The Great Marlborough Backyard Cricket Championship

We are aiming to provide Marlborough’s good, great and mediocre backyard cricket enthusiasts with a chance to let them show off their repertoire of skills, which they have spent countless afternoons and weekends perfecting.

So if this sounds like you and a group of friends or family, register a team of six, by emailing [email protected] or phone - 0272937640 and come on down to the Queen Charlotte Tavern (1162 Queen Charlotte Drive, Linkwater, Marlborough, 7281), on Saturday the 3rd of January 2026 and compete in the 2025-26 iteration of the event and to hopefully walk away with bragging rights and the big one, a massively oversized trophy.

Each team will compete in a round robin tournament, with the top four teams going through to the semi-finals and the top two teams then competing in the final.

Teams: Each team will be made up of six players. There will be limited spots available; the event will be limited to 24 teams.

Rules: There will be a coin toss between each team to determine who bats first, with the winner of the toss deciding.

- Each team will have four overs, to make as many runs as possible.
- Each player may only bowl one over, during each match.
- If a team loses five wickets before the completion of their four overs, their innings is over.
All games are played using the normal rules of cricket, except for the following variations:
- The ball, as with most backyard games, a soft ball will be used.
- First Ball, a batsman (or woman), may not go out on the first delivery they face.
- Tipnys’, if the ball touches any part of the bat during a delivery, the batsmen must run.
- One Hand, One Bounce, if the ball has only bounced once, any fielder may use only one hand to catch the ball, signalling a loss of wicket to the batsman, who hit the ball.
- Six and Out, any ball travelling over a designated distance past the boundary rope (namely over the fence of the paddock), gains the batting team six runs, but results in the loss of the wicket of the batsman, who struck the ball.
To register a team please send an email to [email protected] or call 0272937640.