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
Wicket Wicket In the sport of cricket, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The wicket is guarded by a batsman who, with his bat, attempts to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket. The origin of the word is from wicket gate, a small gate. Historically, cricket wickets had only two stumps and one bail and looked like a gate. The third (middle) stump was introduced in 1775. Through metonymic usage, the dismissal of a batsman is the "taking of a wicket", and the cricket pitch is