Six and Out?

[Icky_Thoomp]

From the news.com.au website, a story about cricketers not being able to hit sixes because of public liability....

Story (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11197693%255E13762,00.html)

IMHO, that is fucked. Pure and simple fucked. If someone is walking past a cricket oval, they should be aware that a ball could come flying over the fence. If they are dumb enough to get hit, then Darwin's theory must take control and that person is then rendered unable to breed.

[catt]

We always played by those rules, my parents were too cheap to fork out for public liability and the neighbourhood children were all dobbers... meh seems fair to me, perhaps they ought to just take their bats and balls and go home ;)

[thingy]

Not all cricket pitches are surrounded by parkland, some have streets and footpaths going past certain points. Those people are just going about their own business irrelivant of what is happening on the pitch. Very few cricket pitches have protection up to stop stray balls similar to how golf courses are set up. Maybe they should be. This new ruling actually does make sense.

If you read the article, they said they've only found a hand full of pitches that are actually of concern, my interpretation is that possibly it's not EVERY 6 that is out, just certain "danger zones" to try and discourage 6's being hit in that direction.

Below I'll quote the relevant bits of that article to back up what I said.

The dead ball rule is to stop cricketers hitting sixes over certain boundaries at Canterbury Sports Ground and Dorothy Laver Reserve East, Glen Iris.

Mr Nevins said a study of Boroondara's 60-odd grounds found only two high-risk grounds.

"A resident wrote to us during last cricket season saying they'd been walking with their baby along the street of the southern boundary of the Canterbury Sports Ground, when a cricket ball landed near the pram."
They don't make it clear if it's 6's in ALL grounds, or just in these certain direction of these two grounds.

[Icky_Thoomp]

You're right, Thingy, it is just at the few grounds where there is a short boundary. Still doesn't change the fact that it is a shit rule. Now these crappy bowlers can bowl rubbish in areas that are using hitting zones for these boundaries and not be penalised for it. Bloody public liability.

Also, what's with this reasonable, well thought out responses? Couldn't believe it was Thingy being so eloquent.... :D

The netting that golf courses put up would be a good idea although they would need to be tough to stop a cricket ball that has just been belted for six....

[thingy]

Just standard chookwire would do it. That's what they use at most golf courses, same thickness (they could go a wider-feed and get away with it). If it's only two grounds, surely it's not that much of an infeasable idea? Only needs to be what, 5m high? 10 at most?

[Jimma]

Yeah would make more sense than changing the rules of cricket.

[repeat]

I can see it now, Aust vs India at the MCG when Adam Gilchrist hits a six and the umpire raises his finger to signal that he is out.

[thingy]

I can see it now, Aust vs India at the MCG when Adam Gilchrist hits a six and the umpire raises his finger to signal that he is out.
Actually they're not out, it's just a dead ball (no runs, no re-bowl, basically as though the batter simply let the ball go through to the keeper). I got carried away earlier with the good ol' "six and out" rule from backyard cricket and used some bad terminology.

[Jimma]

Heh, and they make him go find the ball too.

[dwarfthrower]

Dorothy Laver Reserve East, Glen Iris.

Used to live near there... the boundary is basically marked by a walking track.

Agree on the golf course-type fencing idea. Batsman shouldn't be punished for poorly planned facilities.

[Enos]

What's next, one hand one bounce? one hand off the fence?

[Lurgen]

Walking your baby past an oval being used for cricket? How fucking stupid do you have to be to get legal support around here?

Forgive me for sounded mean, but there's this dirty great big oval with a cricket pitch in the middle of it. The guys playing on it didn't put it there, the council did. So they play their game on it, a game that is pretty well known around the world to involve a ball, a bat, and some guy hitting it as far as he bloody well can. So it's not really surprising that a ball or two ends up outside the field. In fact, suprise fucking surprise, there is a rule for this - it's called a MOTHERFUCKING SIX! You are rewarded with extra points, you don't have to run, and you look like a deadset legend.

From my childhood, my understanding of the six-and-out rule was that it was used in games held in non-standard locations. Backyards, basketball courts, streets, etc. Because those places weren't set up for it.

This is another example of how stupid our legal system is, and how stupid people are in general. Walk your baby by a cricket game, go on - when the baby is killed by a rogue cricket ball you have only yourself to blame. Maybe we should tack on a law that requires sterilisation of dumb fuck parents.

[Tintin]

What's next, one hand one bounce? one hand off the fence?That depends if it's tippedy. :D