Why are there Overs in Cricket? Please read detail fist.?

Question

I am from Australia and know the rules of Cricket but this one escapes me and no one I know can answer me this and they have played club cricket in the past. So why can bowlers only bowl 6 balls at a time. Is there a practical reason for is or is it just a legacy rule from times gone by.

Answer 1

I guess it's to make sure that the batsmen get a fairer share of the strike.

Answer 2

Well it wasn't always six balls. In Australia until 1979, it was eight. It started with four balls, in Australia and England, but then moved to 5 for Eng and Sth Africa. Australia first introduced the sixth in 1891.

In short there's no particular reason for the exact number as it keeps changing.

My guess would be fatigue; ever tried bowling 47 balls in a row?? May also have something to do with uniform wear on the pitch (keep changing ends so one doesn't degrade faster). Initially it may have been introduced so 'others get a go'. Cricket is phenominally old, so a lot of its evolution has been forgotten.

Answer 3

When I played cricket it was 8 balls per over. The amount of balls bowled is a reasonable amount for any average bowler. It was probably shortened to 6 balls to compensate for the faster paced game nowadays.