Street cricket facts for kids
Street cricket is a fun, unofficial way to play the game of cricket. You might also hear it called backyard cricket. It's played by people of all ages in many countries around the world.
You can find street cricket games happening almost anywhere! People play in gardens, backyards, on the street, in parks, car parks, beaches, and other open spaces. The rules often change depending on where you are playing and what equipment you have. Players might use a regular bat or even a piece of wood that looks like a bat. For the ball, they can use anything from a plastic ball to a sponge ball or even a rolled-up paper ball.
Contents
What is Street Cricket?
Street cricket is different from professional cricket because it's not formal. It's all about having fun and adapting to your surroundings. You don't need a special cricket field or fancy equipment.
How Do People Play?
Sometimes, street cricket uses rules from other games, like baseball. For example, if a batter is not safely in their batting area, an opponent might touch them with the ball to get them "tagged out." Or, an opponent might touch the "wicket" (which could be anything from a bottle to a stack of books) with their foot while holding the ball to get a batter "run out." This is similar to a "force out" in baseball.
Cricket Around South America
Some countries in South America have their own special versions of street cricket.
Bete-ombro: Brazil's Version
Bete-ombro is a bat-and-ball game from Brazil that is very much like cricket. The main differences are that players don't score "4s" or "6s" (which are big scores in regular cricket). Also, batters can only use their bat to avoid being "run out" (when they are out of their safe area) or "stumped" (when the wicket is hit by the ball while they are out of their safe area). Often, the "wickets" in Bete-ombro are just empty bottles!
Plaquita: Dominican Republic's Game
"La plaquita" or "la placa" is a similar game played in the Dominican Republic. Traditionally, players use old license plates as their "wickets."
Bat-en-bal: Suriname's Style
Bat-en-bal is played in Suriname. In this game, they only use one set of "stumps" (the three wooden sticks that make up a wicket in formal cricket).
Images for kids
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Street cricket being played in India.
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Here, the tide is out, making a very large playing area on the beach.
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An example of beach cricket being played at Cottesloe Beach in Perth, Australia. The bowler throws the ball to the batter, while others play in the field.
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See also
In Spanish: Críquet callejero para niños
