As a school sport, Cricket has been on the decline for the last decade, with participation in general dropping ever since the initial boost the game got from the magical 2005 Ashes triumph. Various schemes have had moderate success such as Kwik Cricket and recently All-stars Cricket, however the game has been in desperate need of something inspirational to captivate the countries future stars, and that is exactly what Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and co have achieved. The World Cup final (from an English perspective!) displayed everything that is great about sport; the ecstasy of winning, the thrill of a tight finish, the crazy and tense nature of a final as well as most importantly, the ability to bring people of all backgrounds together and unite a country. I am hopeful that children/pupils will want to emulate their heroes and become the next Jos Buttler or Jason Roy and join the nearest cricket club or ask their teacher to play many of the fantastic yet simple cricket games which can be done with classes in school.
With cricket currently being in the public eye, kids up and down the country are eager to participate, so why not try one of the below games with your class or club team?
Kwik Cricket
Equipment needed: 2 x sets of Cricket stumps, 2 Cricket Bats, 1 Airball.
How to play: The cricket stumps will be set up like a traditional game, however, the players must bat in pairs and must run every single ball so that the game is forever moving. Players will score runs for how many runs they score and will receive -5 runs for every time they get out. Either the teacher/coach or other players can bowl, and this game can be played as one big group or with 2 teams. Batters will bat for 2 overs (2 x 6 balls) a pair.
Non-Stop Cricket
Equipment needed: 1 set of stumps, 1 bat, 2 space markers, 1 Airball.
How to play: The cricket stumps will need to be set up with 1 space marker being placed 7 metres away on both sides of the stumps. The bowler (usually the teacher or coach) will bowl at the batter and every ball the batter must run to one of the space marker cones and back regardless of whether they hit it or not (unless they get out). The bowler can bowl whether the batter is back from the run or not. Batters once out will swap with a fielder of the coach/teacher’s choice.
Diamond Cricket
Equipment needed: 4 sets of Stumps, 4 bats, 1 Airball
How to play: The 4 sets of stumps need setting up in a Diamond/square shape, so that you the coach/bowler can stand in the middle and bowl to all 4 sets of stumps. You need to have a player batting on each of the stumps, and the coach/bowler will bowl at one of the stumps randomly. The batters must run clockwise to the next set of stumps every ball, and the fielders must try and get the ball back to the coach/bowler so that they can quickly bowl the next ball. Batters once out will swap with a fielder of the coach/teacher’s choice.
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