Crease (cricket) in the context of "Cricket ground"

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game that is played between two teams of eleven players on a field, at the centre of which is a 22-yard (20-metre; 66-foot) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails (small sticks) balanced on three stumps. Two players from the batting team, the striker and nonstriker, stand in front of either wicket holding bats, while one player from the fielding team, the bowler, bowls the ball toward the striker's wicket from the opposite end of the pitch. The striker's goal is to hit the bowled ball with the bat and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one run for each of these swaps. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches the boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled illegally.

The fielding team aims to prevent runs by dismissing batters (so they are "out"). Dismissal can occur in various ways, including being bowled (when the ball hits the striker's wicket and dislodges the bails), and by the fielding side either catching the ball after it is hit by the bat but before it hits the ground, or hitting a wicket with the ball before a batter can cross the crease line in front of the wicket. When ten batters have been dismissed, the innings (playing phase) ends and the teams swap roles. Forms of cricket range from traditional Test matches played over five days to the newer Twenty20 format (also known as T20), in which each team bats for a single innings of 20 overs (each "over" being a set of 6 fair opportunities for the batting team to score) and the game generally lasts three to four hours.

In cricket, a single is scored when the batsman take one run, either following a successful shot (with the run attributed to the on-strike batsman) or when running for a bye or leg bye (counted as an extra).

Unlike when a boundary is hit (and the run are scored even if the batsmen don't leave their creases), scoring a single requires the batsmen to physically run between the wickets. This introduces the risk of being run out, so effective communication between the batsmen is vital. If one batsman attempts to run and the other stays put, then a humiliating run out is likely, but quick and well attuned batsmen may be able to run "quick singles" when other batsmen would not. In general, singles are much easier to score when the field is set further out, but bringing more fielders in makes it easier for the on-strike batsman to hit boundaries.