Wicket (cricket)
In the sport of cricket a wicket is a set of 3 stumps and 2 bails at the end of the pitch. The wicket is gaurded by a batsman who attempts to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket.
When a bowler is able to dismiss a batsman he is said to have taken his wicket and the bastman has then lost his wicket. The number of wickets taken is the primary measure of a bowler's ability.
The origin of the word is from the standard definition of wicket as a small gate since the original cricket wicket had only two stumps and one bail and looked like a gate.
The word wicket is also used to mean pitch but this is technically incorrect (see laws of cricket).
See also: Cricket terminology
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