International Cricket when it is replaced by a re-conditioned ball) before it can be replaced. If a ball is damaged, lost, or illegally modified, it is replaced by a used ball of similar condition to the old one. Finally, cricketers are allowed sparingly to modify the ball, though this is highly restricted. The ball may be polished (usually on a player's uniform) without the use of an artificial substance, may be dried with a towel if it is wet, and have mud removed from it under supervision; all other actions which alter the condition of the ball are illegal. In Major League Baseball, a ball that is hit into the stands is often not returned to play; spectators are free to keep any balls that come into their possession (although local tradition, rather than the rulebook, may provide for a ball to be thrown back).

Because baseball hitting is difficult, baseball rules prohibit the deliberate scratching or scuffing of a ball, or the application of any foreign substance that could conceivably affect the flight or visibility of a ball. Balls that are deliberately made more difficult to hit by applying foreign substances are often known as spitballs, regardless of the specific substance applied (such as Vaseline). Both spitballs and those that become scuffed or scratched through normal game play are immediately removed from play and never reused. The current rules regarding the condition of baseballs did not come into effect until 1920, after the death of Ray Chapman from being hit with a Carl Mays spitball. Before that point, the rules were similar to those still present in cricket. However, the new rules were not consistently enforced for several decades afterwards, and several pitchers (most notably Gaylord Perry) built careers around skirting these rules, doing such things as hiding nail files in their gloves or putting Vaseline on the underside of their hats. Because of financial or practical limits on the supply of fresh balls, enforcement of these rules is much more limited in minor league and amateur baseball games, where balls become worn and scuffed (and darkened) in the course of play; even so, use of the spitball is universally forbidden. The only substance applied to a baseball is the Delaware River mud formula that umpires rub in before a game to remove the "shine" from the ball and improve its grip. The pitcher is also allowed to use rosin on his hands (via a rosin bag) to improve his grip, and to blow on his hands in cold weather