The Unlikely Cricket Mum presents A cricket guide for parents Introduction At first thought, sitting on the sidelines for three hours while your child plays a game you may know only a little about and might find dauntingly difficult to learn, doesn’t sound very appealing. I totally get it. As an American born and raised mother who is now happily an Australian citizen and wife, raising three kids in the suburbs of Melbourne, I’m probably not the first person you Open up a world think of when you think ‘cricket fan’. of opportunities to But really, the only surprising thing spend more little about one of my children falling in love with cricket, given they grew up in this moments that matter cricket-loving nation, is that it was my daughter who did so. with your kids. While women have been a part of the It’s not designed to teach you everything evolution of the game of cricket since its you need to know, but I hope you’ll take humble beginnings (in fact, it was a away some things that will spark your woman who came up with the over arm interest in the game, and then your young style of bowling all cricketers still employ cricketer can take over as teacher. today), the game is still perceived as mostly for men. Conversation starters are good, but if you can share a little bit more information, I’m not saying women are not involved at it’s a great way to keep your kids talking. all, or that their contributions aren’t Why not take advantage of the trip home valuable, they are. And while female from cricket games or practice to chat? involvement in the sport is undoubtedly growing, the resources for women to learn I want these resources to open a whole about the game are still often lacking. world of opportunities to spend more little moments that matter with your kids, and I’m hoping to change that with a touch of give you some tools to start, and continue humour and a little help from my friends at cricket conversations with your family. Bupa Australia and Cricket Australia, sharing the lessons that I’ve learned along Also, fair warning, I use cricket terms right my journey into understanding this sport. off the bat (no pun intended) in this guide, so if you need to really start at the I hope that The Unlikely Cricket Mum beginning, you might want to start with guide will help more parents enjoy the A-Z guide first! being involved in this fantastic game of strategy and skill. Contents For quick and easy navigation of this guide, refer to the page locations here (click to jump to the page you’re after): A very short history of the game 4 Cricket formats - the long and short of it 5 The Laws of Cricket 6 Breaking down the game - the gear, the rules 7 How the game works 9 Moments you don’t want to miss 10 How to be actively involved 11 A-Z of cricket terms 13 Word search 15 Fielding positions 16 Get to know the cricket field 17 A very short history of the game I’m not going to write an in-depth history of cricket or a thesis on the game, but I do think it is important to get a little bit of the back story if you are going to be discussing it with your little cricket fan 16C (aka your child). Earliest form played in Cricket is recorded as having been played in its earliest forms in England England all the way back during the 16th century, though the earlier origins are still debatable. In fact, the name of the game could have come from Old English, Dutch or French words for wooden sticks 1700 and staffs like the original cricket bats, no one is absolutely certain. Law of cricket Oldest set of The oldest surviving set of rules for the game were from the mid- rules 1700s, and most notably set the Law of Cricket that the pitch must be 22 yards (or just over 20m) long. These first Laws were issued in London and are now displayed in the cricket museum at Lord’s. 1800 Women cricket While the first ‘test’ match of cricket (so named because the length games of the game was deemed the ultimate test of cricket skills) was in documented 1877, it was Australia’s win of the test match in England in 1882 that christened The Ashes series that is still played today. The loss for England was seen to be such a 1877 Watch more First Test Match blow to their cricket ego that they published the following sentence in the papers about the death of English cricket; “The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia”. The rivalry between the two countries in this sport is long standing and intense. 1882 The Ashes born after England Women have been documented playing cricket since the early lose to Australia 1800’s, with the first county match played in London. Not exactly the ‘gentlemen’s game’ after all! The first match between Australia’s and England’s national women’s 1934 teams was played way back in 1934. Since then, 22 series have been First women’s played in total, with Australia wrapping up the most recent series test AU v ENG played in October-November. In 1998, this series took on a new life, crowned the “Women’s Ashes” for the very first time. These days, the Women’s Ashes, consisting of one test match, three 1998 ODIs and three T20s, is played roughly every two years – just like the Womens Ashes five test men’s Ashes. And yes, the women’s teams also compete for is born an awesome trophy containing ashes…the ashes of a cricket bat. 4 Cricket is played in a few different formats It’s a common misconception, and one that I had before my daughter started playing, that all games go on for days. They actually don’t! Te st ODI This is the type that most people One Day International - A shortened think about when they hear version of the test match, so one “cricket” without even knowing it… inning per team and limited number The gameplay extends over five of overs per inning. Each team bats days and the players wear all white for 50 overs unless all dismissed on both sides. prior. Did you know? Don Bradman nearly had a perfect test batting average… 99.94 T20 Junior This is what you are most often (from learning to play right up to watching your kids play! The game the T20 stage two rules game) - is 20 overs for each inning, and at The kids start to learn with plastic an international and domestic level bats and balls, but quickly grow to the players wear colours, and play play T20 cricket with real hard balls with a white ball. Local club teams and the need for pads and helmets! may still wear whites, and use the traditional red ball. It is often fast paced and big hitting. It is also over the quickest. 5 Did you know? The Laws can change, so you have to stay on The Laws of Cricket top of them! The Laws of Cricket are what set the rules and code of the game worldwide. They cover everything from the timing of breaks, to the weight of cricket balls. There are 42 Laws and 5 appendices, but don’t feel like you need to learn them all! There are some laws, you as a cricket parent, will need to be more familiar with, than others. The first new Laws since 2000 were introduced in October 2017 - I’m happy to report that one of the changes is that they’re now written in language applying to all persons, regardless of gender! Objective At a simple level, the aim of the game is to score at least one more run than the other team. Fielding The goal of the team fielding is to “dismiss” the other team’s batters, so they can’t score more runs. Once the batter is out, they are out for the rest of the game (except for the very first stages of little kids’ cricket where they are learning the game.) Dismissal Watch more The ways of Dismissal (all the ways the batter can get out) are part of the Laws of Cricket. Some are more common than the others, and the ones you will experience most often are: Caught: A fielder catches the ball hit by the batter before it hits the ground. Run Out: The ball gets back to the stumps before the batter finishes their run. Bowled: The ball misses the bat/batter and hits the stumps behind them. Stumped: The wicket keeper hits the stumps with the ball when the batter is outside their crease. LBW: The ball hits the pads of the batter instead of the bat in line with the stumps… meaning if it had not been stopped by their pads, it would have hit the stumps. You can’t just try to block the ball with your body, you actually have to hit it with the bat! There used to be 10 ways of dismissal in Cricket and that has been reduced to nine, with the ‘Handled The Ball Law’ deleted, and merged into ‘Obstructing The Field’. 6 Let’s break down the game There’s lots of elements that make up the game of cricket.