Bete-ombro, also known as bets, tacobol, pau na lata, or taco (all of these names having a word meaning "bat" in them), is a Brazilian

bat-and-ball game Bat-and-ball may refer to: *Bat-and-ball games Bat-and-ball games (or safe haven games) are field games played by two opposing teams. Action starts when the defending team throws a ball at a dedicated player of the attacking team, who tries to h ...

closely related to

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 ...

. Two teams of two players each take turns batting and fielding. The batting team runs between two wickets, which are generally plastic bottles (or more reminiscent of cricket, three small wooden sticks propped up so that they all lean on each other), while the fielding team can

run out Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket. A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket be ...

batters by hitting a wicket with the ball before the closest batter reaches it. (As there are only two players on the batting team, teams swap as soon as a batter is out.)

Bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...

stumped Stumped is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket, which involves the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground. (The batsman leaves his ground when he has moved down the pitch beyond the popping creas ...

, and

caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground. If the ball h ...

are other forms of dismissal.

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

played it on a trip to Brazil. Taco has been credited with helping to grow and influence women's cricket in Brazil.

Overview

There has been a "World Cup of Bets" held in Brazil, with teams from four cities, in 2016. When introducing cricket to Brazilian audiences, Brazilian media sometimes compare it to bete-ombro. Bete-ombro may have been more popular in the 1990s than it is now.

Rules

Each of the two fielding players stands behind one of the wickets (called "alvos" (targets) or "casinha" (small house) in Portuguese), and each of the batters in front of one of the wickets. Whichever fielder has the ball throws it to the batter at the opposing wicket, with the other fielder being a de facto

wicketkeeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the batsman out and run out ...

. The batter may try to hit the ball; if he misses, he must place his bat in his crease to avoid being

(unlike cricket, the batter's body can't be used for this purpose), which is generally a circle drawn on the ground in front of the wicket. If the batters decide to run, they must cross bats with each other every time they pass each other, with the batters scoring a point every time both of them run from their crease to the opposing crease. Similar to the Bat flip#Cricket, there is the "wet or dry" method of deciding which team bats first in bete-ombro: first, one side of the bat is wetted, and then the bat is thrown up in the air. The team that correctly calls whether the wet or dry side of the bat will fall face-up chooses whether to bat or bowl first. (Unlike a cricket bat, both sides of the bete-ombro bat are flat, so it wouldn't be possible to call "Hills or Flats"). There is a rule reminiscent of

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

s in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

: if the ball goes behind the batter 3 times, then they are out. The game ends when one team gets 12 or 25 points, though there may be additional conditions.

In culture

In some parts of Brazil, the expression "largar os betes" (to drop the bats) is used to mean "to give up".

References

External links

(video) Educando - Largandos os Bets
{{Forms of cricket Street cricket Sports originating in Brazil

Overview

Rules

In culture

See also

References

External links