Cricket is another sport that is very popular in the UK. It is also played widely across the world, mainly in former British colonies, like India, Australia and the West Indies. Because cricket can only be played in good weather, the cricket season in England is from April to September. As well as the national and county teams, even very small villages sometimes have teams. The bowler tries to hit the three sticks, called stumps, behind the batsman, and the batsman defends them using his bat. When he hits the ball, he tries to hit it as far as possible so that he can score lots of runs. National cricket teams go on tour every year and one of the major international tournaments is called The Ashes, which is played every two years between England and Australia. In cricket, players need to wear protection from the ball, but in rugby they need protection from other players. It can be a very physical game.