Cricket has players.
In the sport of cricket , batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one 's wicket . A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman , while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke . Cricket . One team bats , attempting to score as many runs as possible , whilst their opponents field . The play begins when a member of the fielding team , known as the bowler , delivers the ball from one end of the pitch to the other , towards the wicket at that end , in front of which stands one of the batsmen , known as the striker . A dismissed batsman must leave the field , and a teammate replaces him .