Cricket come rain or shine

Press, 16 June 1982, Page 31

Cricket come rain or shine

The crowd of 43.000 at Eden Park for the first of last season’s one-day cricket matches between. Australia and New Zealand meant that the record New Zealand attendance had been increased by more than 40 per cent. This vast throng of people offered positive evidence of heightened interest in cricket, particularly the limited-over version, and an off-shoot of enthusiasm for the summer game has been the establishment of indoor training schools for winter use. A further step forward has been taken with the founding of the Sockburn Indoor Cricket Centre, where a new form of cricket competition -will begin on June 28. Mr Wilk Lock has bought a .building of 10,500 sq ft, and will use it for cricket seven days and nights a week. This may seem a strange decision for a man who worked for the Bank of New Zealand for nine years. However the most recent three years of this service was at the bank’s branch at Surfers’ Paradise in Queensland, and while he was there he was persuaded to join a team of friends and associates in the indoor cricket competition. He was taken with the game so much that he has gone into business at Sockburn. Mr Lock hopes to have 60 teams taking part in the competitions he . has organised. He has only recently decided on his opening date, and until that information was available, cricket and social clubs were a little chary about confirming their entries. However by last week — before be had an-

nounced his opening date - he had 10 confirmed entries and he is confident the number will be increased swiftly before his competition season begins. The matches will be played between' 5.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. each evening, and as he has two 380 sq m playing areas, six 90-minute matches can be played each evening. He proposes to have several grades of competition for the teams of eight, with cash prizes and trophies for the winners in each grade. There will be special attention from 3.30 p.m. to .5.30 p.m. each day to school children. Glenn Turner’s century ol centuries is not likely to be challenged at the Indoor Cricket Centre. Each innings lasts only 16 overs, although the overs are each of eight balls. Each pair of batsmen faces four consecutive overs, with each player in the opposing team bowling two overs and each dismissal costs the batting side a deduction of five runs. In a similar setup in Brisbane, the highest total recorded was 204. with the lowest minus 81. The game is played on a pitch of synthetic material, and the rest of the playing area is covered with a synthetic carpet, so there will be

no falls on boards or concrete. The centre will supply all the gear required — bats and balls, and so forth. There is no need for pads. A tennis ball, with a cricket ball casing, is used. It has a bounce very similar to that of a conventional cricket - ball'. but it is decidedly softer. Dress is informal, the only stipulation being that players must wear soft-soled shoes. When the centre opens, soft drinks and potato chips will be available. The traditional cricket cup of tea may also be seen at the opening. If not. it will make its appearance shortly. Mr Lock says there is ample room for expansion at his extensive premises. He hopes to establish a shop for cricket gear, and plans to negotiate with the manufacturers of the new Wade bat — the former international lan Cromb and the Canterbury and Northern Districts representative. Rod Fulton.

He also has plans for using part of the building for weight training, and to establish a sauna section. The indoor cricket game should have a wide appeal tc women as well as men. tc families as well as clubs. The game is essentially a simple, one, but fast-moving and energetic. Batsmen score a single by running from the batting crease to a line marked half-way up the pitch. Hits into the side net are worth one or two runs, hitting the back net can earn four or six. (The field , settings are restricted to four players in each half of the playing area.) An umpire sits in a chair on the wall behind the batsman. Batsmen are out by being bowled, through run outs, catches in the field and they can also be caught off any section of the net except the back net. Batsmen may also be stumped, given out through deliberate obstruction, or leg

before wicket -r but the lbw appeals can be upheld only if the batsman has not played a shot. , ■ The run-up for bowlers has a maximum length of six metres. The cost for each player each night is $4, with schoolchildren at half-price.