What you need to run social indoor cricket…

A gym or section of a gym 70 ft x 30 ft up to 100 ft x 50 ft – the smaller the better = more deliveries, more intensity and less idle.
12-20 players
Two bats
An orange Readers windball or Slazenger airball – no risk of injury, cheap, long lasting, the easiest colour for the hunan eye to see.
Two sets of stumps
An indoor score sheet
Masking or gym foor tape to mark creases

How do we do it?

Players are split into four even teams – with matches running either side of the hall. Batsmen bat in pairs for 4 overs per pair, scoring runs for hitting the walls and for each completed run between the wickets. Runs are deducted for losing wickets. At the completion of the batting team’s innings, the fielders and batsmen swap. The team with the most runs wins! There’s usually time for two games of 6-10-a-side for each team in two hours.

The non-striker crease is about 2/3 of the distance of the wicket to encourage as much running as possible.

The umpire calls the number of runs scored after each ball and scores (so everyone knows what’s going on).

The emphasis is on enjoyment, inclusion, safety, and developing social cricket. Beginners especially welcome!

What is a wall?

The back wall is at the wicketkeeper’s end.
The front wall is at the bowler’s end.
The dead zone is above the yellow line (about halfway up) on the front wall.

How do I score?

Scoring for hitting the ball into the walls will go on which wall the ball strikes first.

Hitting the ball onto the side or back walls = 1 run.

The ball striking the batsman’s body before hitting the side or back walls = 1 leg bye.

Hitting the ball above the yellow line on the front wall = 1 run.

Hitting the ball onto the front wall below the yellow line, without it having touched the floor or side walls first = 4 runs.

Hitting the ball onto the front wall, after it has touched the floor = 6 runs.

(Sixes and fours are reversed, otherwise it becomes a horrible exercise with the on-strike batsman the only person playing the game).

One completed run by the batsmen = 2 runs.

There are no points scored for any ball that first strikes the ceiling. In this case, a maximum of 2 runs can be scored for a completed run by the batsmen.

An initial misfield of the ball by a fielder which results in the ball going into the wall shall count as above.

There are no extra points for overthrows striking the walls, but the batsmen may continue to run, scoring 2 points for every completed run, unless the ball hit the balcony or above.

The benches, shoes, and bags count as an extension of the walls.

A wide ball is anything down the legside, missing the bat and the batsman, so long as it does not pass between the batsman and the stumps, and anything too wide for the batsman to reach on the offside = 3 runs.

A no ball is any delivery that is thrown (leniency for beginners); any delivery that bounces more than twice before it reaches the batsman; any delivery where the bowler has not kept part of his foot behind the bowling crease at the point of delivery; any ball delivered from well wide of, or short of, the bowling crease; a full-toss that reaches the batsman at waist height or above; any take by the wicketkeeper in front of the stumps, unless touched by the batsman first; any unannounced change to over or around the wicket, or switch in left/right-handed bowling action = 3 runs.

Wides and no balls are not re-bowled to save time.

In the case of a bowler failing to complete his or her action properly, and the ball being propelled accidentally down the wicket, dead ball shall be called, and the ball will be re-bowled.

Amrit got me out – but how?

Any fair dismissal = –5 runs. (-4 for a catch off the wall or run out after striking the wall).

Mode of dismissals:
Bowled
Caught
Run Out
Stumped
Hit wicket
Deliberately hitting the ball twice
Handling the ball
Obstructing the field

There are no Leg Before Wicket (LBW) dismissals.

To be bowled, stumped, or run out, the bails must be dislodged. In the event the bails have been dislodged accidentally by the fielding side, and the batsmen then attempt a run, the fielder must pick up the stumps and hold the ball to them in order to dismiss the batsman.

A batsman can be caught off the back or side walls, so long as the ball has touched the bat, or a hand holding the bat, and the ball has not touched the floor.

A batsman cannot be caught off the front wall, unless the ball strikes above the yellow line.

A batsman can be stumped off a wide.

A batsman cannot be stumped off a no-ball. If after the no-ball, the batsman attempts to run, he or his partner can be run out.

After a batsman is out, the dismissed player goes to the non-striker’s end.

The benefit of the doubt must always go to the batsman. If the umpire doesn’t understand the rules, he must consult. Honesty must be adhered to at all times.

But what if…?

Some scenarios:

The batsman hits the ball into the side wall and is caught out – he scores –4 runs (1 run for hitting the wall, -5 for being dismissed).

The batsman hits the ball above the yellow line on the front wall and both batsmen set off on a run. So long as the ball isn’t caught, the batsman scores 3 runs.

The batsman hits the ball above the yellow line on the front wall and is caught out – he scores –4 runs (1 run for hitting the wall, -5 for being dismissed).

The ball brushes the batman’s leg before hitting the back wall = 1 leg bye.

The batsman misses the ball and it hits the back wall = no runs.

The bowler bowls a wide and the batsmen complete a run = 5 runs.

The ball becomes lost inside someone’s bag, or trapped behind the wall, or flies down the corridor – maximum 3 runs. The batsmen can’t continue to run again and again, unless there is a wild overthrow once the ball has been retrieved.

The batsman hits the ball straight back to the bowler and sets off on a run. The bowler attempts to run the batsman out at the bowler’s end while the batsman is halfway down the wicket, however, the non striker remains behind his crease when the bails are dislodged – not out. The non-striker then attempts to run to the wicketkeeper’s end. The bowler throws the ball and breaks the stumps at the other end and the non-striker is short of his ground = run out.

A fielder takes a clean catch while leaning on or touching a wall = out, no runs.

Extras

Fees: Anyone bolting without paying will be hunted.

Boots: Remove all outdoor footwear in the corridor, please. Do not bring it into the gym, or face the wrath of the janitor.

Drinking: Don’t do it in or near the school. There is plenty of opportunity afterwards.