Cricket nets

Last updated

Shaun Pollock batting in the nets at the University of Western Australia Pollock in nets.jpg
Shaun Pollock batting in the nets at the University of Western Australia

Cricket nets are used by batters and bowlers to practice their cricketing techniques. They consist of a cricket pitch (natural or artificial) enclosed by netting on either side, behind, and optionally above. The bowling end is left open.

Contents

Nets stop the cricket ball travelling across the field when the batter plays a shot. They save practice time and eliminate the need for fielders or a wicket-keeper. They allow more people to train at once, particularly when they have several lanes. They allow solitary batting practice when used with a bowling machine.

Use

Nets are fundamental to cricket practice and are used at every level of the game. Professional cricket clubs are likely to have over 10 lanes of nets, and be able to practice both indoors and outdoors. Nets are also very prevalent in educational establishments, as they allow safe and efficient training with a high volume of pupils when there are significant time constraints. Keen cricketers may have nets in their gardens.

Nets helps safe practice. By containing most aerial cricket balls, they reduce the potential for injury of bystanders. However, the nets need an opening for the bowler, so it is still common for balls to leave the nets, and shouts of heads up are commonly heard.

Types

Indoor and outdoor cricket nets differ significantly.

Indoor

Indoor cricket nets Appuarjun007.jpg
Indoor cricket nets

Indoor nets are often suspended on a track (runner) fixed to the ceiling of the sports hall or gymnasium no. The nets can drop 48 metres to the ground, and be over 20 metres long. Indoors nets are commonly multi-lane, with two- or four-lane nets being particularly common.

Indoor nets tend to be white. They have separate 3-metre-high canvas screens that enclose the area immediately surrounding the batsman, for two reasons. First, the netting near the batsman has by far the highest work rate, and canvas is significantly more durable than mesh netting, so screens improves the nets' lifespan. Second, the batsman is less likely to be distracted.

Indoor nets can be suspended on runners, providing a curtain system where they can be pulled in and out of use. This allows the sports facility to be flexible in its use.

Outdoor

Outdoor nets are the most common form of practice nets. They take many forms, with some being homemade whilst others are professional manufactured and installed. The design and construction of outdoor nets tends to be based around two factors: the frequency and age of those who will use them, and the available space. In schools and cricket clubs where use will be high, construction will be tailored to that. The nets may also need safeguards against misuse or vandalism. Therefore, the frame is often constructed out of heavy-duty galvanised steel tube with an overall diameter ranging from 34 to 50 mm. The tube is then joined by key-clamp brackets. This system requires permanent concrete ground sockets, but the actual frame of the cage can still be dismantled and removed. Outdoor nets can be fitted with wheels to be completely mobile.

There are variations in the design of outdoor nets such as use of pulley system where the netting is mounted on a cable that spans posts located at either end. Garden nets are frequently home-made, often to a professional design with locally sourced components. This saves money, and cricket nets have a simple design and purpose, so are not difficult to make. Nets should be no less than 9 ft wide, with 12 ft being optimum. If the nets are under 24 ft long, they should be at least 9 ft high; if under 36 ft long, at least 10 ft high; and 12 ft high if longer than that. This prevents balls ending up on the roof of the nets when bowled. The length is less critical, but the longer the safer.

Netting

Netting is the most important component. The netting twine is usually made of a synthetic polymer such as polyethylene, which is hardwearing and relatively cheap. Before about 1995, nets were often made from nylon, but this became too expensive. Nets are often black, green or white. The mesh gap is usually 50 mm and the twine will commonly have a diameter of 1.8 to 3.0 mm. Netting may be knotless or knotted: knotted is considered superior. The breaking strength of knotted netting is higher for the same diameter twine. Good twine will be UV stabilized and rot proof. For home-made nets, netting is the only specialist supply.

Netting is seamed at its edges to prevent fraying. The seam is usually a 6 mm cord sewn into the netting where it meets a cage or end. Canvas blinkers can be added to offer privacy and to reduce wear. Also, partial canvas skirts of 0.5 m can be added to the bottom to prevent damage from wild animals.

In other sports

The baseball equivalent is the batting cage, though fundamentally different, as that provides complete ball containment, whereas cricket nets do not.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennis court</span> Type of sports venue

A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be used to create a tennis court, each with its own characteristics which affect the playing style of the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climbing wall</span> Artificial rock climbing wall

A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with manufactured grips for the hands and feet. Most walls are located indoors, and climbing on such walls is termed indoor climbing. Some walls are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used is a thick multiplex board with holes drilled into it. Recently, manufactured steel and aluminum have also been used. The wall may have places to attach belay ropes, but may also be used to practice lead climbing or bouldering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cricket ball</span> Ball used to play cricket

A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket. A cricket ball consists of a cork core wound with string then a leather cover stitched on, and manufacture is regulated by cricket law at first-class level. The trajectory of a cricket ball when bowled, through movement in the air, and off the ground, is influenced by the action of the bowler and the condition of the ball and the pitch, while working on the cricket ball to obtain optimal condition is a key role of the fielding side. The principal method through which the batter scores runs is by hitting the ball, with the bat, into a position where it would be safe to take a run, or by directing the ball through or over the boundary. Cricket balls are harder and heavier than baseballs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indoor cricket</span> Game derived from cricket

Indoor cricket is a variant of and shares many basic concepts with cricket. The game is most often played between two teams each consisting of six or eight players.

Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baseball (ball)</span> Ball used in the sport of baseball

A baseball is a ball used in the sport of the same name. The ball consists of a rubber or cork center wrapped in yarn and covered with white natural horsehide or cowhide, or a synthetic composite leather. A regulation baseball is 9 to 9.25 inches in circumference i.e. 2.86 to 2.94 inches in diameter, with a weight of 5 to 5.25 ounces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillnetting</span> Type of fishing net

Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is generally referred to as a "cork line." The line along the bottom of the panels is generally weighted. Traditionally this line has been weighted with lead and may be referred to as "lead line." A gillnet is normally set in a straight line. Gillnets can be characterized by mesh size, as well as colour and type of filament from which they are made. Fish may be caught by gillnets in three ways:

  1. Wedged – held by the mesh around the body.
  2. Gilled – held by mesh slipping behind the opercula.
  3. Tangled – held by teeth, spines, maxillaries, or other protrusions without the body penetrating the mesh.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass float</span> Type of float for fishing nets

Glass floats were once used by fishermen in many parts of the world to keep their fishing nets, as well as longlines or droplines, afloat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mist net</span> Net used to capture wild birds or bats

Mist nets are used by hunters and poachers, but also by ornithologists and chiropterologists to capture wild birds and bats for banding or other research projects. Mist nets are typically made of nylon or polyester mesh suspended between two poles, resembling a volleyball net. When properly deployed in the correct habitat, the nets are virtually invisible. Mist nets have shelves created by horizontally strung lines that create a loose, baggy pocket. When a bird or bat hits the net, it falls into this pocket, where it becomes tangled.

Filet lace is the general word used for all the different techniques of embroidery on knotted net. It is a hand made needlework created by weaving or embroidery using a long blunt needle and a thread on a ground of knotted net lace or filet work made of square or diagonal meshes of the same sizes or of different sizes. Lacis uses the same technique but is made on a ground of leno or small canvas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batting cage</span> Enclosure for baseball batting practice

A batting cage is an enclosed area for baseball or softball players to practice the skill of batting.

In cricket a bowling machine is a device which enables a batsman to practise and to hone specific skills through repetition of the ball being bowled at a certain length, line and speed. It can also be used when there is no-one available to bowl, or no one of the desired style or standard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Driving range</span> Golf practice facility

A driving range is a facility or area where golfers can practice their golf swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range attached and they are also found as stand-alone facilities, especially in urban areas. They are typically run by businesses or sometimes by universities. Distances are usually marked by target greens at regular distances. Driving ranges may have natural grass, similar to a golf course, or players may use synthetic mats that resemble real turf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitch (sports field)</span> Surface on which a sports game takes place

A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term pitch is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in Australian, American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Net (textile)</span>

Net or netting is any textile in which the yarns are fused, looped or knotted at their intersections, resulting in a fabric with open spaces between the yarns. Net has many uses, and comes in different varieties. Depending on the type of yarn or filament that is used to make up the textile, its characteristics can vary from durable to not durable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Net (device)</span> Grid-like structure of threads or yarns

A net comprises threads or yarns knotted and twisted into a grid-like structure which blocks the passage of large items, while letting small items and fluids pass. It requires less material than something sheet-like, and provides a degree of transparency, as well as flexibility and lightness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queenstown Events Centre</span> Sports complex

Queenstown Events Centre, John Davies Oval, or Davies Park is a multi-purpose sports complex and stadium in Queenstown, Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.

Gillis Field House is a 3,500-seat, multi-purpose arena in West Point, New York. It was home to the United States Military Academy's Army Black Knights men's basketball team until Christl Arena opened in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper alloys in aquaculture</span>

Copper alloys are important netting materials in aquaculture. Various other materials including nylon, polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene, plastic-coated welded wire, rubber, patented twine products, and galvanized steel are also used for netting in aquaculture fish enclosures around the world. All of these materials are selected for a variety of reasons, including design feasibility, material strength, cost, and corrosion resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indoor cricket (UK variant)</span>

The game of indoor cricket can be played in any suitably sized multi-purpose sports hall. There is evidence of the game being played in the 1920s and 1930s. Furthermore, it was played in the 1960s as a means of giving amateur and professional cricketers a means of playing their sport during the winter months. The first recorded organised indoor cricket league in the world took place in 1970 in North Shropshire, and the first national tournament was completed in 1976 with over 400 clubs taking part. By 1979 over 1000 clubs were taking part in indoor cricket in the UK, and it remains extremely popular today with many leagues around the country. Other forms of indoor cricket have been developed, based on variations of the indoor game.

References