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The Rules

These are the rules as promoted by the Australian Indoor Cricket Federation, and as such are the rules under which almost every game of indoor cricket in Australia is played. Officially sanctioned International matches are also played under these rules. UPDATE January 2011: however, here in Australia, Cricket Australia appear to have plans to change all this . . . the introduction of Twenty20 rules foremost of their kooky ideas. Who knows, perhaps we'll have half-naked dancing girls (usually with one token male) and jets of fire every wicket. Hey, we could even wire up players so commentators can annoy them during a game. Enough . . . back to the rules . . .

A lot of the rules are irrelevant to someone wanting to learn the sport. Rules concerning how many points a centre is to allocate for a win etc are of little interest to most players and umpires. Those interested in all these "extra" rules should contact the Australian Indoor Cricket Federation site, or, if they play, their local centre. The rules presented here are those directly relevant to players, umpires, and those seeking to inform themselves of the sport.

All the rules below are included in the "official" AICF rulebook. For cross-referencing ease, I have arranged and numbered the rules below to match the AICF rule-book. However, to help fully explain them, they are all in my own words. That is, they are my interpretation only, and the attached comments and tips are also my interpretation only. I have clearly identified where I believe my interpretation differs from the "official" one. I should add I am an AICF-trained and qualified Level 4 umpire, having officiated over National Open championships and international matches. I am also AICF-qualified to train umpires up to Level 4.

Note: a couple of terms which will crop up often in the following pages may need explanation.

"Off" side and "On" side - definitely not to be confused with the football terms.
The ON, or Leg side (not to be confused with leg-side wides either) is the side of the pitch behind the batsman when the batsman is standing ready to receive the bowled ball. That is, if a right-handed batsman looks down the pitch toward the bowler, the Leg or On side is the half of the court to the batsman's left of the pitch.
The Off side is the other side of the court.
So a batsman playing a shot "to leg" or "to the On side" is hitting the ball into the left side of the court. If he plays an "Off" drive, he has hit the ball to the right side. For left-handed batsmen, the reverse applies.

And one other little point - indoor cricket is played by both males and females. Therefore the term batsman as a general term is inaccurate. However, "batters" play softball and baseball, and I'm talking about cricket. Therefore, I ask the female reader's indulgence and tolerance when I use the male form when describing aspects of the game. "He/she" is clumsy, "batters" just plain wrong, and "batspeople" too silly for words. If this is too much to bear, I will seriously consider, when I have a little more time, going through and making some examples relevant to male players (he does this, the batsmen do this) and some relevant to females (she does this, the batswomen do that). But until then, indulge and tolerate? .....

We hope you enjoy our version of the Rules. If you find what you are looking for, and would like to thank us profusely for the work we put into giving you this information, you could always make a small credit-card donation (although an extremely large one is okay too of course) by clicking the button to the right:

Page one
RULE 1. - FIELDING A TEAM
RULE 2. - THE GAME
RULE 3. - UNIFORMS
RULE 4. - THE TOSS

Page two
RULE 5. - PLAYING EQUIPMENT.

Page three
RULE 6. - THE UMPIRE

Page four
RULE 7. - ARRIVAL/LATE PLAYER(S)
RULE 8. - PLAYER SHORT / SUBSTITUTES / INJURED PLAYERS
RULE 9. - FIELD PLACEMENT.
RULE 10. - PLAY BALL/LIVE BALL/DEAD BALL.
RULE 11. - SCORING.
RULE 12. - NO BALL.
RULE 13. - WIDE AND LEG SIDE WIDE BALLS.
RULE 14. - BOWLER CHANGING DIRECTION/STYLE.
RULE 15. - BALL LEAVING THE PLAYING AREA.
RULE 16. - APPEALS FOR DISMISSALS.
RULE 17. - DISMISSALS.
RULE 18. - INTERFERENCE.
RULE 19. - MISCONDUCT.
RULE 20. - ORDER OFF.
RULE 21. - ILLEGAL COURT ENTRY/EXIT.
RULE 22. - RUNNERS.
RULE 23. - END OF GAME.
RULE 24. - MIXED GAMES.

SECTION 2 - AICF STANDARDS

1. COURT LAYOUT AND DIMENSIONS.
2. EQUIPMENT.

SECTION 3 - MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES

1. GAME FEES.
2. LATE STARTS.
3. PREMIERSHIP AND BONUS POINTS.
4. LADDER POSITION.
5. FINALS QUALIFICATIONS.
6. DRAWN FINAL.

SECTION 4 - VARIATIONS.

SECTION 5 - UMPIRE SIGNALS.  

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