Touch Cricket: The Exciting New Format Revolutionizing Cricket

Cricket is a popular sport with a history that dates back nearly 500 years. While traditional formats such as Test matches, One Day Internationals, and Twenty20 have devoted fans, a newer, faster-paced version known as Touch Cricket is gaining popularity around the world. Touch Cricket, also known as Speed Cricket or Quick Cricket, features shortened games, simplified rules, and high-intensity action that appeals to both current and potential cricket fans. This guide will look at the fundamentals of Touch Cricket and how it is becoming a popular new way to play and watch cricket.

An Introduction to Touch Cricket

Touch Cricket was created in Australia in the early 2000s as a recreational sport to be played on smaller fields in cities. The first organized Touch Cricket league debuted in Sydney in 2004. Since then, the sport has grown in popularity, thanks in large part to its fast pace and simple rules, which allow matches to be completed in 60-90 minutes.

Touch cricket is played by two teams of eight players each and does not require any specialized equipment or uniforms. It can be played either indoors or outdoors on any surface, including cement, grass, and wood flooring. Touch Cricket tournaments and leagues are now held in over 20 countries, with participation increasing exponentially year after year. It rivals the rapid global growth seen in formats such as Twenty20 and is poised to overtake it as cricket’s most popular shortened format.

Rules of Touch Cricket

The basic rules of Touch Cricket are designed to provide high-speed games with continuous batting, bowling, and fielding action. When batting, a player is dismissed if the ball strikes or even touches any part of their body. If the ball strikes the bat first, the player is safe, and runs can be scored. Unlike in regular cricket, players do not switch ends to run between wickets after each run. This keeps the batsmen constantly facing deliveries. Each batting team’s innings lasts 8 overs (48 balls), allowing for optimal action and strategy based on the limited number of deliveries. Bowlers use underarm throws instead of overarm bowling, but line, length, and pace variation remain important tactics. 

There is no LBW dismissal mode to keep the flow going. The fielding restrictions of only two players inside an inner circle keep the scoring pace high. Strategizing fields, containing boundaries, and making sharp catches ensures continuous excitement. With innings lasting around 13 minutes on average, action in Touch Cricket never stops!

Touch cricket equipment requirements

One of the advantages of Touch Cricket is its relative simplicity in terms of equipment requirements compared to traditional cricket. Friendly games do not require any specialized gear, heavy protective equipment, or uniforms.

Simplified laws mandate the following:

• Touch Cricket Ball – A slightly larger, heavier ball than a baseball, with a polyurethane exterior and wrapped yarn. This allows throwers to grip the seam and handle dew or minor exterior dampness during games.
• Touch Cricket Bats are lightweight, short-handled bats made of wood/plastic composite or injected ABS materials. Easier to swing than full-sized bats, allowing for power shots.
• Cones – Plastic triangle field markers used to demarcate inner and outer fielding circles.
• Stumps – Shorter, more portable base stumps with bails and rollable target sticks on top.

With these basic requirements met, anyone can start a regulation Touch Cricket game almost anywhere! In contrast to lengthy cricket gear logistics, pickup games are simple.

Touch Cricket Field Setup

A regulation Touch Cricket setup has a playing area of approximately 40m X 20m, which is the size of a basketball court or half a soccer field. This allows games to take place in confined spaces such as schoolyards or community areas. Portable target stumps are located 20 metres from each batting end, flanked by inner/outer field demarcation cones. The inner circle, which measures 10 metres in diameter, can only accommodate two fielders and a bowler. 

No other fielders may enter this area, which prevents excessive defensive dot balls and allows batters to score freely. Between the inner and outer 5m diameter circles, four fielders are strategically placed to catch attacking shots and stop boundaries. Two wider fielders try to cut off aerial shots. The boundaries are only 40m apart, making six-hitting possible. Pitch dimensions are tailored to the indoor/outdoor surfaces available at clubs/schools. With four overs per end, players rotate positions, giving everyone a chance to bat, bowl, and field.

Touch Cricket: Laws and Scoring

Touch Cricket rules simplify laws to allow for fluid games that focus solely on traditional batting, bowling, and fielding skills rather than complicated dismissals or tactics. Generally, the laws follow traditional cricket principles:

Dismissals occur when the ball strikes the batter’s body or clothing, and the batter is declared out. Deflected hits are permitted.

Bowlers make underarm throws within designated foul lines, and the batter does not change strikes between runs.

8 ball overs are played from the same end consecutively rather than alternately. Innings’ final 8 overs (48 balls)

The scoring system is based on traditional cricket methodology, with runs scored for each ball faced. Boundary 6s/4s apply to shots that cross the designated outer circle or reach fences. However, scoring acceleration mechanisms such as “powerplays” that are common in Twenty20 games are not present, keeping things simple and free of tactical gimmicks. With only 48 balls, the average run rate remains exceptionally high thanks to organic strokeplay rather than regulations. Elite amateur players in leagues with strike rates of 100 or higher frequently score 30 runs per over. Because of the fast pace, even moderately skilled weekend players can rack up impressive totals.

Touch Cricket Tournament Formats

Since 2004, when the inaugural NSW Touch Cricket Cup was held, competitive tournaments have followed the format developed in Australia. Tournaments consist of regional qualifiers that lead to a national championship finals, which are usually held in Sydney each year. The winning National Champions advance directly to the International Touch Cricket Cup, which is held in top participating nations such as New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and England, among others. England’s national tournament, the Touch Cricket Cup Finals, serves as a domestic qualification event for the international edition.

At the club level, social Touch Cricket leagues follow traditional home/away round robin formats over weekends. Match series are occasionally supplemented with standalone Twenty20 tournaments, similar to traditional cricket. Elite club players frequently participate in these quickfire events to showcase their skills and appear in highlight reels similar to their mainstream cricket counterparts.

Multiple Touch Cricket matches are frequently scheduled as part of larger cricket events due to the game’s brevity and consistent pace. This fills gaps during lunch breaks or rain delays at marquee tournaments. Exhibition Touch Cricket is also a great icebreaker at corporate cricket tournaments or charity fundraisers because everyone can participate equally.

Touch Cricket’s Global Growth

While Touch Cricket originated in Australia, its growth trajectory mirrors the global expansion previously experienced by franchise T20 leagues and cricket itself over the last 15 years. Touch Cricket, especially in congested urban areas, eliminates the need to reserve large grounds or gather 22 players on a regular basis. The 2021 Dubai Fitness Challenge attracted a large number of participants thanks to free pop-up Touch Cricket events held throughout the city. Corporate employee tournaments are gaining popularity as team fitness and engagement initiatives.

Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong are Asia’s hotspots for penetrate school leagues that pique teenager interest. Given their lack of cricket experience, Chinese cities are warming up to Touch Cricket as an introduction. Adoption in non-mainstream cricket markets is led by the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands for similar reasons. Even seasoned veterans and international cricketers train regularly during the offseason to improve their reflexes and hand-eye coordination. Touch Cricket’s popularity is growing due to its universal appeal across ages, skill levels, and geographical locations.

Conclusion

Finally, Touch Cricket is an exciting new cricket format that is changing the way cricket is played due to its faster pace, which is ideal for urban environments. Touch Cricket, with its condensed games, simplified laws, and inclusive skill demands, positions itself as the ideal cricket innovation for the twenty-first century. Its rapid global adoption demonstrates that cricket and other sporting bodies recognize these inherent strengths. Touch Cricket participation and viewership are expected to grow exponentially until it can potentially compete with Twenty20 as cricket’s most popular shortened format.