Clothing is what identifies that you are playing the sport of cricket. Test matches in cricket are easily recognized by the brilliant white clothing that all the players wear. They start out with standard golf style shirts, covered with a cable-knit jumper that can either be a vest or have long sleeves. Long trousers are a must for this sport, and originally all clothing was made from flannel, hard to imagine when the first cricket matches outside of Great Britain were played in the sweltering heat of Australia. Even today, test match cricket is made up of teams from warm climates such as South Africa, India and Bangladesh so it is fortunate that warmer climate friendly materials are being used to make the majority of cricket clothing.

Sun hats are also important for players to have, especially in those warm climates where the leading test match teams come from. These caps serve to keep the setting sun out of players’ eyes during the last session of play for the day, as well as often being the only bit of color you’ll find that sets the teams apart one from another. Australians wear green caps, for example, while the team from New Zealand has black ones.

Protective equipment shouldn’t be overlooked if your little girl wants to step up and participate in this sport. Spiked shoes are common in most sports played on the grass, but cricket players, especially the batsmen require some sort of padded protection for most parts of their body. Reports of serious injury and even death have been received following players coming in contact with hard cricket balls unexpectedly.

By anybody’s definition, this certainly seems to be a sticky wicket that you’ve come up against. A wicket in cricket is another term for the pitch or playing field. The wicket/playing field can be affected by rain as well as sun, which make the ball bounce unpredictably. A field that starts out wet will cause balls to bounce off in seeming random directions as it dries out.

Over time, the term sticky wicket has gained wide acceptance as a metaphor commonly used to describe a very difficult circumstance. One of the first usages of this term occurred in 1882 where it was reported that the ground of the pitch was suffering from a recent rain and the team struggling to control their play found themselves on a sticky wicket.

At last, the missing equipment has turned up; cell phones have saved the day again. Triumphant, Jessica waves you over to continue the set up for the company match. You now have all the necessary stumps (three), bails (two) and sight screens (two). It goes without saying that at least you remember the rope to mark out this particular wicket, saving it from turning into a very sticky wicket indeed.

Cricket clothing is commonly referred to as cricket whites or flannels. Originally all the garments were of a white or cream color and were also made from flannel, hence the original name. Today, it is common to see colored cricket wear, especially on the pitch where the shortened or one-day version of cricket is being played. At Test Match level, only cricket whites will be worn.

Here’s a list of the clothing little Freddie will need to perform his best:

1. Shirt. This polo shirt can have either short or long sleeves. Traditionally the team’s Bowler will be found in short sleeves while wicketkeepers mostly wear long sleeves, saving themselves from scrapes as they dive for runaway balls.

2. Long trousers. No shorts for cricketers, even in the hottest of weather.

3. Jumper. Worn over the polo shirts jumpers worn by cricketers may be either sleeveless or long-sleeved, but they are customarily made in a cable-knit design and may also feature the only bit of color found in the severe cricket whites.

4. Cricket Cap. This soft cap is often made from felt, with a small crescent shaped brim pulled low to keep the setting sun out of the player’s eyes. A cricket cap may also be slightly elasticized at the back to hold them on.

Here are some common terms that your boy will also need to be familiar with. If you start repeating them to him know, by the time he holds his first cricket bat, he’ll be able to stroke the ball with confidence, ready to take his place among the ranks of world class players.

1. Cricket is played in innings, similar to baseball. Cricket’s innings usually last unto 10 of the 11 batsmen in the team are out, or another event intervenes such as time running out or the team captain declaring the inning closed.

2. A cricket bat and a ball are used, again like baseball, but both the bat and the ball are quite different from the standard equipment used in baseball. A cricket ball is very large and solid, it is made from cork and leather and at the test match level its size and weight are carefully monitored. The method of delivery of the ball is called bowling. Cricket bats are typically a wooden block that has a flat striking face and a ridge on the back that concentrates wood in the middle area where the ball generally hits.

3. Players in cricket matches are called batsmen, while the actual act of hitting is called a shot or a stroke.

4. The objective of the game or sport of cricket is for a batsmen not to lose their wicket and to score as many runs as quickly as they can.

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket, with test matches being played at a national level. The International Cricket Council sets a match to ‘Test Status’ and only the best players from individual countries are able to participate. There are four innings played with two teams having eleven players and the match itself will take place over the course of up to five days. Test cricket is considered to be a test of both playing ability and endurance in the sport. Much fun has been poked in both movies and popular literature about the long duration of a cricket match, and indeed it is hard for those not raised with the sport to understand how fans can stay keen for the better part of a work week.

Interestingly, test matches are actually a subset of the highest level of cricket. A team representing their country must perform outstandingly compared to others in the ‘test’ category. As recently as 2010, only nine national teams have attained Test status, the most recent addition to this elite group being Bangladesh, with Zimbabwe being included in the list of countries allowed to play in test matches, even though they have been suspended from test match play since January 2006 due to poor performance by the national team. This suspension is due to be restored by May 2011.