Action Cricket Rules

Action Cricket
Action Cricket is an exciting team game that last for approximately 70 minutes. It combines fun, fitness and competition, and its simplicity allows people of all ages to play. The Game involves the basic principles and skill of traditional cricket: running, batting, fielding and bowling, with teams in leagues competing against other teams comparable in ability. Cricket Basic Rules Introduction Game Format A game last for 70 minutes All playing equipment is provided. (Just wear standard team uniforms) 8 players per side 16 overs per game, 8 per side Everyone bowls 2 over Everyone bats for 4 overs Each team has 35 minutes to bowl their overs, upon which the teams will change over Batting You bat in pairs and face 4 over each The non-facer stands at the running crease If you are out you do not leave the court, you stay at the crease and continue to bat for the full 4 overs Every time you are out your team loses 3 runs from the total runs. Bowling Everyone has to bowl An over lasts 6 balls If you bowl a wide or no-ball the ball is NOT re-bowled the batting team is awarded 2 runs Fielding There are 8 players in the fielding team The field has to have 3 players in each half of the court besides bowler & wicket keeper.

Dismissals/getting out Caught (anywhere except off the net when the batter hits a 6) Run out Bowled Stumped Interference Please visit www.actioncricket.co.za for more information of the format. RULES OF PLAY THE GAME a) The game is played between two sides consisting of a maximum of eight players. b) The game is based on an innings for each side. In an innings the bowling side must bowl 16 six ball overs with each team member bowling two, non-consecutive overs. An innings also consists of four batting periods of four overs per period. The batting side bats in pairs with each pair batting for one batting period. The batters must change ends at the completion of each over. The choice of innings is decided by a toss. The team compiling the highest number of runs is the winner & no declarations of any innings by a team may decide the result of the game. SCORE SHEETS AND SCORE KEEPING: If after a game has been completed, a discrepancy is found on the score sheet, the result would stand as is. The running totals on score sheet shall be taken as being correct and may be requested or queried at any stage of the game, within reason ,by the team captain. NOTE: ALL PLAYERS should assist the Umpire who performs an often difficult task to the best of his ability. A rule clarification may be asked for by Team Captain after calling time out, when assistance of management may be requested if necessary. All decisions may be applied and must be taken within SPIRIT OF THE GAME THE TEAM a) the team consists of a maximum of eight players. b) Each team must wear matching styles and colored uniforms. c) All teams must be available ten minutes prior the scheduled starting time. d) On the arrival at the batting crease the batting pair must inform the Umpire of their names or number.
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e) All teams must be registered before being eligible to take part in any game. GENERAL RULES All rules shall be interpreted by the Umpire in accordance with THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME. This standard shall override all rules hereinafter detailed and total discretionary power shall be left with the Umpire for his final decision alter taking THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME into account. 1. IMPLEMENTS Bats, balls, batting gloves and wicket keeping gloves shall be supplied by the management to all participants; two batting gloves must be worn by every batter. Failure to do so will result in a team penalty of minus six runs. Wicket keeping gloves must only be worn by the player fielding behind the stumps at the strikers end and be known as the Wicket Keeper for the period of time he wears those gloves. 2. PLAY BALL AND DEAD BALL The Ball is in play from the moment all players take up their position and the Umpire calls Play Ball. At the end of each over the ball does not become dead until the Umpire calls Over. It also becomes dead when a wicket has fallen. The Umpire may from time to time call Time Out for various reasons or on request by either the batting or bowling side (eg. For adjusting of equipment, midpitch conferences, injuries etc.). The ball becomes dead during any of these instances and remains so until Play Ball is called by the Umpire. A Ball may also become dead if it leaves the playing area or becomes entangled in any boundary protective equipment. Should this occur the Umpire will call Dead Ball and either allow the runs scored (if any) to stand, or, if in his opinion the fielding side had a chance of dismissing either batter, order the ball to be replayed, with the original striker facing the delivery. In short a ball is dead when (i) The Umpire calls Over; (ii) Following the fall of a wicket or until the bowler has taken up his mark with the ball, ready to resume his over and any broken wickets have been reset; (iii) The ball leaves the playing area; (iv) The Umpire calls Time Out; (v) The ball stops before reaching the batsman. Each bowler must give batsman fair time to recover from a run and take stance. Should a batsman look to take a further run or sneak, the bowler is entitled to bowl or throw wickets down, if wickets are thrown down before
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the bowler commences his run up for the next delivery, it shall count as a run-out decision of previous ball. LIVE BALL The ball becomes live after a dismissal when (a) Any broken wickets have been reset; (b) Fielders have returned to position; (c) Batsmen have returned to respective creases and are ready to receive delivery, (d) Bowler has taken up his mark with the ball ready to commence his next delivery; (e) Umpire calls play ball Note: i) If the Umpire fails to call Play Ball after a dismissal The ball may become live if (a), (b), (c) and (d) have taken place and every player including Umpire is ready to continue the game. ii) The Umpire may allow play to continue only if he is in a position to see and control the game, should this not be the case he shall call Dead Ball. In short, the ball is deemed dead after a dismissal until all of (a) to (d) has taken place or until the Umpire calls Play Ball. iii) The phrase Fall of Wicket is to be interpreted as meaning a dismissal. 3. SCORING a) The playing area shall be divided into four zones, Zone A has no net score, Zone B represents the one score, Zone C represents the two score, and Zone D represents the four score and six score. (Diagram 1) b) Bonus runs are scored according to whichever zone of netting the ball strikes first. A deflection from the top net into a scoring zone net results in a normal score being achieved as if the ball was hit directly into that scoring net. Bonus runs can only be scored from the bat or hands holding the bat. c) When and if the two batters cross between the batting crease and the running crease after hitting the ball or at any other time the ball is in play, one run is scored. This score is in addition to the bonus score achieved by striking the scoring zone net. d) The area behind the batting crease has no score value but runs may be taken when the ball is played into this area by crossing between the batting crease and the running crease. e) Should a member of the bowling side misfield or deflect the ball into a scoring zone net after the ball has been hit by the batter, appropriate runs will count If in the Umpires opinion, the fielder has deliberately and intentionally tried to deflect the ball onto wickets to achieve a run out, no bonus runs will be scored if the ball subsequently hits the net.
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I) any ball deflected from the batters body into a scoring zone net shall not be counted; however, the batters may take a run by crossing. g) Should the ball be hit into a runner then rebound into a scoring zone net bonus runs will apply. h) Runs may be added for penalties described in this section under penalties.

4. NO BALL A no ball counts as part of the over and incurs a penalty of two runs which is added to the batting pairs score. Batters may also score off a no ball as per any normal delivery. The only way batters may be dismissed off a no ball is run out and interference. A no ball is called by the Umpire when a) Any part of the bowlers foot touches the bowling or return crease line as illustrated in Diagram 2. b) A bowler depresses the rear or side nets when commencing his run-up. c) The ball after being bowled hits the top net before reaching the striker d) More than four members of the fielding team are in either half of the playing area as the ball is bowled, the dividing line being the runners crease, see diagram I e) The Umpire considers that the ball has been thrown and not bowled to the bowlers advantage. f) The bowler changes style of bowling without informing the Umpire . g) The ball when bowled passes or would have passed, over the strikers shoulder either on the full or bounce, when the striker is in his normal stationary batting stance regardless of hitting the strikers bat or person. (NOTE: any striker who moves forward more than one pace from his normal batting stance will forego the right to no ball under this rule). h) If in the Umpires opinion a deliberate no ball or wide is bowled at any stage of the game, normal penalties to be awarded to the batting side plus an extra ball to be bowled. (Refer to 7(e) (f).

i) (a) A ball that lands off the pitch in front of the batting crease is deemed to be a No Ball. (b)Full Toss A ball that passes or would have passed on the full, without bouncing: j) Outside the intersection of pitch and batting crease is a no ball; k) When a bowler attempts two consecutive unsuccessful run out of non striker.

UNDERARM PITCHING Underarm pitching as used in softball is not allowed and shall be called a no ball. Any underarm delivery is deemed to be a no ball. WICKET KEEPER If a player wishes to wear wicket keeping glove(s) the player is deemed to be a wicket keeper. (This fielding position is compulsory). The wicket keeper must: (i) Take up his position at the delivery of each ball in the specified area (see diagram I). Note: once each ball has been delivered the wicket keeper is not confined to a restricted area, upon rule violation a no ball will apply; (ii) Only one player at any given time may wear wicket keeping glove(s). iii) Players need not wear wicket keeping glove(s) to field in wicket keepers zone behind the batters stumps. Player who chooses to wear wicket keeper glove(s) must stand in Wicket Keepers zone prior to delivery of the ball. 5. WIDE AND LEG-SIDE BALLS a) Wide A wide will be called in the following situations: (i) When a ball after bouncing on the pitch in front of the batting crease passes on the strikers offside, outside intersection of the batting crease (see diagram 1) and the edge of the pitch (or its defined edge), without being touched by the strikers equipment or person; b) A leg side wide will be called when the ball after bouncing on the pitch in front of the batting crease, or on the full without bouncing passes outside the intersection of the batting crease and the line marked 30 cm from the strikers leg stump without being touched by the person or equipment. A wide or leg-side wide Counts as part of the over and incurs a 2 run penalty. The batters may also cross to score extra runs. Batsman shall only be dismissed off a wide or leg-side side by being run out, stumped or by interference. See also penalties. SHORT PITCHED DELIVERIES A ball being pitched short or is a full toss but within the rules of the game is to be treated with respect to the Spirit of the game taking into account the abilities of the bowler/batsman and the level of competition in which it occurs.

6. DISMISSALS All dismissals incur a three run penalty to the batting pair. A batter is out: (a) BOWLED If the wicket is bowled down and the bails dislodged, even if the ball touched the batters person or equipment first. (b) CAUGHT (i) If the ball, from a stroke of the bat, or the hand(s) holding the bat is caught before it touches the ground; A batter will still be out should the ball pass from the bat to the batters person, or vice versa, before being caught. (ii) A catch may be taken off all boundary netting before the ball touches the playing surface, except of the Zone D net where a six run bonus applies. (iii) Should the ball be struck into the non striker and then caught the striker will be adjudged out. INTERFERENCE (I) If either batter deliberately interferes with the ball whilst it is in play . (ii) If either batter deliberately obstructs or interferes with any member of the fielding side bearing in mind that the fielder has right - of way as long as he is fielding the ball. (iii) If the ball is deliberately stopped by the striker , except when stopping the ball from hitting his wickets. This may be done, with the bat or body but not with hands. No runs except those from overthrows or batsman crossing shall be scored in this case. d) STUMPED (i) The striker shall be out stumped if, in receiving a ball, he is out of his ground and the wicket keeper breaks the wickets with the ball, or the hand(s) holding the ball. The ball may be taken in front of the wickets (at the wicket keepers own risk), however the bails must be removed from the side or the rear of the stumps. Should the wicket keeper miss-field a ball and it passes onto the wickets a batter may not be adjudged out-bowled. NOTE: On the line is out. The batsmans foot, part of his foot, body or bat must be grounded behind the batters crease at the moment the bails are dislodged. (ii) On delivery If the ball be deflected intentionally or otherwise, by wicket keeper or a fielder, from the side or behind the stumps and dislodge the bails, a batter shall be given out if he is out of his batters crease when the wicket is broken. A batter shall not be given out if a ball passes on to the wickets via any netting without first being touched by a fielder. A batter shall not be given out if the ball is deflected on to the wicket by any fielder from in front of the stumps.

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e) RUN OUT If in running or at any time the ball is in play either batter is out of his ground, and a member of the fielding side breaks the wickets with the ball at the end at which the batter is out of his ground. If the wickets are broken but the ball is still in play the fielding side need only hit an upright stump with the ball again to constitute an appeal for run out. The wickets do not have to be held or remade. A batter shall not be given run out if the ball once struck is deflected Onto either wickets by non-striker or runner without a fielder having touched the ball. BAILS NOT IN PLACE Bails need not be reset if dismissal denied. The upright stumps may be thrown down with the ball. RUN OUT ON NO-BALL A batsman can only be given run out on a no ball if he attempts to run or make ground forward once the stroke has been completed. A batsman stepping out to a no ball in the process of playing a stroke shall not be given out stumped if he does not attempt to make a run. The non-striker may be given run out on a No-Ball should he fail to return to his ground before bowlers end wickets are broken. f) LB.W. If in the opinion of the Umpire the striker has made no attempt to strike the ball and the ball would have broken the wickets (pending appeal). The batsman in this instance must attempt to play at the ball. A forward stroke without the intention of playing the ball does not afford relief from this rule. g) HIT WICKET If the striker breaks his wicket with their bat or person whilst playing at the ball or whilst setting off for the first run IMMEDIATELY after playing or playing at the ball. A batter is not out should he break the wicket whilst making ground. h) NON STRIKER RUNOUT (NSR) If the non-striker leaves his crease before the bowler has delivered the ball the bowler then breaks the wicket the runner will be out NSR. Two consecutive unsuccessful NSR will result in a no ball being given by the Umpire. Two consecutive unsuccessful NSR attempts shall he given as a no ball whether or not the bails are removed in attempts. A successful NSR does not constitute a ball of the over and the score of the previous ball shall stand. A bowler who attempts an unsuccessful NSR
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should in the spirit of the game return to his normal mark to commence another delivery. A continuance of the attempted NSR by following through with the arm to bowl the ball shall be called dead ball. 7. PENALTIES a) One player absent, (minus 6 runs). A player is deemed to be absent if he has not joined the game before the eighth over of the first innings irrespective of whether his side is batting or fielding. All penalties relating to 7(a), (i), (ii), (d) and (e) shall be deducted during the thirteenth over of the batters innings. (i) From the bowling side when one player is absent during his teams bowling innings his overs must be bowled by the player nominated by the opposing Teams Captain. These overs are to be in the four overs of the last batting pairs innings. (ii) In similar circumstances as described in the previous paragraph after completion of the third batting period, that is twelve overs, the Captain of the bowling side chooses any one batter to bat the remaining four overs. b) Any less than six players from either the batting or bowling side will result in the forfeit of the game. c) Misconduct Any swearing, arguing with the Umpire, undue rough play, overly aggressive play in a game, mistreatment of equipment, unduly wasting time may incur a penalty, the severity of which is solely at the discretion of the Umpire, (normally this is 6 runs per incident ). No warning need precede the application of this penalty. A continuance of any of these acts of misconduct may result in the offending player(s) being sent from the playing area by the Umpire, possibly along with further penalty runs being applied. Any game may be stopped and awarded to either team if infringements of the above nature escalate to a point where the game has ceased to be under control. d) NON-CONFORMING UNIFORM All members of a team must wear a uniform as described in The Team (b). Penalty for non-conforming uniforms is 6 runs per player. Jeans, bare feet and leather soled shoes and black soled shoes, are not permissible playing apparel. Failure to conform to these restrictions will result in a penalty of six runs per item or removal of the player. e) DELIBERATE NO BALL, LEG SIDE OR WIDE if, in the Umpires opinion, a player deliberately bowls a no ball, leg side or wide at any stage of the game with intent to limit the batting sides run scoring opportunity, the Umpire may ask for the ball to be re-bowled whilst awarding two runs to the batsman. A warning to bowler may or may not be given at the Umpires discretion.
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f) If a no ball, leg side or wide is bowled in the last delivery of any innings, the Umpire shall award 2 runs to the batsman and have the ball re-bowled. If by having the ball re-bowled it should be to the batsmans disadvantage the batsman may decline to receive the extra ball. i.e. When 2 runs awarded to the batsman would take them past the total target figure and a further dismissal from the extra ball take them below the target figure. Persistent bowling of a wide or no ball as last ball of innings will be concluded at Umpires discretion in the spirit of the game, taking into account bowlers ability to deliver a good ball. 8. SUBSTITUTE PLAYERS a) A Substitute Player is one who joins the game after it has officially commenced to replace an existing player. This may only occur after the opposing Captain has signaled to the Umpire time out and only after the opposing Captain and Umpire have agreed. Once substituted a player may not rejoin the game. b) A substitute player can not bat, bowl or keep wickets, subject to agreement from both Captains. c) A player who sustains injury during a game may have a runner appointed by his Team Captain. When running for a facing Batsman the Runner must stand with both feet completely behind Batter crease, he may not move over the crease until the Batsman has either played at or struck the ball, or until the ball has passed behind the Batters person without being played. Infringement of this rule may on appeal be deemed a dismissal irrespective whether any wickets are broken or bails removed. 9. END OF OVER/GAME An over shall be deemed to be over when the prescribed number of balls has been bowled and the ball is secure at either the wicket keepers or bowlers stumps and after the Umpires call or at his discretion. 10. DISPUTES Management discretion will apply to any unforeseen circumstances which may occur outside the rules as specified and all rules shall be interpreted in conjunction with the spirit of the game 11. TIED GAME During Knock Out stage a) Should a game be tied during a knock out stage a mini-game will he played to decide the winner. Each team will bowl eight 6-hall overs with each pair of batters batting for two overs. A toss must be made to decide who will bat or bowl. Batting pairs need not be the same as in their first innings. Each player shall bowl one over each. b) If, during a competition, Teams finish on equal points, place finishing will
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be determined as follows: i)the results of matches between the teams during round robin. If equal: ii) the total runs scored by each team when playing against each other in round robin. If equal:iii) The total runs scored against each team when playing against each other in round robin with less runs finishing higher. 12. POINTS SYSTEM Win: 4 Points Tie: 2 Points Loss : 0 Point

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