March 7, 2012 10.22 am This story is over 143 months old

New form of cricket invented in Lincoln

Double dozen: A fast-paced, simplified version of cricket has been introduced to Lincoln, designed to attract more people to the sport.

A new form of cricket which is more inclusive hits Lincoln | Photo: Shalini Thampi for The Lincolnite

Lincolnshire Cricket have developed a new fast-paced and simplified version of cricket to attract more people to the sport.

Named Double Dozen, the game is designed to be a social activity as well as a sporting one with mixed teams, 90-minute matches and simple rules.

All that is needed to play the game are two bats, an incrediball (soft cricket ball), two sets of stumps and some cones to mark the scoring zones.

Hitting the ball through different zones earns a varying number of points with players still being able to score by running between the wickets.

To allow everyone to get a taste of the game each player must bowl one over, batting pairs each face three overs and being out just means a loss of six runs rather than the end of your turn.

CEO and Executive Director of Lincolnshire Cricket, Kevin Spence, said Double Dozen aims to make cricket inclusive and get more people involved in the sport.

“The game is easy to grasp, you turn up and within 10 minutes you know what you’re doing and is making cricket accessible which fits with national agendas of getting more people into sport,” he said.

A league has been set up in Lincoln targeting local businesses with a fixture every Thursday at 7pm in the sports hall at the Priory City of Lincoln Academy school.

Several local companies have been involved including the University of Lincoln and Gelder Group construction but organisers are hoping interest will grow.

Project Officer Rachael Dyer said: “This is great for businesses who can enter their own team and enjoy an after work social with the figures meaning teams get a match roughly every other week.”

To register a team in the league costs £12 and then it is £3 per person for each match with all equipment provided.