Popping crease in cricket refers to each of the ends of the pitch in front of each set of stumps. It is a line in the field that is placed for feet in front of the bowling crease. In this position, the batsman must have either a part of his body, or the bat touching the ground behind this line to be able to avoid being dismissed, stumped or run out.
The Origin of the Crease
There are no definite records on the origin of the crease but it was used and applied in cricket during the beginning of the 18th century. The crease was created along with scratch marks and popping crease defined as being 46 inches in the front of the wicket at each end of the pitch. As the game evolved the scratches evolved into cuts that were an inch deep and an inch wide. Drawing to these areas describes how to pop in the crease. The popping crease is located 4 feet in front of the bowling crease and also 4 feet parallel to the bowling crease. Pitching from crease to crease is always in a rectangular area of 22 yards or 20.12 meters in length and 10 feet or 3.05 meters in width.
Popping Crease During a Cricket Match
The popping crease is used in a fielding team to test whether the bowler has bowled a no-ball. To be able to avoid this, the bowler’s front food should be in the delivery stride, usually the first impression of the stride when the ball is released. The delivery stride must be behind the popping crease when it lands and should not be grounded. The foot of the bowler may be on the line as long as some part of his foot stays behind the line. This position is sometimes referred to as “the line belongs to the umpire.” On the batting side, for the batsman to be popping crease, this determines whether they are stumped or run out. These are described in the Laws of Cricket number 28, 38 and 39. Both involve the wicket being put down before a batsman can touch his body or bat to the ground behind the popping crease to make his ground and safely return from a run.