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 It
has to be one of the all time favourite summer sports. Anyone can have a go at
almost anytime. Whether you’ve got a pocket hanky-sized back yard or are
on a farm with a few paddocks to choose from, you can have fun with a cricket
bat and ball. Whether there’s 22 of you or just 2, you can still have a bat.
And it can be just as much fun being a spectator or passing the time till you’re
in to bat. Take a picnic and a rug, hat and sunscreen and have a blast.
The
best thing about cricket is that there’s a type of game for every occasion.
There’s the ultra formal five day test, the razzamatazz and excitement of
the one-dayer and then there’s the shorter varieties – limited overs
or just an afternoon of fun. Then there’s the tip’n’run game where
you HAVE to run, no matter what kinda ball you just hit. As
a player you can specialise – become a supreme fast bowler or brilliant batter.
Or maybe you’re pretty talented at both and so can work on being an awesome
all-rounder. But first, let’s break it down to the basics… In the formal cricket match there are 11 players each
side. A coin gets tossed and the winning captain elects whether to bat or bowl
first. The team bowling sends the team out into the field (to strange named positions
such as the slips, and silly mid off). One goes behind the stumps as wicket keeper
while one bowls the ball to the batter. In a one day game, each team bowls 50
overs. Six balls are bowled each over. The bowler alternates which end s/he faces
each over. Meanwhile, the team batting sends out the first two players to bat.
The batters try to hit the ball and get ‘runs’ (points) by running between
the wickets. They can get more runs if the batter hits the ball along the ground
to the boundary (4 runs) or up in the air over the boundary (6 runs). The team
in the field tries to get the batter out by hitting the stumps behind with ball,
by catching the ball just hit or by hitting the stumps with the ball while the
batter is running between them. At the end of the day, the team with the most
runs wins. Confusing??? Really, it’s not. It’s just
about one side hitting the ball, and one side throwing and catching it.
Rules
at home or at the beach can be pretty simple. You just have to decide your boundaries
and go for it. We usually declare that hitting the ball over the fence is NOT
6 – its OUT!!!! Cricket
teams traditionally wear white uniforms – although the international sides
wear colours for the one day matches. At home, you can just wear what you want
– although shorts, tee-shirt and sports shoes would be a good place to start. You
need a bat and a ball. The pros and clubs use bats made of willow and the ball
is made of leather. At home, you can get a beach cricket set and tennis ball for
less than $10. You also need wickets and stumps to mark each
end of the pitch. You can get these pretty cheaply or just make do with an old
crate, or a couple of sturdy sticks or whatever. For those
playing a serious game – with a leather ball being thrown fast, you might
wanna make like the pros and wear some protective gear – helmet, pads and
gloves. Some of those bowlers can bowl the ball REALLY fast!!! If you love cricket and have a real talent
then be sure to join a local club or progress through your school team. Then you
can go to regional and national tournaments. Maybe one day you could represent
New Zealand in our national women’s team – the White Ferns. To find
out more about the team, take a look at the NZ Cricket website:
http://www-nz.cricket.org/
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