Pitch (sports field)

This article is about the field used for playing sports. For the baseball throw, see Pitch (baseball). For climbing and caving, see Pitch (ascent/descent). For other uses, see Pitch (disambiguation).

A pitch is an open outdoor area for various activities. It is used in British and Australian English; the comparable term in American English is field. In most sports the official technical term is field of play, although this is not regularly used by those outside of refereeing/umpiring circles.

In the sport of cricket, the cricket pitch refers not to the entire field of play, but to the section of the field on which batting and bowling takes place in the centre of the field. The pitch is prepared differently to the rest of the field, to provide a harder surface for bowling.

A pitch is often a regulation space, as in an Association football pitch.

Fields of play

	Cricket	Cricket pitch
	Association football	Football pitch
	Rugby union	Rugby pitch
	Tennis	Tennis court
	Track cycling	Velodrome
	Ice hockey	Ice hockey rink
	Field hockey	Field hockey field
	Speed skating	Speed skating rink
	Basketball	Basketball court

See also

• Playing field

External links

• Rules and dimensions