With twenty runs needed and only one wicket left, things looked grim for England. But a flurry of boundaries left them with only two more runs to get. A final triumphant six and they’d won the game!
Cricket is a sport which can provide the most dramatic of turnarounds and the most nail-biting of finishes. Dice cricket allows you to create your own games with every bit of the same excitement.
The rules for the basic game are really simple!
You will need:
A die
2 copies of our scorecard
A pen
Rules:
Choose which teams you want to play each other and write down the names of the players in each team.
Roll the die to decide which team bats first.
The two players at the top of your teamsheet will be batting first, and the top player will face the first ball.
Roll the die.
If you roll a 1 or a 3, the player scores that many runs and ends up in the other crease (the end of the wicket). Write the number of runs scored next to that player’s name, then let the other batsman face the next ball.
If you roll 2, 4 or 6, the player scores that many runs but stays at the same crease. Write the number of runs scored next to that player’s name, and let the same batsman face the next ball.
If you roll a 5 then the batsman might be out! Roll the die again. If you roll:
1 - the ball was a wide so the batsman is not out. Add 1 to the extras row, and let the same batsman face the next ball.
2 - the ball is a no ball so the batsman is not out. Add 1 to the extras row, and let the same batsman face the next ball.
3 - the batsman is out – bowled.
4 - the batsman is out - caught.
5 - the batsman is out - LBW (leg before wicket)
6 - the batsman is out – run out.
If the batsman is out, add up the runs they’ve scored and write it at the end of their row. That’s the end of their innings so the next batsman on the team list comes in to face the next ball.
Once there is no one left to bat (so, ten wickets have fallen), the team’s innings is finished. Total up the ‘not out’ player’s runs, then tot up all the players’ runs and add the extras to find the team’s total score.
Now it’s the other team’s turn to bat (unless they’ve already batted, in which case the match is finished and the team with the highest total of runs wins).
Making the game more realistic
Once you know how to play the basic game, there’s no limit to the ways you can make the game more realistic.
Here are some ideas:
Play Test Matches by allowing each team two innings instead of one.
Give the specialist batsmen at the top of your team list an advantage by treating an ‘out’ roll of 6 for those players as a wide instead of run out. Give the same advantage to non-specialist batsmen who have scored 50 and who have ‘got their eye in’.
Produce ‘bowling figures’ by choosing bowlers from the side not batting, and keeping track of how many runs are scored, and how many wickets are taken, within over (set of six balls).
