Kwik cricket (known as Kanga cricket in Australia, and Kiwi cricket in New Zealand) is a high-speed version of
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...
aimed mainly at encouraging
child
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...
ren to take part in the
sport
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
, with an emphasis on participation and enjoyment.
Rules
Many of the rules are adapted from cricket, but kwik cricket is played with a plastic bat and ball (for obvious safety and physical reasons), and plastic cones to mark the maximum width of a legally bowled ball. The rules can be altered so that virtually any number of children can play in the time available, and the game can be made easier or more difficult by changing the physical dimensions of the
pitch (changing the width of the
wicket
In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...
s, increasing the distance between the wickets, widening or narrowing the
crease
Crease may refer to:
* A line (geometry) or mark made by folding or doubling any pliable substance
* Crease (band), American hard rock band that formed in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1994
* Crease pattern, origami diagram type that consists of all ...
, pulling in or pushing out the
boundary
Boundary or Boundaries may refer to:
* Border, in political geography
Entertainment
* ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film
* ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip film
*Boundary (cricket), the edge of the pla ...
, etc.).
For example, continuous kwik cricket can be played by two groups of ten or 12, with each batting for a set period of time, the Lord's Game can be played by two groups of four or five, and pairs kwik cricket works for groups of eight, each playing as a pair and rotating the roles (
batsmen;
bowler and
wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. ...
;
leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket. It is the side of the field that corresponds to the batsman's non-dominant hand, from their perspective.
From the point of view of a righ ...
and
off side
The off side is a particular half of the field in cricket.
From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the right-hand side of the field, or the half of the field in front of the right-handed batsman when he or sh ...
fielders).
Equipment:
*2 bats
*1 plastic cricket ball
*1 wicket keeper helmet
*2 sets of stumps
*20 cones
*1 scoring sheet
In Australia and New Zealand the game is more formal than in the United Kingdom, where the rules include a one-handed catch resulting in the dismissal of the entire team, and rather than plastic cones a nearby landmark is used as a theoretical boundary.
Cones are placed next to the batsman's left and right leg (about one meter away), tennis balls are placed on these cones. In most cases in Australia, if the bowler bowls a no-ball, wide, dead ball, etc., the person batting would hit either of the cones for a "free shot". The fielders cannot move until the batsman hits the ball.
History
The first unofficial game of Kwik Cricket was played at the Test Match between England and The West Indies at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Thursday June 30th 1988 during the lunch break. Two Primary Schools from Cheshire - Childer Thornton and Lower Peover played 8 a side, mixed teams utilising wooden bats and stumps with a tennis ball. The first ball was bowled by Courtney Walsh (West Indies) and the first shot was dropped at square leg. The game was played in front of the old Pavilion and was met very enthusiastically by the watching spectators.
The format was a traditional one played for many years at Under 11 age at Primary Schools in England and Wales as part of their PE/Skills Development Programme. A set of plastic equipment was provided free to every primary school who requested one. They including bags, instructions on playing various formats and a set of skills cards. Later bags were sold to schools and clubs, with proceeds going to
Lord's Taverners
The Lord's Taverners is the UK's leading youth cricket and disability sports charity. Its charitable objective is to empower and positively impact the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality.'.
It was founded in 1950 by a grou ...
charity.
See also
* Children's cricket
**
Backyard cricket
Backyard cricket, Bat ball, street cricket, beach cricket, corridor cricket, garden cricket, box cricket (if the ground is short) referred to as gully cricket in the Indian subcontinent, is an informal ''ad hoc'' variant of the game of cricket, ...
**
French cricket
References
External links
The New Zealand Cricket introduction to MILO Kiwi cricket
Short form cricket
Cricket terminology
Children's sport
Forms of cricket
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