Other roles

Captain
For more details on this topic, see Role of a cricket captain.

The captain's acumen in deciding the strategy is sometimes crucial to the team's success. The captain makes a number of important decisions, including setting fielding positions, alternating the bowlers and taking the "toss". Before the start of play the captains of the opposing teams meet and toss a coin; the winner of the toss decides which team will bat first. This decision, made in consideration of pitch conditions, the weather and the relative bowling and batting abilities of the two sides, can have an enormous impact on the course of play. In One Day Internationals the captain also decides when to make use of some powerplays.

Runners
For more details on this topic, see runner (cricket).

In the event of a batsman being fit to bat but too injured to run, the umpires and the fielding captain may allow another member of the batting side to be a runner. If possible, the runner must already have batted. The runner's only task is to run between the wickets instead of the injured batsman. The runner is required to wear and carry exactly the same equipment as the incapacitated batsman. It is possible for both batsmen to have runners, but this is extremely rare.

Substitutes
For more details on this topic, see Substitute (cricket).

In all forms of cricket, if a player gets injured or becomes ill during a match, a substitute is allowed to field instead of him, but the substitute cannot bowl, bat, act as a captain or wicket-keeper. The substitute leaves the field if the injured player is fit to return.

For a period from July 2005, the ICC experimented with Super Subs in One Day International (ODI) cricket and some other limited-overs competitions. A single full substitution was allowed, and the substituted player was not allowed to return to the game. It was discontinued from March 2006.