Stump (cricket) Stump (cricket) In cricket, the stumps are the three vertical posts that support the bails and form the wicket. "Stumping" or "being stumped" is a method of dismissing a batsman. The umpire "calling stumps" means the play is over for the day. The stumps are three vertical posts which support two bails. The stumps and bails are usually made of wood, most commonly ash, and together form a wicket at each end of the pitch. The overall width of each wicket is 9 inches (22.9 cm). Each stump is 28 inches (71.1 cm) tall with maximum and minimum diameters of
History of cricket to 1725 double wicket form of the game was already well known in London. It is also the first mention of cricket in the county of Middlesex. There were two main forms of cricket in the 17th and 18th centuries. One was single wicket in which, as the name implies, there is only one batsman, although teams of threes or fives often took part. The converse is the "double wicket" form, with two batsmen, and this has long been associated with eleven-a-side teams playing two innings each and it is these games which, depending on the teams involved, have important match status.