Cricket Games for Children to Play

Cricket is a sports game that is very popular in Europe, particularly in the British Empire. Other countries that play competitive cricket include Australia, India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. The sport is quickly gaining popularity throughout the world. In addition to traditional cricket playing, there are several variations of the game. Cricket is an excellent activity for children because it teaches physical fitness, sportsmanship, hand-eye coordination and discipline.

  1. Traditional Cricket

    • Cricket is a fun game for children and players of all ages to enjoy. In the traditional game, there are two teams of eleven players.The game starts with a striker and a non-striker for the batting team. The striker will attempt to hit a ball bowled by the bowler and score runs. A bowler, similar to a pitcher in American baseball, bowls a ball at the striker who tries to hit the ball. If the ball is hit, both striker and non-striker run to try to score. Strikers can score runs after hitting the ball and running between the wickets by hitting the ball to the boundary before a fielder can retrieve it or by hitting the ball over the boundary without bouncing inside the boundary. The fielders' objective is to get the striker over with six bowls that are strikes. An over is similar to an out in American baseball. Fielders can catch the ball in the air or break the wicket behind the striker. A wicket consists of three stumps topped by crosspieces; the goal is to break the wicket by knocking the crosspieces off the wicket. The wicket-keeper can also get an over by breaking the wicket when the striker steps outside of the crease. The crease is the boundary outlined with white lines on the playing field. Innings are ended when 10 batsmen are over.

    Kwik Cricket

    • Kwik Cricket, as the name implies, is a fast-paced version of traditional cricket that may better hold the attention spans of children. Rather than the traditional wooden bats, Kwik Cricket is played with plastic bats and balls. The game is best suited for eight to 10 players per team. Each batter faces two overs and can be out bowled, caught, run out, stumped and hit wicket. A striker can be stumped if the wicket keeper, the fielder positioned behind the striker, puts down the wicket while that striker is out of bounds or if the striker does not attempt a run. Hitting wicket is achieved if the striker puts down the wicket with his bat or person in the middle of a bowl. Each team starts with 200 runs but five runs are deducted each time a batter is out. On the fielding side, players take turns at each position and switch after each bowl over. Each player must bowl one over; each pitch should be an overhand throw.

    The Obnoxious Weed

    • The Obnoxious Weed is a fun game that combines cricket with concentration. Have children make groups of three and give one of each group a colored armband. The players with the armband are known as "The Obnoxious Weeds." The weeds' objective is to break the concentration of the other pairs of players. The other two players on each team will try to score for their team. Give them one minute to perform a task such as catching as many balls as they can, hitting a ball to their partner or bowling through a target. The "Obnoxious Weeds" should employ creative distraction techniques to break the pair's concentration during each task. Players should display good sportsmanship and refrain from shouting, touching and blocking the target. This lesson in concentration should translate well into the classroom.