One more form of cricket that is played in schools is “Hand Cricket“. I played Hand Cricket during the years from my 6th grade till my 10th grade. Hand Cricket is a lot of fun and is very popular in schools in India. There is no need to carry the cricket bat, instead we use the hand as a bat. The rules are friendly to batsmen aiming to score more runs.The game is usually played on any play area. As Krishna bloggged earlier in “Reminiscences of Childhood Cricket“, different forms of street cricket allows you to create your own rules in any conditions and hand cricket is no exception.

Below are some of the rules we followed during our school days.

• Only rubber ball or soft tennis ball is allowed.
• Only spin and slow bowling is allowed.
• Balls should be bowled with a minimum of one pitch, i.e., no full tosses are allowed.
• Balls should be pitched at least 4-5 feet before the “handsman”.
• The ball is usually played only on the leg side; no off side shots are allowed.
• There are six to eight members per team.
• Generally it is 5 overs game, but varies depending on the time availability.
• Some runs are granted automatically based on hits and there are different rules for 4′s and 6′s.

Typically my school days always began with hand cricket. We always played hand cricket during the Lunch interval and also during the evening interval. We were crazy about playing during the free periods. The once a week ‘PT/games’ periods were also awaited occasions.

When I remember my past cherished memories, Hand Cricket will always have a place.

[Photo licensed from Jay Khemani]