Table cricket can refer to * An indoor miniature version 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 str ...

played on a large table top, designed for physically challenged cricketers * A recreational

tabletop game Tabletop games or tabletops are games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface, such as board games, card games, dice games, miniature wargames, or tile-based games. Classification according to equipment used Tabletop ga ...

from the 1960s, popular in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, presently enjoying a return to popularity

The indoor game

The indoor game was designed to provide cricketers with severe physical or learning disabilities an opportunity to play cricket. However, the game can be played by people of all ages and ability levels. It was developed by Doug Williamson via Project Adapted at Nottingham Trent University in 1992.

Goals

Table cricket is an indoor team game, and has similar goals with regards to cricket. Two six-member teams compete against each other, with the objective being to score more runs.

Set up

The game is played on top of a

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

board, or a surface of similar dimensions. At one end of the board is a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

loading bowling machine, at the other end the

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

wields a miniature wooden

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

. The other two sides of the table are panelled off, with the option of placing symbolic fielders on the sides.

Rules

Each individual innings lasts for a maximum of two overs. Batsmen can get out in six different ways, including being bowled out, or being "caught out" by hitting the ball near the symbolic fielders. Runs are scored by hitting the ball into designated side panel areas for 2, 4 or 6 (maximum) runs. Wide balls are penalized with 4 runs to the batting team.

Infrastructure

The indoor game is played in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Australia and South Africa. The

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, ...

presides over an annual national tournament funded and organized by the charity

Lord's Taverners The Lord's Taverners is the UK's leading youth cricket and disability sports charity. Its charitable objective is to empower and positively impact the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality.'. It was founded in 1950 by a group ...

- the Lord's Taverners National Table Cricket Competition, based on 10 regional tournaments, with the final being played at the Indoor Cricket School, Lord's Cricket Ground. The 2006 finals were attended by the Indian cricket star

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...

The recreational table top game

The recreational table top cricket game was made popular by a British table top game manufacturer

Subbuteo Subbuteo ( ) is a tabletop football game in which players simulate association football by flicking miniature players with their fingers. The name is derived from the neo-Latin scientific name '' Falco subbuteo'' (a bird of prey commonly known ...

from the 1960s, which has inspired numerous versions and clones over the years. The goals of the game are the same as that of cricket. It was developed by the table top game entrepreneur Peter Adolph, being marketed as early as 1949.Daniel Tatarsky, Flick to Kick: An Illustrated History of Subbuteo, ({{ISBN, 978-0752860831)

Equipment

The batsman and bowler are spring loading equipment where the direction and speed of the ball, power, timing and positioning of the batsman's shot can be controlled. The ball is a small metal ball-bearing. The playing field is typically a large green sheet or carpet of cloth which is laid out on the table, and on which the game is played. The playing field has demarcations for the pitch, as well as zones of 1,2,3 and 4 runs. 10 fielders - besides the bowler - with ball-channeling mouths at the base of the miniature statuettes can be placed on the field.

Rules

The bowler pre-sets the location of the bowling mechanism at the edge of the pitch. The bowler loads the ball onto the release mechanism (spring or gravity controlled), whereupon the ball rolls towards the batsman. The batsman has to pre-set the angle of the face of the bat shown, and the location of the batting mechanism. He controls the power and timing of the shot in real time. After hitting the bat, the ball may roll and rest in one of the marked run zones on the playing carpet (in which case the batsman obtains runs), or be channelled into the base of a fielder's statuette (in which case the batsman is deemed out caught). The batsman could also be out bowled (inc. played on) or hit wicket. Wides and byes may also be scored.

References

Short form cricket Miniatures games