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Why is the pitch made larger than the playing area, which is 22 yards? The pitch is made an extra 122 cm past 22 yards for the return crease. After the return crease it is also extended to a green strip. Why is this green strip made and what's its use?

You can see pictures:- image 1

image2

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  • I don't know of this green strip beyond the return crease. Could you post a picture? Did you mean to say bowling crease, rather than return crease?
    – Masked Man
    Jan 2, 2015 at 17:38
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    I'm pretty sure that green strip is just there to make it easier to see the actual dimensions. See commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cricket_pitch.svg also.
    – Michael Myers
    Jan 2, 2015 at 23:54

1 Answer 1

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The pitch is defined in Law 7 as being a rectangle of 22 yards/20.12m length and 10 feet / 3.05m in width.

Law 9 defines the creases and in the case of the return crease the minimum length of the crease which is 8ft /2.44 m behind the popping crease (the front crease) and therefore it must extend 4ft / 1.22 m behind the stumps.

This is to aid with judgement of back foot no balls (the bowlers back foot must land within and not touching the return crease) Law 24 5a.

As with all creases though they actually extend to the boundary behind the stumps.

The area that is cut short is a minimum of the pitch but tradition is to mow short back to the edge of the square.

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  • This has very little, if anything, to do with the question asked. The OP asks about the area behind the stumps, not along the longer edge of the pitch.
    – Masked Man
    Mar 18, 2015 at 7:57
  • @Happy if you look again I talk about the return crease which extends 8 ft back from the popping crease, which is why the area behind the stumps is mown short.
    – Ben Whyall
    Mar 18, 2015 at 11:11
  • Oh, right, I guess I didn't read that part clearly.
    – Masked Man
    Mar 18, 2015 at 11:14

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