Bat and trap
Encyclopedia
Bat and trap, also known as knurl and spell is an English ball game related to cricket
and played at country pubs in the county of Kent
.
It is also played in the city of Brighton
in Sussex
though by the late 20th century the only regular game was played on Good Friday on the Level, the park in the centre of Brighton. The pub sign of The Bat and Ball, on the Level, commemorates the game.
The game is played between two teams of up to eight players. At any one time, one team is batting and the other is bowling. The game involves placing a heavy solid-rubber ball, similar to a lacrosse
ball, on one end of a "trap", which is a low wooden box 22 inches (558.8 mm) long, 5 inches wide, and 5 inches (127 mm) high, on top of which is a simple see-saw mechanism. Each player in turn on the batting side hits the opposite end of the see-saw lever (the "striker") with his or her bat, so as to propel the ball into the air, and then, using the same bat, attempts to hit the ball between two 7 feet (2.1 m) high posts situated 21 yards (19.2 m) away and 13 in 6 in (4.11 m) apart at the other end of the playing area, or "pitch".
The bowling side stand behind and between the posts. If any of them catches the ball before it hits the ground the batsman is out. The batsman is also out if he or she fails to hit the ball between the posts at a height not exceeding 7 feet (2.1 m). After each successful hit, one fielder (the one whose turn it is to bowl next), returns the ball to the batting end by hurling, tossing, or bowling it back towards the trap, attached to the front of which is a 5 inches (127 mm) square target, or "wicket", hinged at the bottom. If the bowler hits the wicket with the ball so as to knock it flat, the batsman is "bowled out". If the bowler does not succeed, the batsman scores one run and continues to play. Once all the members of the first batting team are out, the batting and bowling teams change places and the game continues until all players on both sides have batted.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and played at country pubs in the county of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
It is also played in the city of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
though by the late 20th century the only regular game was played on Good Friday on the Level, the park in the centre of Brighton. The pub sign of The Bat and Ball, on the Level, commemorates the game.
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
ball, on one end of a "trap", which is a low wooden box 22 inches (558.8 mm) long, 5 inches wide, and 5 inches (127 mm) high, on top of which is a simple see-saw mechanism. Each player in turn on the batting side hits the opposite end of the see-saw lever (the "striker") with his or her bat, so as to propel the ball into the air, and then, using the same bat, attempts to hit the ball between two 7 feet (2.1 m) high posts situated 21 yards (19.2 m) away and 13 in 6 in (4.11 m) apart at the other end of the playing area, or "pitch".
The bowling side stand behind and between the posts. If any of them catches the ball before it hits the ground the batsman is out. The batsman is also out if he or she fails to hit the ball between the posts at a height not exceeding 7 feet (2.1 m). After each successful hit, one fielder (the one whose turn it is to bowl next), returns the ball to the batting end by hurling, tossing, or bowling it back towards the trap, attached to the front of which is a 5 inches (127 mm) square target, or "wicket", hinged at the bottom. If the bowler hits the wicket with the ball so as to knock it flat, the batsman is "bowled out". If the bowler does not succeed, the batsman scores one run and continues to play. Once all the members of the first batting team are out, the batting and bowling teams change places and the game continues until all players on both sides have batted.