Cricket Rules

General
  • All games are 1 day games: Seniors will use a pitch and Juniors will set up their pitch off to the side on grass
  • 12 players per team – number of reserves up to individual schools
  • 12 players are permitted to bat in any one innings and there are a maximum of 12 players in the field at any one time
  • 12 overs of 6 balls per side: if time appears to be a problem, reduce overs to 5 or 4 balls each rather than reduce the number of overs
  • Juniors use a Kanga cricket ball
  • Seniors use an Easton Incredie cricket ball (140g / 142g if possible as this reflects the size of the ball used in weekend cricket and is smaller and easier for players to control), or equivalent: must be a flexible ball (some modified balls on the market are very hard and are unsuitable)
  • Boundaries are to be marked with domes / witches hats:
  • Junior Boundary – approximately 30 metres from the stumps at either end
  • Senior Boundary – approximately 45 metres from the stumps at either end
  • Juniors to use plastic ‘Kanga’ style stumps
  • Seniors to use wooden stumps; bails are to be used unless high wind makes it impractical
  • Bowling is to be done form the same end to save time
  • There is no LBW for Juniors or Seniors
  • Senior wicketkeepers MUST wear wicketkeeping gloves and their use of a protector is highly recommended: no protective equipment required for Junior wicketkeepers 
  • Excluding the bowler and the wicketkeeper, there are to be no more than 5 fielders on either side of the wicket, with no more than 2 fielders behind square leg
  • Fielders must be a minimum of 10 metres from the batter, apart from the wicketkeeper to point

Bowling
  • Juniors and seniors to bowl over-arm
  • ALL players bowl one over
  • In Juniors, the bowler moves to wicketkeeper after they have bowled their over to encourage rotation in the field
  • Seniors may retain the same wicketkeeper for 11 overs who is to be replaced with another team member when they bowl their over, or rotate in the field as per Juniors

Batting
  • Batters bat in pairs for two overs each
  • Junior batters must wear 2 gloves; a protector is optional because they use a Kanga ball
  • Senior batters must wear 2 gloves; the use of a protector is highly recommended
  • Juniors may use a plastic Kanga-style cricket bat or a wooden cricket bat; Seniors will use a wooden cricket bat
  • ALL bats MUST have a rubber grip in good condition

Extras
  • A delivery that, in the umpire’s opinion, is out of reach of the batsman to play a normal looking cricket shot is to be deemed a ‘wide’ – umpires may take in to consideration the speed of the ball and the ability of the batsmen – most importantly, ‘wide’ rulings are to be consistent for both innings
  • No runs may be scored off a ‘wide’
  • Note – if a delivery hits the batter, or if the batter hits a delivery, it cannot be a ‘wide’
  • A delivery that bounces more than twice before reaching the batter is to be deemed a ‘no-ball’
  • A delivery that bounces over the batter’s shoulder is to be deemed a ‘no-ball’
  • A delivery that reaches the batter on the full at hip height or over is to be deemed a ‘no-ball’ and the bowler is to be warned
  • Runs may be scored off ‘no-balls’ (e.g. if a batter hits a single off a ‘no-ball’, the batter receives the 1 run + the team receives the 2 runs for the ‘no-ball’)
  • ‘Wides’ and ‘No-balls’ are worth 2 runs
  • ‘Wides’ and ‘No-balls’ are not to be re-bowled – they are counted as part of that bowler’s 6 deliveries

Scoring
  • ‘Wides’ and ‘No-balls’ are to be recorded in the bowler’s section and noted on the progressive total
  • A batter’s runs are to be recorded next to their name and added to the progressive total
  • Keep track of the number of wickets by adding a ‘W’ into the relevant bowler’s section
  • Each wicket that is taken will add TWO runs to the bowling team – these runs will be added to the team’s total runs off the bat at the conclusion of the game/innings