Sport Today

We also used to be caught by a wire fence.

A friend of mine and I were talking, and we've already forgotten the
10 official ways of getting out.  So how about those other, back yard,
ways, then?

I am happy to start:

One hand, one bounce caught
Over the fence - six and out
The owner of the bat going home

Um...er...  HELP?

Di

Matthew

"Moving your feet without hitting the ball" (MYFWHTB) was one way of
getting out.  It was considered to be cheating if, once you'd missed the
ball, you moved your feet to prevent yourself from being bowled (in French
Cricket, your legs are the stumps).  You were allowed to move your feet if
you hit the ball though.

This rule had interesting implications.  If the bowler was at the other end
of the garden, it was traditional to adopt a normal cricket stance (as
opposed to a French one, facing the bowler with the bat guarding the legs).
 Straight-driving back to the bowler was acceptable, but obviously this
meant moving your legs.  So you had to be pretty sure you were going to hit
the ball before moving!

"Two swipes" was another unconventional dismissal.  You weren't allowed to
even *attempt* the hit the ball twice -- otherwise if you'd missed the ball
and moved your feet to prevent yourself being bowled, you could just chase
after the ball and hit it again to avoid being out MYFWHTB.

But the best way was "OQ" -- "Opposite Quarters".  The garden was
subdivided into four zones, like a Cartesian grid with the batsman standing
at the origin (spot the Maths teacher!).  If the bowler bowled from one
quarter, and the batsman hit the ball (via a sweep, say) to the opposite
quarter, that was out.  

The main reason why this rule was introduced was to save the bowler chasing
all the way round the garden!  But it had three useful consequences:
(a) Most edged strokes were out under this rule
(b) If you wanted to sweep, you had to guide the ball through at least 180
degrees -- which encouraged good control; and
(c) The bowler had an incentive to bowl accurately.  If you, as a batsman,
saw the ball was going fast and wide of you, you had the option of leaving
it well alone -- which would mean a long chase for the bowler.  So the
bowler had to be accurate if they were going to bowl fast!

Ah, happy days.  Thanks for asking the question and giving me the excuse to
indulge in some nostalgia!

Stephen.

Dianne

*laugh* Well .. we also play back yard cricket a bit .. though playing
on the road is much better ... get more bounce ... get more pace .. and
more players ... *grin* ... and u have a wider audience as well.

Well these were our rules :

(i) Hitting a window (house) is six and out, erm .. breaking a window
    is everyone for himself and rush indoors before the neighbour
    comes out.

(ii) Hitting a car window is -6 runs.

(iii) One hand one bounce

(iv)  Hitting the ball into the man-hole ... storm water drain .. whatever u
     Aussies call it ... is out.

(v) Hitting the ball directly into the yard of a vicious dog is out ... and
    go get the ball yourself.

(v) And umm .. yes .. owner of the bat going home .

Deon Naicker
Faculty of Veterinary Science
Onderstepoort, Univ. of Pretoria
South Africa
http://www.cs.up.ac.za/~hawkeye

: A friend of mine and I were talking, and we've already forgotten the
: 10 official ways of getting out.  So how about those other, back yard,
: ways, then?

: I am happy to start:

: One hand, one bounce caught
: Over the fence - six and out
: The owner of the bat going home

: Um...er...  HELP?

: Di

This is one of the best threads anyone has started for quite some time...
and certainly far superior to the nationalistic ***from those who
might call themselves "cricket-lovers"!  And of course, we all get to
offer an opinion that (unless our bigger/smaller brother and/or sister
are also on line) no-one will tell us "THAT IS WRONG!"  .... oh, how I
recall those arguments over the last ball that was bowled,
arguments lasting until the sun went down...

So, here is my contribution:

1. Over the fence was always six and out
2.  Hooking was always out, due to own and neighbors windows.  (Sometime
we forgot why this rule was important, and then quickly regretted it)
3.  Always play with wooden stumps, rather than line drawn on a wall, due
to the bowlers liberal interpretation of "bowled"
4.  I recall the bowler used to have to deliver from between two gardens
incosiderately maintained by my parents in the back yard.  This meant
hitting the fence (four)  behind the bowler was difficult unless you
drove very wide thru "cover"  or "mid wicket" or very very straight back
along the ground.   To this day my best shot remains the straight drive.
 On the other hand, I never mastered the hook shot, due to rule #2  above

Can anyone else identify strengths/weaknesses in their own game due to
"back-yard"  rules?

I enjoyed reading others' contributions to this thread immensely

Jeff

We used to play hit the dog and out, but four if it went through its
legs - Dads way of getting us to keep it on the ground.

: A friend of mine and I were talking, and we've already forgotten the
: 10 official ways of getting out.  So how about those other, back yard,
: ways, then?

When I was at the University of Leeds and we played in Charles Morris's
"backyard", we had two other specific "outs":

1.  Ball hitting any tree below shoulder height (of batsman--this made
for tricky interpretations)

2.  Ball edged back through fence--and you go get it before it rolls
under a car

This thread reminds me of when I was growing up in the USA and played
(horror!) baseball with my friends.  Sample rules:  A swinging strike
(swing and a miss) is an out, but no other strikes count (this saved
countless umpiring arguments); infield fly is always out; anything hit
into gardens, woods, roads, etc. is a double so long at it's in fair
territory--fouls into these areas were out and (of course) the batter
had to go get it.  I guess some of these rules transcend individual
sports!

Gregory Duke
Jesus College, Oxford University

We played over the road on a park, where we we borrowed my Dad's lawnmower
and mowed our own turf wicket. It was surrounded by trees, right near the
edge of the park. The rules were simple:

1. The wicket will be regulation 11 metres long.
2. The ball will be regulation tennis ball, with one side heavily taped
with plastic electrical tape.
3. The ball can be retaped whenever the tape is getting worn and it's not
swinging enough.
4. Batsmen are not to wear protective clothing. This includes a shirt (see
rule no. 6)
5. Bowlers can bowl as fast as they like.
6. Inswinging bouncers aimed at the bare torso are encouraged.
7. No parking!! (i.e. batting with legs in front of stumps)
8. All trees on the full are out.
9. Edges behind on the off-side between the stumps and Border (aka. the
tree in the slips) on the full are out.
10. One hand one bounce.
11. Tippity (tip-and-run).
12. Out of the park is four, out of the park on the full is six, onto the
house roof is 8, over the house roof into the back garden is 10.
13. In the case of bad (i.e. no light), the sound of the ball hitting the
metal stumps will be sufficient evidence for a batsman to be given out
bowled.
14. Teams will be drawn by tossing a bat. The bat will continually be
tossed until equal numbers of "roughs" and "smooths" come out. Any other
more logical way of deciding teams goes against tradition and is strictly
forbidden.
15. Losers will serve drinks with straws to winners and provide them with
deckchairs just to rub it in.

We actually had names for all the best fielders, er, trees. Like "Desmon"
for the particularly good close-in fielder, and "Bruce" for the tall
skinny tree in the outfield, that the ball never looked like hitting, but
always did.

What did this game teach me in terms of cricket skills? Probably nothing
except that I'm a good dodger of bouncers, and always assume that if you
hit it in the air to a fielder, he'll take the catch. And that if you're a
bowler, you can always get revenge...

The last time we played was about 12 years ago, but when I last went back
to the park there was still a big indentation devoid of grass where the
bowling crease used to be :-)

Tom Johnstone
University of Geneva

1. One bounce catches, both hands allowed.
2. Three up, ie if you get the ball thrice on your body you are out.
3. Any shot that hits the surrounding walls without bouncing was a
dismissal.

Brutal rules, but kept the bat going round.
--
Rajesh.
http://www.caip.rutgers.edu/~ramadoss/home.html

No mention of beach cricket yet?

No trees to award catches to, but a great place to field (cover, up to your
knees in the water, makes for some great diving attempts)

"Usual" rules (0ne hand one bounce and tippy-go...), but the biggest difference
between the beach version and test cricket was no need for the
third umpire (or even the first or second!)
If it hit your legs you were almost certainly out and it a fielder hit the
stumps you were gone! (hey, he hit the stumps!!!)
These rules were, of course, were never made explicit, enabling the batsman
to have a chance to state his case, before chucking the bat and taking
his spot in the field (to be back at the crease in about 10 minutes!)

writes:

Agree cheerfully!

The influence of the rules? I can step back and drive inside out very
well. Can cut well and place the ball. Can't flick at all and have a
weak, indecisive pull.

Another way of getting out - You hit a fielder hard while you bat, and
offer the strike to him/her as a price of his/her silence :-) We can't
have the parents of the injured stop the game, can we?!

Cheers,

Anand, Toronto.

        When we played in an enclosed space, the walls used to possess
a remarkable pair of hands:-)  Anything, hitting the wall off the bat, was
out in other words:-)  There used to be door around where silly point was,
we used to leave it open, so a smartly placed square drive
played on leaning nicely forward, would get you through the gap:-)

        Also, there used to be a door which doubled as the stumps and a
remarkably athletic 'keeper:-)  Batsman c door b bowler used to be a
particularly satisfying mode of dismissal, to the bowler that is:-)  There
was no wall where forward short-leg would be, as a result of which, all
of us who learnt our cricket on that hallowed little verandah, have become
strong legside players:-)  The front yard too served as a pitch in those
halcyon days.  There was a bulb which hung tantalisingly from the centre of the
porch roof, which forced us to bowl on or around good length, making us by
the time we were young devils all of 10 summers or so, masters of good line
and length bowling:-)  Those of us who weren't quite so adept broke a few
bulbs.  Even now at the ripe old age of 26, I wince at the thought of the
bulb when I bowl a few overpitched ones:-)  The porch and its environs had
been good teachers, infinite in their wisdom, experience having taught them
to be tough on their young wards....

        Aah...those were the days....

-Krishna[getting a bit carried away by nostalgia:-)]

--

        Rubbish!  There's no such thing as reverse swing.  It's either
inswing or outswing.  They can't reverse outswing it, can they?  
                                                -Alec Bedser.

Some rules:
1. A small trash can would usually sufice for wickets.
2. The bed in the corner, as well as a stuffed animal to placed at the
bowlers discretion act as fielders.  Hitting them on the full is out.
3. Walls on the full are out.  One particular door behind the bowler on
the full is 4 runs.
4. Oh, we play while on our knees!

Cheers
Dhruv (who is already nostalgic at the age of 21)

--
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