Rules and Regulations

BBS cricket is governed by the MCC laws of cricket with a number of specific amendments for blind cricket.

Some of the most significant rule changes for domestic blind cricket are:

The game is played with a size 3 football containing a quantity of ball bearings, this means it rattles making it easy to hear for low sighted and blind players.
The wicket is larger, making it easier for the partially sighted players to see and easier for a batsman or bowler to touch for the purpose of orientation.
The ball must bounce at least twice before it reaches a totally blind batsman but must not be rolling.
The ball must bounce at least once before it reaches a partially sighted Batsman.
A totally blind Batsman is given one chance before being given out LBW and can not be stumped.
The Bowler must ask the Batsman if he is ready before beginning his run up and shout "play" as he releases the ball.
A totally blind Fielder can make a catch after the ball has bounced once.
Each team must contain at least 4 totally blind players except if player is registered ‘low partial’ then only three totally blind players are required.
Every run scored by a totally blind (b1) player is doubled, so if a b1 batsman scores a 4 it counts as 8.

As for international blind cricket the rules differ again!

Here are some of the main changes for international blind cricket rules:

A team must contain 4 players registered b1 (totally blind), 3 registered b2 and 4 registered b3.
The ball is a plastic ball the same size as a normal cricket ball and it also rattles.
The ball is bowled under arm and must bounce before it gets halfway down the pitch (11 yards).
Blind cricket international matches only last one day and are 40 overs per side with the team with the highest score at the end of the match the winner, these matches can only be a draw if the scores are level after each side has batted 40 overs.
International matches also follow several laws that our domestic game has including rules 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 from the above list of domestic rules.

For a full list of all international and domestic blind cricket rules please visit the official blind cricket website: http://www.blindcricket.org.uk

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