Ditching the hot sun to play cricket indoors sounds like a dream, as does being able to play all year long. There’s no such thing as getting rained out on game day and no sun in your eyes through the game. Better yet, indoor cricket speeds up the traditional game and makes it this fun, action-packed sport. How does it work though? Is indoor cricket the T20 to test match cricket? Let’s break it down.
What is indoor cricket?
Indoor cricket takes cricket, one of the most frequently adapted sports (probably) ever and turns it into an indoor game. Simply put, it’s cricket, played on astro turf, in an indoor sports centre. The playing area is totally surrounded by net, so the ball can’t leave the playing area, creating a really fast-paced and interesting game.
Each team has eight players, it’s played with the same bat and a similar cricket ball — except it has a softer centre and is yellow, for night-time, indoor vision. The indoor adaptation of the game sees equal participation from each player.
How to play indoor cricket
The matches run for about an hour to an hour and a half and see every player have equal participation in the game. Where traditional cricket has 11 players, the indoor game will have six to eight players per side. A single game may have as few as three overs or as many as 12.
Each bowler bowls two overs
Where a traditional, test match game of cricket would see each bowler bowl 10 overs, indoor cricket sees bowlers enjoy two overs. The No ball, Wide ball, and Overthrow rules still apply and underarm bowling is often compulsory.
Each pair of batters bat for four overs
Indoor cricket sees the number of overs batters bat for reduced to four overs a pair, again reducing the duration of the game.
What about dismissals?
Firstly, batters lose five runs for each dismissal. You’re out if:
- The stumps are bowled by the bowler
- The ball is caught in the air by the fielding team
- The on-strike batsman is stumped out from the wicket keeper
Use the surrounding nets as part of your game’s strategy
With nets totally surrounding the playing area, you can utilise these boundaries as part of your game’s strategy. Use the netted walls to bounce the ball off of and through to your teammates.
What are the pros and cons of indoor cricket?
Indoor cricket allows players to enjoy the sport in all its glory but in a shorter time frame, requiring less of a commitment from you.
Fast-paced
The indoor cricket game seriously reduces the playing time but doesn’t sacrifice any of the action. The ball never leaves play, never passes the boundary, and it’s always in action.
Indoors and away from the weather
Played in an indoor sports centre, away from rain and weather, Indoor cricket never gets rained out and it eliminates long stretches of time spent in the sun.
Free up your weekend
When you’re working full-time and have a busy schedule, Saturday sport can be a massive commitment, especially if it involves training throughout the week. Indoor cricket allows you to play at night-time through the week.
The skills and fitness components of indoor cricket
The skills used and gained in indoor cricket will be pretty similar to traditional cricket’s skills and fitness components. Except, most players involved will likely require better endurance as the game is continuously fast-paced.
Speed & Balance
Cricket players will use speed when running both offence and defence strategies within the game and balance is a necessary component of this — especially when making runs.
Endurance & Agility
As indoor cricket is so quick and fast-paced, both endurance and agility are huge parts of the game. Your body needs to be prepared to endure through the length of the game and remain agile through fast plays.
Strength & Accuracy
Indoor cricket sees your strength built through the use of muscles and combined muscle groups.
—Interested in playing indoor cricket? You can join one of our leagues to play socially or seriously.