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In the sport of cricket an over is a series of six consecutive balls bowled by a single bowler. No bowler is allowed to bowl more than one consecutive over.
Specifically, an over must consist of six legal deliveries. No balls and wides do not count as one of the six balls in an over.
In one-day cricket bowlers are restricted to the total number of overs they may bowl in a match and the length of the game is determined by the total number of overs bowled (usually 40 or 50 per innings). In Test and county cricket, teams are usually required to bowl a minimum number of overs per day to prevent spoiling of the game by a slow over rate.
Each consecutive over is bowled from the opposite end of the pitch ensuring that both batsmen face the bowling.
A maiden over is one in which no runs are scored.
The over is a fundamental unit in the tactical planning of the fielding side. Since a single bowler has six, and only six, legal balls before another bowler must bowl, he typically plans to use those six balls to set up a pattern of play designed to get a batsman out. For example, bowling a few balls with a repetitive line, length, or spin, followed by a variation designed to surprise the batsman.
Early in the over the bowler may tempt the batsman into scoring runs by providing balls that are relatively easy to hit. If the batsman takes the bait, the bowler can follow up with a variation designed either to hit the wicket or induce a catch. A batsman still in aggressive run-scoring mode may make a mistake playing the ball and end up losing his wicket.
The captain of the fielding team decides which bowler will bowl any given over (subject to the restriction that no bowler may bowl two overs in succession). Generally two bowlers will alternate overs from opposite ends of the pitch, until one tires or becomes ineffective, at which point the captain will replace that bowler with another. A period of bowling every second over like this is called a spell of bowling.
Modern day Test cricket (since 1979/80) has been played all over the world with six balls per over. However, Test cricket started with 4 balls per over and has had varying number of balls per over around the world upto 1979/80.
Balls per over
In England
In Australia
In South Africa
In New Zealand
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