IT'S NOT CRICKET!

Apparently a game of cricket has just finished between the Brits and the Ozzies. You 'may' have heard about it and the good news was that England won. Cricket has proved to be pretty blooming popular this Summer thanks to this triumphant result and has encourage more people to stand in front of three wooden posts and knocking the living daylights out of a ball then legging it score a 'run'. All well and good, unless you are in a wheelchair where you have as much luck as winning as Ian Botham has of playing for England again. Fear not our wheelie friends, Table Cricket has arrived thanks to Nottingham Trent Uni.
The game was dreamed up by Doug Williamson, a student at the Uni for players who have physical or learning problems, although anyone can take part. It's growing as well as there's even an annual championship held at Lords after ten tournaments have chosen their top players.
The game can easily be seen as a cross between Cricket and Table Tennis because it's played on a table tennis surface. The standard cricket ball is luckily replaced by a plastic one, because let's face it a bowler with a physical disability throwing to some bloke with learning difficulties is a disaster waiting to happen!
So, the bowler throws the ball from one end of the table and batter with a wooden bat who aims at various side panels on the table to score runs. This may seem like 'a very long game', but there are a number of ways the batter can be 'out'. This happens if the ball is hit over the side or rear panel, being caught out, if a legal throw ends with the ball off the end of the table or if the ball is caught behind after being batted.
There's even an option that a LBW (Leg Before Wicket) can occur, this happens when the batter is hit on his legs, arms or anywhere else on the body.
There's six players in each team and the innings only last two overs. If a wicket is lost then five runs are taken away. Wide deliveries are penalized by four runs awarded to the batting team and each team starts with a total of 200 points.
With England still in high spirits after thrashing our Australian friends there's never been a better time to grab a wheelchair and a table-tennis table and start practicing. This report has been written by someone with a complete lack of knowledge, or for that matter, interest in Cricket. Howzzat!

Related Sites::

English Federation of Disability Sport
Cerebral Palsy Sport website