Club cricket
Encyclopedia
Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal, form of the sport
of cricket
, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket
are always observed. The main nations that club cricket is played in are Pakistan
, England
, Australia
, South Africa
, Sri Lanka
, West Indies, New Zealand
, Zimbabwe
, Kenya
, Zambia
, Namibia
, Uganda
, Tanzania
, Ireland
, Wales
, Scotland
, Netherlands
, Hong Kong
and in some of the major cities in India
. Club cricket is virtually played all over the world. Club cricket is also now played in the United States
and Canada
, as both countries have large communities of immigrants from mainstream cricket-playing regions such as the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia.
Club cricket is usually played in league or cup format. Games are limited by either time or overs
. Limited overs games usually last between 20 and 60 overs per innings
. A less common, but more traditional, format is limiting the game by time only. Games can range from a few hours in the evening to two days long.
Matches are generally of one innings per side except in two day games (mainly played in Australia and New Zealand). Two day matches are played over both Saturday and Sunday, or, alternatively, over successive Saturdays (though this can sometimes have unfortunate effects on the game where the condition of the pitch and ground changes radically from one week to the next). These matches usually have two innings per side.
Most players are amateur, but often cricket clubs employ the services of professionals as coaches and players. Many of these have played first-class
or Test cricket
. Also, first-class players returning from injury will sometimes appear at club level as match practice - for example, Shoaib Akhtar
during the Pakistan's tour of England in 2006
when he played for Berkswell C.C, a club who are in the well-known Birmingham League
.
Standards of play can vary from semi-professional to occasional recreational level. While many clubs train in similar ways to professional teams, village
or park
cricket is played purely for fun, and club cricket is often enjoyed as much for the social element as for the competition. This is particularly true in England where the between-innings teas
and post-match beer
are as important as the result. However, this may vary depending on the standard.
Club cricket is played extensively in most cricketing nations, and also by immigrants from cricketing nations. Club cricket can take place on an artificial turf pitch
or a more traditional grass pitch. The rest of actual field is usually natural grass.
Most clubs have their own ground to play on regularly, including a field
and pavilion or club house
. Some also have nets
for practice. Clubs without grounds are known as "wandering" or "nomadic" clubs. Examples include the various sides affiliated to larger clubs, such as the club MCC sides and county "Gentlemen of" sides that often play against schools; school old boy sides, such as Eton Ramblers and Harrow Wanderers, which often play in the Cricketers Cup; and amateur clubs such as the Free Foresters, I Zingari
and the XL Club.
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
of cricket
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...
, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket
Laws of cricket
The laws of cricket are a set of rules established by the Marylebone Cricket Club which describe the laws of cricket worldwide, to ensure uniformity and fairness. There are currently 42 laws, which outline all aspects of how the game is played from how a team wins a game, how a batsman is...
are always observed. The main nations that club cricket is played in are Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, West Indies, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and in some of the major cities in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Club cricket is virtually played all over the world. Club cricket is also now played in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, as both countries have large communities of immigrants from mainstream cricket-playing regions such as the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia.
Club cricket is usually played in league or cup format. Games are limited by either time or overs
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
. Limited overs games usually last between 20 and 60 overs per innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
. A less common, but more traditional, format is limiting the game by time only. Games can range from a few hours in the evening to two days long.
Matches are generally of one innings per side except in two day games (mainly played in Australia and New Zealand). Two day matches are played over both Saturday and Sunday, or, alternatively, over successive Saturdays (though this can sometimes have unfortunate effects on the game where the condition of the pitch and ground changes radically from one week to the next). These matches usually have two innings per side.
Most players are amateur, but often cricket clubs employ the services of professionals as coaches and players. Many of these have played first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
or Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
. Also, first-class players returning from injury will sometimes appear at club level as match practice - for example, Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket, who is regarded as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket. He set an official world record by achieving the fastest delivery, when he clocked in at 161.3 km/h in his bowling speed, twice at a cricket match against...
during the Pakistan's tour of England in 2006
Pakistani cricket team in England in 2006
The Pakistani cricket team toured England in the 2006 English cricket season, following England's winter tour of Pakistan where Pakistan had won a 3-Test series 2–0 and the ODI series 4–1...
when he played for Berkswell C.C, a club who are in the well-known Birmingham League
Birmingham and District Premier League
The Birmingham and District Cricket League is the oldest club cricket league in the world, formed in 1888. Arguably the strongest club competition in the country, it was also the first ECB Premier League, being designated such in 1998.- Geography :...
.
Standards of play can vary from semi-professional to occasional recreational level. While many clubs train in similar ways to professional teams, village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
or park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
cricket is played purely for fun, and club cricket is often enjoyed as much for the social element as for the competition. This is particularly true in England where the between-innings teas
Tea (meal)
Tea can refer to any of several different meals or mealtimes, depending on a country's customs and its history of drinking tea. However, in those countries where the term's use is common, the influences are generally those of the former British Empire...
and post-match beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
are as important as the result. However, this may vary depending on the standard.
Club cricket is played extensively in most cricketing nations, and also by immigrants from cricketing nations. Club cricket can take place on an artificial turf pitch
Cricket pitch
In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
or a more traditional grass pitch. The rest of actual field is usually natural grass.
Most clubs have their own ground to play on regularly, including a field
Cricket field
A cricket field consists of a large circular or oval-shaped grassy ground on which the game of cricket is played. There are no fixed dimensions for the field but its diameter usually varies between 450 feet to 500 feet...
and pavilion or club house
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
. Some also have nets
Cricket nets
Cricket nets are practice nets used by batsmen and bowlers to warm up and/or improve their cricketing techniques. Cricket nets consist of a cricket pitch which is enclosed by cricket nets on either side, to the rear and optionally the roof. The bowling end of the net is left open...
for practice. Clubs without grounds are known as "wandering" or "nomadic" clubs. Examples include the various sides affiliated to larger clubs, such as the club MCC sides and county "Gentlemen of" sides that often play against schools; school old boy sides, such as Eton Ramblers and Harrow Wanderers, which often play in the Cricketers Cup; and amateur clubs such as the Free Foresters, I Zingari
I Zingari
I Zingari are English and Australian amateur cricket clubs.-History:...
and the XL Club.