Church Times Cricket Cup final 2019, Wicket 3

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, a sight screen is an apparatus, often comprising wooden or poly-carbonate slats, or

cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...

sheeting, on a large frame made of wood or another material, that is positioned alongside the

cricket field A cricket field is a large grass field on which the game of cricket is played. Although generally oval in shape, there is a wide variety within this: some are almost perfect circles, some elongated ovals and some entirely irregular shapes with l ...

to provide the

batsmen In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

a clear view of the bowler's deliveries, such that distractions including spectators do not disturb the batsman. Typically, two sight screens are actively deployed on a field during live play, each positioned a short distance behind the

boundary Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment * ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film * ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip film * Boundary (cricket), the edge of the pl ...

rope. From the perspective of a

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

facing a delivery on the pitch, one sight screen is directly past the bowler's end, or at the straight boundary, while the other is directly behind the batsman, or at the long stop boundary. In limited overs matches such as One Day Internationals or Twenty20 Internationals, which are usually played with a white ball, the sight screen is usually black, or otherwise dark. In

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

matches, in which a red or pink ball is used for play, the sight screen is usually white. Sight screens have, on occasion, not been large enough to entirely cover the critical area for the batsman to effectively view the bowler's delivery. Groundskeepers may make such decisions to allow for more spectators into the ground. Similarly, sight screens have in the past been used for

display advertising Digital display advertising is online graphic advertising through banners, text, images, video, and audio. The main purpose of digital display advertising is to post company ads on third-party websites. A display ad is usually interactive (i.e. ...

, compromising their darkness (in limited overs matches) or whiteness (in Tests). On such occasions, batting sides have often expressed frustration, especially if particular batsmen experienced difficulty in effectively seeing the ball during a fast bowler's delivery.

Jacques Kallis Jacques Henry Kallis (born 16 October 1975) is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketers of all time and as South Africa's greatest batsman ever, he is a right-handed batsman and righ ...

lost a wicket to an

Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...

full toss A full toss is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It describes any delivery that reaches the batsman without bouncing on the pitch first. A full toss which reaches the batsman above the waist is called a beamer. This is not a valid d ...

Edgbaston Cricket Ground Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England. It is home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club and its T20 team Birmingham Bears. Edgbaston has ...

under these circumstances during South Africa's tour of England in 2008, an incident that triggered much debate at the time. In today's game, advertising in ICC-sanctioned Test matches is only allowed on the sight screen behind the

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. ...

, so that it must be removed every other over and then replaced again after the next over is played from the other end. The sight screen serves a similar function to the

batter's eye The batter's eye or batter's eye screen is a solid-colored, usually dark area beyond the center field wall of a baseball stadium, that is the visual backdrop directly in the line of sight of a baseball batter, while facing the pitcher and awai ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

.Dan Holmes
Origins behind some puzzling baseball terms.
Wahoo Sam.

References

{{commons category, Sight screens Cricket equipment

See also

References