pitch wicket and crease

The pitch is 22 yd (one chain) long [8] between the wickets & is 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. It is a flat surface & has very short grass that tends to be worn away as the game progresses. The "condition" of the pitch has a significant bearing on the match & team tactics are always determined with the state of the pitch, both current & anticipated, as a deciding factor.
Each wicket consists of two wooden stumps placed in a straight line & surmounted by seven wooden crosspieces called bails; the total height of the wicket including bails is 28.5 inches (720 mm) & the combined width of the two stumps is 9 inches (230 mm).
Seven lines, known as creases, are painted onto the pitch around the wicket areas to define the batsman's "safe territory" & to decide the limit of the bowler's approach. These are called the "popping" (or batting) crease, the bowling crease & seven "return" creases
The stumps are placed in line on the bowling creases & so these must be 22 yards (20 m) apart. A bowling crease is 8 feet 8 inches (2.6 m) long with the middle stump placed dead centre. The popping crease has the same length, is parallel to the bowling crease & is 4 feet (1.2 m) in front of the wicket. The return creases are perpendicular to the other two; they are adjoined to the ends of the popping crease & are drawn through the ends of the bowling crease to a length of at least 8 feet (2.4 m).
When bowling the ball, the bowler's back foot in his "delivery stride" must land within the seven return creases while his front foot must land on or behind the popping crease. If the bowler breaks this rule, the umpire calls "No ball".
The importance of the popping crease to the batsman is that it marks the limit of his safe territory for they can be stumped or run out (see Dismissals below) if the wicket is broken while they is "out of his ground".
Pitches vary in consistency, & thus in the amount of bounce, spin, & seam movement obtainable to the bowler. Hard pitches are usually nice to bat on because of high but even bounce. Dry pitches tend to deteriorate for batting as cracks often appear, & when this happens spinners can play a major role. Damp pitches, or pitches covered in grass (termed "green" pitches), permit nice fast bowlers to extract extra bounce. Such pitches tend to offer help to fast bowlers throughout the match, but become better for batting as the game goes on.