One of the oldest clubs in England has recently implemented a rule that is already popular in gully cricket across India. Those who have played cricket on small grounds or the streets must know the consequences of hitting sixes. If any batter attempts an elevated shot, he needs to make sure that the ball doesn’t cause any damage to the nearby houses. So in gully cricket, hitting sixes is adjudged as dismissal. Due to the same reason, the Southwick and Shoreham Cricket Club in West Sussex has banned batters from scoring maximums at their home ground– The Green.
The club authority made the decision in view of some past incidents where cars and the roofs of neighbouring houses got damaged by powerful shots. Now, if a batter hits a six on The Green in Southwick, it will be counted as no run. In the case of the second six, that player will be given out.
“We took the proactive decision to ban sixes on the ground after a few incidents in the past when cars, houses and even roofs were damaged. We don’t want to have to pay costly insurance or have any legal claims against us so it seemed a sensible thing to do,” Southwick club treasurer Mark Broxup explained, as quoted by The Telegraph.
Cricketers of the club, however, are not quite happy with this new rule. They feel hitting sixes is considered a glorious moment in cricket and a ban on this will remove the joy of the sport. “I don’t agree that the rules should be tinkered with in this fashion,” a batter of the Southwick and Shoreham Cricket Club told the outlet.
An 80-year-old woman named Mary Gill, who lives in a cottage alongside The Green, has shown a thumbs up to the new rule. “I think the ban is a good thing. It’s a very small ground and can’t accommodate the testosterone-fuelled young men who come along and just want to hit the ball as far as they can,” she told The Telegraph.
A local cab driver, Peter Naghten, however, reckons the ban will lessen the excitement of the game. He said, “I’ve never had a ball in my property but I don’t really agree with banning sixes – it’s one of the most interesting things about the sport.”
The Southwick and Shoreham Cricket Club was established in 1790. Since then, the Green has been its home ground. The boundary here is comparatively short and the area is surrounded by houses. The authority has already put up nets around the ground to save the nearby houses from unintentional damage.
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