Indoor Cricket
Joshua Peck takes a look at the indoor form of cricket as the format’s World Cup in Dubai this September approaches
Joshua Peck gets to grips with a somewhat forgotten format
As pads and gloves get strapped on ready for a full-blooded summer of cricket, another season of our much loved sport is nearing the end.
This Sunday sees the Regional Finals of the Indoor National Club Championship, while England are preparing to travel to Dubai in September for the Indoor Cricket World Cup.
Australia are the current, and only, world champions. Since the competition began back in 1995, the Aussie men have lifted the trophy each of the nine times, while their women have won it every time, too.
It will be the first time the competition has headed to the Middle East, with England having hosted it twice before in 1995 and 2007, though the Three Lions squad is set to be named at the end of this month.
England’s Anish Patel said: “A successful tournament for England would be winning the Plate, which is after the top four. While it’s in Dubai, Australia will act as hosts so they get two teams so to get into the top four in place of them, New Zealand or South Africa would be exceptional.
“We’ve got to the Plate final the last three times, and lost each time. So to win that would be seen as a success.”
However, because the sport is not professional, the squad that make the flight to the United Arab Emirates is not all about ability.
Duncan Norris, head of indoor cricket in England, said: “Players have to pay for themselves. There’s no funding unless it’s private sponsorship and Dubai will be about £2,500 per head. Quite often the team reflects who can afford it as well as the best talent.
“It’s an evolving thing, though. When I first took over heading up the sport five years ago, we were stuffed, even to the point where sometimes we wouldn’t even beat Sri Lanka or India. Sri Lanka only have one centre in the whole country. Even Singapore beat us once and they don’t have a single centre!
“Now, we are much better and much more consistent. In the Masters, in October, we came third in the Over 35s and the Over 40s beat New Zealand, which has never happened. That was a home tournament, so we were helped, but it shows the talent is there.”
There were almost 25,000 people playing indoor cricket in the UK in 2014 with that number sure to have risen since – but what exactly is the game?
While there are still two sets of stumps, two batsmen and a bowler, indoor cricket varies significantly from the form of the game we see every weekend on playing fields.
Games can range from six-a-side to nine-a-side and include both hard and soft ball. For the most common form of the game, eight players are required for each team. And if you’re an opening batsman for your Saturday club side, who stands at slip all afternoon and have never turned your arm over, then this game might not be for you.
You’ll also be required to bowl and field at high intensity.
Norris, also vice-president of the World Indoor Cricket Federation, added: “We run the National League which is spread around four centres – Birmingham, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester.
“The National League runs from January to March, with categories of Men, Women, Masters (Over 35), U21 boys and U21 girls. At the end of the National Leagues, towards the beginning of April, myself and the appointed captains for all the England squads sit down and review all the results of all the competitions. There’s quite a lot of work to do before selecting the squad with a group of 12 going to the World Cup.”
In the eight-a-side, each team gets 16 overs to bat. Every player will bowl two overs, and each will bat for four. Lose your wicket and it’s five runs off the score – you remain at the crease until your four overs are finished.
With a court size of a minimum of 28m to a maximum of 30m long and a minimum of 10.5m to a maximum of 12m wide, a full run of 22 yards would be nigh on impossible. Instead, you run half the pitch, and the score must change every three balls, so no Brigadier Block from anyone here.
Scoring is not as straightforward as hit and run, though.Yes, you get a run for every time you sprint halfway up and make your ground (to run out at the non-striker’s end, you still hit the nonstriker’s stumps, despite only running half the pitch) but there are ways to get ‘bonus’ runs.
These runs are scored when the ball hits a net on the side of the court, but beware, you can be caught off the net. Therefore, a common practice is to hit the ball into the ground and over the fielder. Perhaps then it would be an ideal preparation for facing spin, and when there are plenty of fielders around the bat.
Patel is favourite to be named captain when the World Cup squad is announced, but that doesn’t mean he’s no good when there’s no roof above his head.
Patel said: “I played first-class for Loughborough University and captained the Academy side at the Uni. I always say, though, that I don’t think I would have made that level of cricket if I’d never played indoors.
“The techniques you use indoors, like hitting the ball later, helped me when I played outdoor. A lot of the skills cross over, especially with the rise of T20.
“There’s so many flicks in indoor cricket and you see all the T20 teams using it. I now captain Loughborough Town in the Leicestershire Premier so I’m playing all year round.”
Nowadays, there are very few county guys who play the game, with sunnier climates of Australia often preferred for competitive cricket during the winter. But that wasn’t the case a couple of decades ago.
“There are very few pros that play,” said Norris. “They’re under contract and you’re more likely to get digit and eye injuries. Pros don’t tend to be advised to come and play in their spare time.
“Having said that, go back a couple of decades and Mike Gatting, Gladstone Small and Tim Munton were all playing National League.
“There were some serious cricketers playing then but they got paid for it. We’re not in the game to pay for it anymore, though.
“Moeen and Kabir Ali both used to play very regularly, but then got told it wouldn’t help, which is just not true. On the flipside, you look at the women. Katherine Brunt and Amy Jones have both played here.
“The women seem to have a positive approach and England women’s close fielding has been enhanced because of this game.”
The England set-up is not fully affiliated with the ECB, Norris heads up the sport, but that’s not to say indoor cricket is not on the board’s radar.
The ECB said: “There is a lot of innovation happening across England and Wales with indoor cricket in office blocks and mosques, and there are a whole variety of formats, including walking cricket for older people and even dementia programmes.
“It fits within our current plans to provide new and different formats and ways for people to play cricket at a time and location that suits them best.
“The ECB have also supported a number of County Cricket Boards in the start-up of Women’s Indoor competitions.
“These are done on a very localised level and run with different competition rules.
“These competitions are increasing and now run across 21 different County Cricket Boards with a total of 200 clubs taking part.”
And Norris knows the potential is definitely there to grow the game.
He added: “This winter we have delivered over 900 games of indoor cricket from October until the end of February in just this one centre in Birmingham.
“With it being a shorter game, and never rained off, the participation levels are very interesting which is why the ECB don’t want to give up on it.”
To find out more, visit: http://www.actionsportuk.co.uk/ action-indoor-cricket-england/
Go back just a couple of decades and Mike Gatting, Gladstone Small and Tim Munton were all playing National League