Cricket at home
A backyard, lane or park with a soft ball, a plastic bat and a wall or bucket as stumps; the full game with a hard ball at a club.
What should we practise today?
Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.
New to cricket? The game in a minute
Read this once before the first card.- The game in short
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Two teams of eleven. One team bats and the other bowls and fields. A bowler bowls the ball with a straight arm at the stumps at the far end of the pitch; the batter defends the stumps and hits the ball to score runs.
- How runs are scored
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After a hit, the two batters run between the two sets of stumps; each time they swap ends is one run. A ball that rolls over the boundary scores 4; one that clears it without bouncing scores 6.
- How a batter gets out
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Bowled (the ball hits the stumps); caught (a fielder catches the hit before it bounces); run out (the fielders hit the stumps with the ball before the batter reaches the crease); stumped (the keeper does the same when the batter has stepped out); leg before wicket (the ball hits the batter's leg when it would have hit the stumps).
- How a game is won
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A bowler bowls six balls, called an over; then another bowler bowls from the other end. Each team bats for a set number of overs (20 in a short game, 50 in a one-day game), and the team with more runs wins. Test matches last up to five days.
- Rules children break first
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- The bowling arm must stay straight; bending it to throw is not allowed.
- A run only counts when the bat or a foot is grounded over the crease line.
- Call "yes", "no" or "wait" before running, so batters do not crash.
- Nobody stands behind a batter who is swinging.
- At home you play with soft kit
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A tennis or soft ball, a plastic bat and a bucket or a wall as stumps. A hard ball is only for a club, with a helmet.
Words you will hear (34, in plain language)
- Pitch
- The strip of ground between the two sets of stumps; a full one is 20.12 m long.
- Stumps
- The three upright sticks at each end, with two small bails on top. A bucket can stand in for them.
- Crease
- The line in front of the stumps. The batter is safe while the bat or a foot is grounded behind it.
- Bowler
- The player who bowls the ball at the batter.
- Batter
- The player with the bat.
- Wicketkeeper
- The fielder who crouches behind the batter's stumps and catches the balls the batter misses.
- Fielder
- A player on the fielding team.
- Over
- Six balls bowled by one bowler.
- Boundary
- The edge of the field. Reaching it scores 4, or 6 without a bounce.
- Bowled
- Out because the ball hit the stumps.
- Caught
- Out because a fielder caught the hit before it bounced.
- Run out
- Out because the stumps were hit before the batter reached the crease.
- Stumped
- Out because the keeper hit the stumps while the batter was out of the crease.
- Umpire
- The person who decides whether a batter is out and signals it with a raised finger.
- Off side
- The two halves of the field. For a right-handed batter the off side is to the right of the bowler's view, the side the batter faces; the leg side is behind the batter's legs.
- Side-on
- Standing with the front shoulder, not the chest, toward the bowler or the target.
- Front foot
- Stepping forward toward the ball, or back toward the stumps.
- Drive
- A front-foot shot with a full swing, hitting the ball along the ground.
- Defence
- A shot that just stops the ball, with soft hands, so it drops in front of the batter.
- Pull shot
- A back-foot shot to a waist-high ball, hit down to the leg side.
- Cut shot
- A back-foot shot to a short ball wide of the stumps, hit down on the off side.
- Sweep
- A shot played kneeling low with the bat flat, sweeping the ball round to the leg side.
- Length
- Where the ball bounces. A good length is hard for the batter to judge; a short ball bounces early and high.
- Half-volley
- A ball that bounces just in front of the batter or the keeper.
- Seam
- The raised stitching round a cricket ball.
- Spin
- Making the ball turn after it bounces, by twisting the fingers or wrist as it is let go.
- Stock ball
- A bowler's reliable everyday ball.
- No-ball
- A ball that breaks a rule, such as the front foot landing past the crease or a bent arm. The batting team gets a run.
- Run-up
- The steps a bowler takes before bowling.
- Follow-through
- The arm or bat keeps moving toward the target after the ball is let go or hit.
- Barrier
- Fielding a rolling ball with one foot turned sideways behind the hands, so it cannot get past.
- Crow hop
- A quick skip that brings the throwing-side foot through, to throw on the move.
- Backing up
- Standing behind a team-mate or the stumps to stop a ball that is missed.
- Tee
- A stand that holds the ball still for the batter to hit.
Try it, nothing to buy
Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.The cards, level by level
Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.Ticks and stars are saved in this browser only. Clearing the browser's data, or another browser, starts from zero. Carry them into the app
Basic 5 cards · show· hide The child holds the bat correctly, stands side-on, hits a ball off a tee or from an underarm feed, bowls straight with a soft ball, catches with two hands and runs between two wickets.
- b1✓ Bat grip and stance At home
- b2✓ Hit off a tee Park or court
- b3✓ Bowl straight Park or court
- b4✓ Catch and field At home
- b5✓ Between the wickets Park or court
Move on when the child meets the self-checks on b1 to b4 on two days.
Intermediate 6 cards · show· hide The full set of front-foot and back-foot shots, a reliable stock ball in bowling, throwing and catching in fielding positions, and playing real games. Keep pace bowling short during the growth spurt.
- i1✓ Front-foot drive and defence Park or court
- i2✓ Back-foot shots, pull and cut Park or court
- i3✓ Stock ball and spin Park or court
- i4✓ Throw, relay and attacking fielding Park or court
- i5✓ Keep wicket Park or court
- i6✓ A short game Park or court
Move on when the child bats, bowls and fields in a small game and keeps a score.
Advanced 3 cards · show· hide The sweep and playing spin, using the feet against spin, a heavy, accurate stock ball, variations (off cutter, leg cutter, slower ball) and plans for each format. Pace bowlers: do not over-bowl, especially through the growth spurt.
Teaching this at home
More space and a second person. A grown-up can run every card.
You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.
Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.
How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.