Imagine that you love playing cricket with your friends. You might just play for fun, but if you get really good, you might start playing for a team.
Now, there are different kinds of cricket teams. Some teams play just for fun, and some teams play very seriously. The most serious kind of cricket team is called a first-class team.
If you want to play on a first-class team, you need to be very good at cricket. But you also need to follow some special rules to make sure that you're not being paid to play.
Getting paid means that someone gives you money in exchange for playing cricket. And in first-class cricket, you can't be paid to play if you want to keep your amateur status.
Being an amateur means that you play cricket for the love of the game, not for the money. So, if you're an amateur, you can't get paid to play cricket, and you can't ask for money in exchange for playing.
But just because you can't get paid to play, doesn't mean you won't get any benefits. For example, you might get some help with training or travel expenses.
So, if you want to play cricket at the highest level, you need to be very good. But you also need to be an amateur, which means you can't get paid to play. That way, everyone knows that you're playing for the love of the game, and not just because you want to make money.