Kids Cricket

For Coaches, Parents and their Kids

 

Yes and You’re About to Find Out Why

Whilst studying at university this winter I was given the opportunity to play in an indoor cricket league, hosted by Lancashire CC. I had only ever taken part in net and fielding drill sessions under a roof, and to be honest the thought of playing competitively indoors never appealed to me. So what use was it trying to play a cricket match inside a sports hall? Well, I found it of great use actually.

Here in the UK cricket can be a frustrating sport. It is dependant on weather conditions and a club season will last approximately 5 months, in kids cricket this can be as little as 3 months. I remember the agonising wait between seasons and constantly asking my dad “when does cricket start?”. I see that anticipation all of the time now with my younger brothers.

As I mentioned I played indoor cricket for the first time this winter. I enjoyed it so much that when my team of Under-11’s where given the opportunity to play in an indoor tournament I jumped at the chance. I phoned up parents and the kids were so excited to be playing cricket, 3 months before they expected to start outdoors.

So What Are The Benefits of Playing Indoor Cricket?

• It is not weather dependant and can be played at any time during the day.
• It’s a good way of keeping fit and staying on top of your game out of season.
• Indoor cricket is fast paced and can help with agility, reactions and concentration.
• It can teach batsmen to communicate under pressure. Due to the fast pace batsmen are tested when running between the wickets.

How is Indoor Cricket Played?

This will depend on the rules of that particular league or tournament. The rules that I am familiar with are as follows:

• 6 players per team.
• Each team bats for 12 overs or until every batsman is out.
• Bowlers can bowl a maximum of 3 overs.
• Batsmen must retire on 25 but can come back on when the team has 2 wickets remaining
• Scores are as follows; 1 run for hitting the side wall, 1 run for hitting the wall behind the batsman, 4 or 6 runs for hitting the wall in front of the batsman, 2 runs for running once between the wickets, 2 runs for a wide or no ball. There can be a combination of these in one ball.

There are many variations to these rules, so before attempting to play an indoor match they should be clarified. I firmly believe that indoor cricket will play a major part in our sport in the future. Schools are actively promoting kids cricket and those with sport halls should be encouraged to host indoor tournaments. This is a great way of getting kids interested in cricket whilst helping to keep them healthy and fit.

Image courtesy of Salford University Cricket Club 

If you have an experience or thought on this topic then feel free to leave a comment below.