Cricket

Cricket
Country of origin England
It’s sort of like Baseball
Equipment A ball similar to a baseball; a 38-inch flat wooden bat; two 32-inch-tall stakes, which are called “wickets.”
Field of play The main strip where the action takes place, the “pitch,” measures 66 feet long and 10 feet wide. Each end of the pitch is referred to as a “crease.”
How to play A bowler (pitcher)—who’s backed by 10 players on defense—makes a running overhand toss toward the batsman on offense. That ball usually skips once, maybe twice, on the way in. The batter swings, and if he makes contact, a teammate at the other end of the pitch sprints toward the other crease. He tries to get there before a fielder can throw the ball and knock down the wicket the runner is dashing toward. Even though games usually last just one or two (ten-out) innings, scores can reach the hundreds, and formal games are a daylong affair.
How to win Sarti Krishnan, who picked up the game as a kid in India and now plays at the rec level locally, tells us “tactic trumps talent—an aggressive bowling and fielding strategy pays rich dividends.”
Where to play The ’burbs are bursting with cricket action (including Naperville, which is set to launch its own Naperville Park District–sponsored league in early May), but pick-up games can be found just about every weekend till October at Washington Park (5531 S King Dr).
Betcha didn’t know Although unknown to most Americans, the game dates back to 1709 in the States. Honest Abe even made a trip to Chicago to see our guys take on the blokes from Milwaukee.
For more info americancricketconference.org; napervilleparks.org; icc-cricket.com

Hurling
Country of origin Ireland
It’s sort of like Hockey
Equipment A ball (known as a “sliothar”) that’s similar to our baseball, but with a more pronounced stitch; a stick (or a “hurley”) that resembles a hockey stick with a curved end.
Field of play The pitch is 450 feet long by 270 feet wide, with two goalposts shaped like capital H’s.
How to play Fifteen to a side, players move the ball toward the opposition’s goal. You can strike the ball with your stick while it’s either on the ground or in the air. You’re hot-dogging (or “soloing”) if you can tap-tap-tap or balance the ball on your stick while running. You can carry the sliothar in your hand, too, but you’re only allowed four steps. Smack it below or through the uprights to score.
How to win Learning to balance that sliothar on your hurley is the key.
Where to play Gaelic Park (6119 W 147th St, Oak Forest) has the only pitch in town.
Betcha didn’t know Although the Irish championships typically draw crowds of 80,000, the teams are composed of unpaid volunteers.
For more infochicagogaelicpark.org; gaa.ie

Petanque

Pétanque
(pronounced “pay-TAHNK”)
Country of origin France
It’s sort of like Nothing. The game is too Frenchified for Yankees to corrupt it.
Equipment A marker ball, referred to as a “cochonnet,” (pronounced “co-sho-NAY”) and four or six “boules” (pronounced “bool”), steel balls weighing about one and a half pounds.
Field of play Casual games are usually played on the street, but the generally accepted size of the court is 12 feet wide by 40 feet long.
How to play If you know bocce, you know pétanque. The main difference is the number of balls used. In the Francophile version, teams of one or two use three boules per player, and teams of three use two boules per player (in bocce, each team gets four balls, regardless of the number of players). The starting point is a circle of about one and a half feet wide; players’ feet cannot leave this circle during a toss. Teams try to get their boules closer to the cochonnet than the opposition. First to a baker’s dozen wins.
How to win “Tossing a boule with your palm down, while using backspin, slows down the boule when it hits the ground and allows you to control the rolling distance,” says Dan Danielson, president of the Chicago Petanque Club.
Where to play A group of petanque players meets most weekends at the Forest Park Community Park (7501 Harrison St, Forest Park).
Betcha didn’t know The Midwest Pétanque tournament will be held on June 2 on the softball fields in Grant Park.
For more infochicagopetanque.com; usapetanque.org

If you want to play these and other games this summer, you’ve got to get your name on the roster pronto: See “Spring sports preview” in Sports.

Photo Gallery:

On the field: See how the games of kabaddi, petanque and cricket are played in this photo gallery.