Generally we are aware of Test matches, One Day Internationals(ODI),T20 matches, First-Class and Club crickets as the various existing forms of cricket.
Here is a list of 21 lesser known forms and types of cricket which do exist but most of us are unaware of.
1. Double-wicket cricket
It is a form of cricket with two teams of two players each which are pitched against each other for a limited number of overs. A player getting out in this form of cricket does not retire but continues to bat but gets penalised a stipulated number of runs for each time he gets out.
2. Kwik cricket
Kwik cricket (known as MILO Walla cricket in Australia, and MILO Black Cricket in New Zealand) is a high-speed version of cricket aimed mainly at encouraging children to take part in the main sport. Many of the rules are adapted from cricket, but Kwik cricket is played with a plastic bat and ball (for obvious safety and physical reasons), and plastic cones to mark the maximum width of a legally bowled ball.
3. Informal amateur cricket
Backyard cricket, Beach cricket, Street cricket are all different names used to describe a wide range of related informal games. The rules are often ad hoc, and the laws of cricket, such as those involving leg before wicket, penalty runs, and others, are ignored or modified to suit both the setting and participants’ preferences. In India and Pakistan, there is Gali cricket (‘gali’ in Hindi means ‘street’. It is pronounced as ‘gully’ but should not be confused with the fielding position). Often, there are no teams, and each player plays for himself, and fields when he is not batting.
4. Garden cricket
Informal cricket in the UK is often known as garden cricket and is played in gardens and recreation grounds around the country. Because of limited space in gardens and the potential damage to property, one particular version of garden cricket is unique in that there are no concept of runs as attacking shots are expressly forbidden, and instead the winning batsman is the one who can survive the longest number of deliveries.
5. French cricket
It is a game in which the ball is bowled at the legs of the batsman, with the batsman’s legs forming the wicket. It is often played by children. A tennis ball is often used rather than the harder cricket ball. Much like beach cricket, the rules may vary wildly.
6. Tennis ball cricket
This type of cricket is popular in the South Asian sub-continent, USA and Canada. In this game a harder version of tennis ball is used. The number of overs in the game varies from 6 to 25 overs. Considering that the ball is not as hard as the professional cricket ball, the use of protective gear like gloves, pads and helmets is optional. As tennis ball cricket games are shorter when compared to the conventional version, it suits the US and Canadian lifestyle where one would see a large number of people participating.
7. Tape ball cricket
This type of cricket is popular in Pakistan, Bangladesh and somewhat gaining popularity in other South Asian countries and Europe due to the export of the innovative idea from Pakistan. Tape ball cricket has been a cricket culture in Pakistan since the 80’s. Pakistanis who have settled in the west have introduced this theme and have tape ball leagues throughout UK, USA, and Canada. In this game a tennis ball is covered with insulating tape. This results in a heavier ball. Fast bowlers can generate extra swing in both directions while finger spinners can produce turn. The game is usually a limited over match with 4–12 overs. In Karachi and Lahore regular tournaments are held. Night matches are common, especially during the month of Ramadan.
8. Kilikiti
Also known as Kirikiti, or Samoan Cricket, it is the national game of Samoa and is especially popular in New Zealand. The game is descended from the cricket brought to Samoa by British missionaries; teams of unlimited size follow rules opaque to outside observers in a game/dance/feast event that can last several days.
9. Non stop(continuous) cricket
Continuous cricket is a game involving one batsman, who upon hitting the ball, must run to a marker, which is square of the wicket. The bowler may bowl as soon as the ball is returned, regardless of whether or not the batsman is still running. The game can be played in teams, or as a group, where players rotate between fielding positions, batting and bowling.
10. Over-60s cricket
Founded in Australia, it is for those over 60 years of age, slightly modified from the standard cricket.
11. Single wicket
A tournament for individuals, it is probably the oldest form of cricket as it involves one player against another. It has known periods of huge popularity, especially in the mid-18th century and in the first half of the 19th century. One bowls to the other for a fixed number of balls, or until the batsman is out, and then roles are reversed. The remaining tournament players act as fielders until it is their turn to bat or bowl. The winner is the one with the most runs, and that player moves to the next round to play the winner from another pair.
12. Vigoro
It is a form of cricket that also resembles baseball, mainly played by women.
13. Placa
It is an obscure variation, played in the streets of Caribbean countries like the Dominican Republic between two couples, usually making use of broomsticks as bats, rubber or tennis balls, and old license plates as wickets (with its ends twisted to make them stand up). The game is divided in alternate 3-out innings like in baseball. The first team to reach 100 or 200 runs wins. A similar version is played on the streets of Brazil and is known as Bats or Taco (‘taco’ being Portuguese for ‘bat’).
13. Trobriand cricket
It is a peculiar form of cricket played in the Trobriand Islands, in Papua New Guinea. Although cricket was introduced by the British as part of colonial agenda, it was adopted into local Trobriand culture and many modifications and cultural adaptations were made over the years. Some of these include: under-arm bowling; outs are celebrated with dances; the “home” team (the tribal community which organised a match) always wins; any number of players can take part in a match; players dress in traditional war costumes.
14. Table cricket
Table Cricket is an indoor version of the game designed primarily for physically challenged cricketers.
15. Pencil cricket
A one-person game played with pencils marked by hand to function as ‘long dice’. A Japanese variant of these for use in other games are called ‘battle pencils’.[5] It may also simply be played with conventional dice. The aim is to generate scores and attribute them to imaginary players and teams by compiling a scorecard. The game has been marketed commercially featuring plastic or metal long dice (rollers) and playing rules..
16. Armchair cricket
A card game based on cricket.
17. Pub cricket
Also called Car Cricket. A travel game based on the names of public houses passed on the route. Runs are scored according to the number of legs, arms or other items featured in the pub name. The exact rules vary according to the participants.
18. Backyard cricket
Popular with families, especially those with younger children. This type of cricket is everyone against the batsman, with the person who gets the batsman out becoming the new batsman.
19. Book cricket
It is popular with school children in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It has several variants and is mostly played by 2 players. The runs are scored by flipping the book open at random and the last digit of the right-side (even-numbered) page is counted as the number of runs scored. 0 (and sometimes 8) are assigned to special rules, typically a wicket is lost when a person scores 0 and scoring 8 would be substituted for a No ball run and an additional chance. To give an example, if the batting side opened the book at page 26, then 6 runs would be scored. For the toss, what is generally done is that both the players open a page and the one whose last digit is greater wins. You should try out the game based on Book Cricket Game.
20. Hand cricket
It is widely popular among the school children in India and Pakistan.
It is played through gestures (called ‘throws’), each of them signifying a number, that are made simultaneously by two players, each using 1 hand, by locking the wrist before the throw and immediately releasing certain fingers (as determined by the player) before the other player, who does it simultaneously before him.
In the popular variant, each released finger counts as 1 but the thumb when released alone counts as 6 and if the wrist is left unlocked then it can mean 2 things:
(for the batsman) as much runs as the bowler’s throw (if not the same, else the batsman is out).
In some variants, there are gestures even for large nos. like 20, 25, 50 and even 100.
Mostly 2 individuals play this game, but sometimes 2 teams of players do (they may differ by 1 player and not have a captain).
The no. of overs per side may or may not be fixed (a side may play until it loses all its wickets).
The no. of wickets per side is fixed by the players. If a team has 1 player less than the other, then one of its player gets an extra wicket.
If 2 teams are playing, the bowling may not be regular. Quite often, a bowler can continue to bowl uninterrupted until:
He feels like giving it up to someone else OR
His team mates ask him to do so OR
A limit they set has been reached.
For the toss (if done), both the players (or the captains/players of the team) select from ‘odd’ and ‘even’ and make throws; if the sum of these (i.e. their nos.) is odd/even, then the side having chosen that wins.
For the play, The batsman and the bowler make throws at every ball; if the throws are the same, the batsman is out, else the throw gets added to the batsman’s runs.
If the player is not agreeing with the decision he can appeal for 3rd umpire. In 3rd umpire both the players will choose 2 numbers. They have to take out one of the numbers. If it is same the player is out, if not the player is not out.
It is generally played in an ODI-like format with each side having 1 innings to bat.
The craze for this form is so much among the school children across the subcontinent that they play it in schools secretly during lectures with their hands under their desks and get detention if caught. They even play it in teams of 3–6 players, maintain records and organise tournaments.
21. Calculator cricket
This form is popular with school children (usually older ones who require scientific calculators for maths and science).
A player starts by clearing the memory on their calculator. The player will then use the random number generator on their calculator to bring up a number between 0 and 1. The number of runs scored is the first digit after the decimal point (for example, if the random number generator provides 0.521, 5 runs are scored). Scoring is kept by using the memory addition function on the calculator, or by pen and paper. Scoring a 0 is considered out. The player who has the highest score wins.