Sixes hit over the boundary netting during Sidmouth CC friendlies will incur a five-run penalty in an effort to protect passers-by on the beach
Sidmouth Cricket Club have introduced batting restrictions along one boundary of their Fortfield Terrace ground in an effort to protect members of the public, in a move that could see big-hitters penalised for clearing the ropes.
The southern boundary at the Devon club, which boasts England international Dom Bess among its former players, sits three metres above the esplanade and neighbouring beach, leaving passers-by potentially unaware of the matches being played nearby.
With public safety in mind, the club have decided to implement a new rule for the 2021 season which will penalise sixes hit towards the esplanade.
During all friendly and touring fixtures, any six which clears the boundary netting installed by the club two years ago will incur a five-run penalty. County and club matches, however, will be unaffected by the restriction.
Explaining the decision, club chairman, Richard Sommers, said: "During the winter we review our safety provisions to safeguard the sport and protect our playing members, visitors and members of the public.
England and Somerset spinner, Dom Bess, used to play at Sidmouth CC. His cousin, Zak Bess, is the first XI captain
"The club has already invested £20000 in netting along the boundary, and it’s been hugely successful in stopping balls going out of the ground, but we’ve decided to take a further step based on the size of our ground, the location of the ground and the various matches we play."
As well as their own Devon Cricket League fixtures, Sidmouth host several Devon CCC matches a season and attract a full fixture list of friendlies against touring sides.
Such a heavy schedule requires multiple pitches to be used throughout the season, some of which are naturally nearer to the esplanade than others. However, the club will carefully manage its pitch selection to strike a balance between public safety and unrestricted play for club and county matches.
"Our square is about 16 pitches wide and some of them are closer to the sea than others," Sommers continued. "For Devon county games and league matches, the pitches in the middle of the square will be used to allow normal run scoring.
"But you can’t play all the games on those pitches otherwise you won’t have quality pitches. We’ll use the outer ones for junior games, where the risk of the ball being hit out of the ground is nil, and for visiting friendlies with the restrictions in place.
"It’s just our determination and sense of duty to our members and the public to provide a safe and enjoyable environment to play the sport."
Allaying concerns that the rule would ruin the game, Sommers confirmed that the club had trialled the restriction and received positive responses.
"We probably played four or five friendlies [last season] and each club said it was fine," he said. "The attitude was "we love playing here and we understand why you’ve got to do it" and they just got on with it. It didn’t affect the enjoyment of the game."
"It’s just our determination and sense of duty to our members and the public to provide a safe and enjoyable environment to play the sport."
Commenting further on the necessity of the rule, Sommers concluded: "People might ask "you’ve been playing cricket at the ground for around 200 years, why now?"
"I’ve observed many games over the last two years where the ball has hit the netting which is fine. You have to hit it quite high to go over the netting, but it is possible with the quality of batsmen, the quality of bats and the growth of T20 cricket.
"At the end of the day, when a batsman plays a shot you can’t be in absolute control over what you’re doing unless you’re Viv Richards. We can’t prevent some sixes going out of the ground, but I think we’ll reduce it by having the netting, carefully using our pitches and having a rule that discourages people from hitting the ball in that direction."
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Posted by Andy on 03/02/2021 at 21:04
Even 5 penalty runs isn't going to help somebody if they get hit. You can't expect batsmen to overcome the instinct to play shots. What's required is a safe covered pathway adjacent to the boundary, and warning signs when a game is on that balls may be flying.
Posted by Surya Narayanan on 03/02/2021 at 10:24
We are THCC cricket club in Hamburg, Germany and our boundaries are 36m to the sides and 50m on the straits. We put up a rule 15 years ago that no sixes at our ground will be allowed as its dangerous for the passerby and tennis players who play on the adjacent courts. It has worked so far but for the players it's restricting them to play freely. But we still enjoy the game without those sixes.
Posted by Buckley on 29/01/2021 at 23:08
In our sixes com petition we received six for 4 and10 for a six which end did dom bowl from? David left arm spinner
Posted by Dave Chidgey on 29/01/2021 at 16:08
I played and hit 105 at Sidmouth in 1976 for a touring Bristol side. A game I will never forget for many reasons. It is such a great venue, and we thoroughly enjoyed our match there for many years. Unfortunately 3 sixes I hit went out of the ground and onto the beech area. Strangely enough my uncle was on holiday, walking outside of the ground, and retrieved 2 of the balls. He was surprised to see that it was his nephew causing mayhem As a side, my uncle was a professional cricketer with Gloucestershire CCC back in the 50's.
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