INDOOR CRICKET WORLD

Basic strategies

* BATTING * BOWLING * FIELDING * THROWING * WICKETKEEPING *

Indoor cricket is not a complicated game. When batting, the aim is to score as many runs as possible. When fielding, the aim is to restrict your opponents to as few runs as possible.
To achieve these two aims, there are some basic, almost universal strategies. I say "almost" universal because there are always going to be some opponents who require something a little different, but for the time being we'll stick to what should serve you well in 99% of cases.

Batting

The basic strategy when batting is to try to score at least one or two runs for every ball faced. This does not mean you never hit 3's, 4's, 5's or 6's - it means you don't go into an innings thinking that's what you have to do to get a good score. If a ball is bowled that you know you can smack to the back net, then by all means do so - but keep in mind the first imperative ....

The First Imperative when batting is to not lose a wicket. When you do lose a wicket (as you almost certainly will), the Second Imperative comes into play - and that is not losing another. And so on.
Many players seem to panic when they lose a wicket, and try to recover the lost runs by trying to hit the back net off the very next ball. A much more successful strategy is to work even harder at not losing another wicket, and continuing to strive for the 1 or 2 runs per ball.

The absolute minimum a batting side should be aiming for is 100. That's only 25 per pair, which is virtually 1 run per ball faced. That means every 2 or more scored is a bonus. A score of 100 will win more often than lose.

The majority of runs scored in indoor cricket are 1's and 2's. A safe 2 is usually a better option than unnecessarily going for a high-risk 6, unless of course you are chasing a huge score. Chasing huge scores may mean you have to try to hit the back net often .... but consider this: a score of 2 off every ball faced gives a batting pair a score of 48. And there are 4 batting pairs. How big does a score have to be before it is out of reach of a team hitting 2's and not losing wickets?

A final word .... the safest and most effective shot in indoor cricket is the "down and up" shot. This is when the batsman hits the ball down into the ground, at such an angle that it then bounces over the fieldsmen and into the net very high up. This is most easily played off any ball pitched outside the off-stump, especially if it is pitched too short. This shot can also be played to the "on" side, particularly to a ball pitched closer to the batsman and again, pitched too short.

RETURN TO TOP

ON TO "BOWLING" STRATEGY

� 2000 Australian Indoor Cricket Page, Indoor Cricket World (shel@iinet.net.au)