Cricket Explained - One Day Cricket

• A form of cricket that is completed in a single day, as distinct from Test cricket and domestic first-class cricket, which can often take up to five days to complete or obtain a result. One day cricket, unlike test cricket, always ends with a result in a single days play.
• In a one-day match, each team bats only once and their innings are limited to a set number of overs, usually fifty, however, this can vary as a result of poor weather etc. Other changes to the game include additional restrictions on where fielders may be placed (preventing teams from placing every fielder on the edge of the field to prevent boundaries) and stricter rules on wide balls and short deliveries (to prevent teams from restricting scoring by bowling deliveries that batters have no chance to score from). In most games, a white ball is used rather than the traditional red and as a result, the need to paint rather than stain the white ball gives it subtly different characteristics in flight as it wears. The white ball is generally restricted to matches played during the afternoon and into the evening, such matches are also known as day-night matches. Day-night matches require the team batting second to commence their innings under stadium lights as a result of the lack of available natural sunlight.
• Players in one day cricket are generally attired in brightly coloured clothing to add spectator interest and to further enhance the appeal to the television networks, which broadcast many one day international matches.
• One-day cricket originally began between English County teams in the 1960's. The first one-day international was played in Melbourne, Australia, in 1971, with the quadrennial Cricket World Cup began in 1975. Many of the "packaging" innovations, such as coloured clothing, were as a result of World Series Cricket, a "rebel" series set up outside the cricketing establishment by Australian media entrepreneur Kerry Packer.
• One-day cricket is popular with spectators, as it can encourage aggressive, risky and entertaining batting,which often results in cliffhanger endings. It also ensures a spectator can go and see an entire match without committing to five days of continuous attendence, which is often subject to adverse weather conditions. There is no doubt that one day cricket often appeals to those who would normally find five days of test match cricket very boring. Since its inception, one day cricket has attracted a huge following.
• One day cricket is often called limited-over or limited-over international cricket.
• One day cricket is often refered to by cricket purists (those who follow test match cricket) as “hit and giggle” or pyjama cricket, a term which relates to the coloured clothing/uniforms worn by the players.

	Source:
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