Anubhav Katheria
The Southwick and Shoreham cricket club, one of the oldest cricket clubs in the UK, has recently introduced a new rule banning their players from hitting sixes. The residents near the stadium complained about property damage and safety concerns caused by the big sixes coming from the stadium which caused these cricket clubs to take this action and prohibited their players from hitting these big shots.
They introduced the rule where if a batsman hits a six it will be given no run while following that if he hits another he will be given out by the empire. While this rule is new and weird for the UK and the rest of the world, it’s very familiar to many Indians because it’s the most important and oldest rule of Indian gully cricket.
The Southwick and Shoreham cricket club was founded in 1790, near Brighton, and it’s concerning that a cricket club this old is compelled to change the rules of cricket. The treasurer of the club Mark Broxup has explained this decision was made to avoid costly insurance claims and legal issues. He said with the introduction of 20-20 and limited overs cricket, the game has become far more explosive and is not the same when in olden days cricket used to be sedate.
What did the players say about the new rule?
Many players have shown their dissatisfaction with the new rule where one batsman of the club said hitting the bowler for a six is a part of the game and glory of the sport. How can you ban it? It’s ridiculous
Another batsman said everything is about health and safety these days and the insurance companies are changing the fortunes of the sports club to compensate for accidental damage and injury to bystanders. If you buy a house next to a cricket ground then you should expect some cricket balls in your garden, he added.
The boundaries of the ground are short, and the stadium is surrounded by houses, however the nets have been assembled by the club to stop the ball from going out, but their height is limited by the trees.
One of the residents said that she lived there all her life, and she thinks that the ban is a good thing. While another resident said he has never had a ball in his property but he doesn’t really agree with banning sixes. It’s the most interesting part of the sport, he added.
