Bats used in the Samoan game of Kilikiti (Kirikiti)

Kilikiti is one of several forms of the game 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 striki ...

. Originating in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

(English

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introduced their game of cricket in the early 19th century), it spread throughout

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

and can now be found around the world in areas with strong Polynesian populations. The game is the

national sport A national sport is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are ''de facto'' (not established by law) national sports, as sumo is in Japan and Gaelic games are in Ireland and field hockey in Pakistan, while oth ...

of Samoa, and is played in many other Pacific countries, including amongst the Pacific Islander diaspora in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Form of the game

Equipment

The ball is made of a very hard rubber wrapped in

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. Players are not protected by any padding or masks, and will often wear only a

lava-lava A lavalava, also known as an ''ie'', short for 'ie lavalava, is an article of daily clothing traditionally worn by Polynesians and other Oceanic peoples. It consists of a single rectangular cloth worn similarly to a wraparound skirt or kilt. The ...

. The

sennit Sennit is a type of cordage made by plaiting strands of dried fibre or grass. It can be used ornamentally in crafts, like a kind of ''macramé'', or to make straw hats. Sennit is an important material in the cultures of Oceania, where it is use ...

-wrapped wooden bat is modeled on the three-sided Samoan war club called the "lapalapa," which are based on the stalk of coconut fronds. Bats are shaped to individual players' likings and can be over a meter long; because the striking surface of the bat is angled (just as the "lapalapa" club and the coconut frond stalk), the path of a hit ball is extremely hard to predict.

Rules

The rules of kilikiti are flexible. Indeed, the majority of reports written on the game simply say that the rules can only be known by those playing.

Similarities to cricket

There is a

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

team, a fielding team, and a pitch (sometimes of concrete). The bowl alternates between two bowlers, one at each end of the pitch; accordingly, there are two

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. Th ...

s (this as opposed to the single wicket keeper in

Major points on which kilikiti differs from cricket

There is no limit to team size, and teams are made up of whoever turns up regardless of gender or age. Tourist accounts mention that strangers are often welcomed. Players are typically

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

s. A kilikiti game is a multi-day community event full of singing, dancing, and feasting. Entire villages will compete and everyone will be involved, whether as player, cook, or spectator. According to one source, the only universal rule is that the host team forfeits if it cannot provide enough food.

Standardization

The New Zealand Kilikiti Association (NZKA) is working to standardize the rules of kilikiti. In 1999 the NZKA started a national

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

, called the Supercific Kilikiti Tournament, and in 2001 it introduced the international World Cup Kilikiti Tournament. Games have been cut to a television-friendly 70 minutes (2

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

, the first being 30 minutes long and the second bowling the same number of balls as the first). The NZKA has also added the scoring of 4s and 6s.

Kilikiti World Cup

2001

The first Kilikiti World Cup was held at Waitakere Athletic Sports Stadium,

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in January 2001. Seven teams took part, representing

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

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, the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

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and the

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. The final, played over a series of three games, was won by the New Zealand K-Blacks, who beat the American Samoa Chiefs two games to one.Daniels, C.,
Kilikiti: We are world's best
" ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'', 22 January 2001. Retrieved 18 November 2020.

2002

The 2002 Kilikiti World Cup took place at

Parrs Park Parrs Park is a public recreational and sporting facility in Oratia, West Auckland, New Zealand. The park has lease arrangements with clubs and cultural organisations that have buildings and facilities on the perimeter and share the amenities ...

, Glen Eden, Auckland, New Zealand.

2015

The 2015 Kilikiti World Cup took place at

Frank Kitts Park Frank Kitts Park is a public park situated between Jervois Quay and the Lambton Harbour waterfront in Wellington, New Zealand. It is named after Sir Frank Kitts, New Zealand politician and mayor of Wellington. Background The park was formed in ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand.

References

External links

New Zealand Kilikiti Association
* * * *
2001 Kilikiti World Cup highlights
on YouTube {{Forms of cricket Short form cricket Cricket in Samoa Sports originating in Samoa Sport in Tuvalu