Six and Out officially official
It’s true - Six and Out is alive and kicking, and goshdarnit if the timing of its launch doesn’t perfectly coincide with the first day of the English domestic season. Editorial and management genius? (Actually no… just pure fluke).
To celebrate, I’ll clear up just what the ballyhell is going on with the name of this blog. For the uninitiated, you might want to read the Rules of Cricket. Essentially you use a cricket bat to hit a cricket ball to score runs. Now, if you hit the ball over the boundary (out of the ground) on the full (without hitting the ground) then you score 6 runs. The players find the ball and play continues. But as a child playing “back yard cricket” on barmy Summer evenings with a couple of mates (or in my case my big bro), it is common practice to adjust the rules somewhat to allow for the fact there are only a few players.
Some people will play the “one hand one bounce” rule, others might strategically position inanimate objects (bins, chairs, cars or even any trees and bushes) as players to make up numbers. We even once had a canine fielder in the form of our pet dog, Suzie, who spectacularly caught my brother out at a roving short mid-wicket. But by far the most commonly employed rule is the “six and out” rule. Wherever the predetermined boundary is (usually the point at which your garden turns into your neighbours garden) - if you score a six over this boundary you get your 6 runs, but you’re also out (someone else gets a turn at batting). And you normally have to go and retrieve the ball as well. It’s a real bastard of a rule, but a tradition amongst amateur cricketers.
And that’s the name of this site. As things progress, I’ll be explaining a few fundamentals of the game of cricket, but if you’ve got any questions that want answering (particular favourites and surely antagonists are why cricket is NOT boring and why cricket is so much better than baseball), then I’ll do my best to answer them.
UPDATE:
I was doing a bit of reading to find some wonderful things to fill this blog with, and would you believe it, actually not it, would you believe this:
1. Six & Out is actually the name of an Austrlian blues band,made up of, yes, you guessed it, International cricketers, one of which is only Brett “I Hate Poms” Lee - check it!
2. The rules of backyard cricket (even the term) appears to be an Internationally recognised phenomenon! Yes, it is! There was me thinking that it was limited to England, and no. The Six and Out rule is recognised. And how could I have forgotten “tip and run” ?
I can’t believe I (honestly) authored this post before checking on the wiki! Incredible. My genius astounds me.
Tags: cricketRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Cricket
12 opinions for Six and Out officially official
Jeremy Wright
Apr 14, 2006 at 8:29 pm
Okay, so scoring a six is the same as a home run, but it’s worth an automatic 6 points and (except in backyard cricket), you get to “bat” again.
Got it.
Isn’t it sad that I lived in England for a year and NEVER picked up cricket at all?
S Jagadish
Apr 14, 2006 at 8:33 pm
Matt, this is Jagadish [Cricket 24×7]. I hope you’ve got the legal bits checked out in terms of your blog name and the domain name!
Jeremy Wright
Apr 14, 2006 at 8:45 pm
What legal issues? There are no trademarks, financial marks or registered marks on “Six And Out” or any derivation thereof…
Am I missing something Jagadish?
Aaron Brazell
Apr 14, 2006 at 8:49 pm
The band? I dunno…
Jeremy Wright
Apr 14, 2006 at 8:57 pm
Band names aren’t trademarked or protected under those types of laws (IP laws). They’re copyrighted once a CD is out, but even that is vague, and wouldn’t apply to a website about cricket…
Martin
Apr 15, 2006 at 1:08 am
Jeremy, first things first - it’s not points it’s runs ;-)
Don’t think you’ll have any problems with the band name - it’s a semi-serious thing, more of a side thing (ie: they’re no U2).
Backyard cricket: an Aussie tradition as well (our rules: automatic keeper and 1st slip, bins as fielders, no LBWs, and errr … six and out and fetch the ball yourself, and tape up half the tennis ball to achieve maximum swing) :-)
Matt
Apr 15, 2006 at 10:07 am
Martin - we used to do the half-taped ball thing as well. I always found about three layers of good-old fashioned sellotape would do it.
As for the legalities, well, I don’t think we’ll have much of a problem. Unless of course I start being very rude about Brett Lee.
And whilst I might have given him a bit of sledging when I saw him when Australia played Hampshire at The Rose Bowl a couple of years ago, I think he’s since developed into an outstanding player and wouldnn’t dream of doing such a thing now.
But think of the publicity, hmmm… :D
Sasha
Apr 17, 2006 at 4:46 pm
I happen to think Brett Lee is a fantastic Bowler. :p
Justin Sykes
Dec 6, 2006 at 7:50 pm
As an expert Backyard cricketer (who once made a hundred at mum’s) I have to point out that there are ‘backyards’ in Australia but only ‘gardens’ in Green England.
Whenever I mention a backyard here - people look at me funny and I have to remember to refer to it by the local term.
Hence - this variant was not invented in England.
(Next, we’ll be having froggies claiming that they invented French cricket. Streuth)
SixandOut.net - The International Cricket blog » Six and Out one year old today
Mar 19, 2007 at 11:34 am
[…] Actually, when I started this blog I had no idea, and the name was chosen owing to the “Six & Out” rule in backyard cricket. It’s also the name of […]
abc/..
Feb 20, 2008 at 4:34 pm
where do i download the songs from????
Dinnie
Feb 20, 2008 at 6:07 pm
ABC:
Their site is down, and I think the only way you can get the songs is by purchasing them from a music store. :)
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: