Paul Hooper

Blackburn North Cricket Club is inviting expressions of interest for an even more condensed version of cricket than T20, with the "Bulldog T4 Cricket Challenge" (each team to provide an umpire) which 'borrows' elements of the game from each of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. A few of the advantages over existing game formats are -

• 'T4 Cricket' incorporates 7-a-side teams, inner/outer boundaries, a variation on 4-ball overs and innings of no more than 45 minutes duration. An entire match will take less than 90 minutes of game-time even if it goes down to the last ball.

• By comparison, 'traditional' T20 cricket takes 50% longer and requires 60% more players who are each less engaged.

• Three matches can be completed in one afternoon at the same ground in less time than a single 1-day limited over match and potentially involve 42 players (plus match officials) in stead of 22 with only 7 required to fill each team in stead of 11.

• Scheduled as twilight fixtures these games could start later thereby allowing players with less flexible work commitments more opportunity to participate.

Across the metropolitan cricket community clubs face a diverse range of issues including -

• not enough players
  (a regularly shortage of players tends to breed a loss of interest among others in effected teams),

• not enough grounds
  (clubs fortunate enough to have sufficient player numbers for additional teams are often forced to 'migrate' the home games of some to venues with limited facilities),

• not enough volunteers
  (often when members tire of playing they drift away from the club and a valuable resource is lost) ... and

• issues with the local community
  (see following).

Then there is the perennial pressure from public open space advocates that take issue at the need of field sports for a degree of exclusivity over use of grounds with the age-old argument citing low participation rates relative to the amount of space required, cricket being the field sport most vulnerable to this argument. 1-day limited over and T20 cricket have each long been touted as a solution to some extent but these formats have also brought their own set of issues, not the least being proximity to -

• road traffic,

• residences,

• pedestrians and

• children's playgrounds.

These were already inherent with 'hard-ball' cricket but are more of an issue in formats that actively encourage hitting the ball 'out of the park'. So much so that councils, to whom most clubs are tenants, have routinely been reluctant to allow some grounds for use by open-aged T20 teams without first addressing substantial safety issues. To a notable degree this new format of the game with its radically modified playing rules can address all of these issues and more.

If there is enough interest from clubs and/or individuals we plan to launch this concept with a 'mini-series' at Len Toogood Oval (Blackburn North) on the Australia Day weekend Sunday afternoon, 27 Jan '19. The one ground can accommodate 3 rounds between 11am and 5pm with ample time for lunch, tea and other breaks (or we could start after lunch) so we are looking for 2 teams to join ours in filling a draw where each would play 2 rounds. You can use the same 7 players for both games or change the team between rounds. You can even invite players from elsewhere to join you for the day or gather a 'scratch' team from among your friends as long as they are registered in MyCricket to a participating club.

To find out more and register an interest individually or on behalf of an entity (club, school, business etc), simply contact John Toogood as follows -

• Click here to generate an email and register your Club's interest,

• Follow the prompts on our Facebook events page (inert link, please try again later).

• Players interested in being part of the Blackburn Nth CC squad should phone John - 041 173 9790.

Sponsor's Promotion:
"PAUL HOOPER"
is a Blackburn North CC 2018/19 Silver Supporter.
Follow this link to his online profile.