GB2595576A

GB2595576A - Cricket playing apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2595576A
Application number: GB2105708.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Francis Mason Peter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-04-21
Filing date: 2021-04-21
Publication date: 2021-12-01
Anticipated expiration: 2041-04-21
Also published as: GB202005826D0; GB202105708D0; GB2595576B

Abstract

A ball capture apparatus comprises a frame, the frame including a ground engaging structure 2; a support 7 mounted on the frame, the support having a front face, a rear face and an array of apertures 20 communicating between the front and rear faces; wherein a minimum transverse dimension of each aperture is greater than a maximum dimension of a ball 19 to be used with the apparatus; a capture material 8 overlying the front face of the support, the capture material comprising a deformable sheet, the deformable sheet arranged to deform when contacted with a said ball to allow the ball to pass through an aperture in the support from the front to the rear so that the sheet may form a pocket to retain the ball beyond the rear surface of the support. A tensioning force is applied to the support 7, wherein the tensioning force is in the range of 0.1 to 0.85 kg. The support and capture material may each take the form of a net. The apparatus relates to apparatus for playing any bat and ball game; particularly, but not exclusively, for playing cricket.

Description

CRICKET PLAYING APPARATUS

This invention relates to apparatus for playing a bat and ball game; particularly, but not exclusively, for playing cricket. The apparatus may also be used for playing other bat and ball games, for example baseball or rounders. The games are referred to in this specification as "cricket" for brevity. The apparatus may be used for playing a bat and ball game or may be used as a teaching or training aid.

A large area is required for playing a conventional game of cricket, or similar bat and ball game, because the ball may be hit by the batter in various directions, both in front of the batter, to either side, and also rearwardly. For example, if the batter does not manage to strike the ball sufficiently cleanly, then the ball may be edged and, in a conventional cricket game, could be caught behind by the wicket keeper or slip fielders. Several fielders are required to play a reasonable game. In situations in which there is not a large playing area, cricket may be played against a wall. For example, cricket may be played in a street or playing yard.

Whereas it is possible to play a reasonable game of football against a wall, a game of cricket is greatly diminished in such circumstances.

GB163475 discloses a golf practice net comprising two screens hung one in front of the other, the front screen being of flexible material through which a golf ball cannot pass and the rear screen being of interstitial material such that a golf ball driven against the front screen can carry a pocket of the latter through an interstice of the rear screen, so that the ball will hang in the pocket so that the position at which the ball strikes the screen will be visible. According to the present invention, cricket playing apparatus comprises: a frame, the frame including a ground engaging structure; a support mounted on the frame, the support having a front face, a rear face and an array of apertures communicating between the front and rear faces; wherein a minimum transverse dimension of each aperture is greater than a maximum dimension of a ball to be used with the apparatus; a capture material overlying the front face of the support, the capture material comprising a deformable sheet, the deformable sheet arranged to deform when contacted with a said ball to allow the ball to pass through an aperture in the support from the front to the rear so that the sheet may form a pocket to retain the ball beyond the rear surface of the support; wherein a tensioning force is applied to the support wherein the tensioning force is in the range of 0.1 to 0.85kg.

In a preferred embodiment, the tensioning force may be in the range of 0.1 to 0.6kg, preferably 0.2 to 0.6kg, more preferably 0.2 to 0.5kg, most preferably about 0.25kg.

The tension may be applied to the support in a vertical direction, in a horizontal direction or in both a vertical and a horizontal direction.

In a preferred embodiment, the tension is applied in a vertical direction.

The tensioning force may be selected so that the support is sufficiently taut so that the capture material and ball can pass through an aperture to allow formation of a pocket; the tensioning force being below a minimum value above which a ball striking the support may bounce back towards a player in use.

With a golf practice net, the ball has a relatively small diameter and mass and may travel at a high velocity when hit with a golf club. However, the inertia of a golf ball is small so that after hitting the capture material and support, a rebound is unlikely. Furthermore, a player driving a golf ball faces towards the direction of flight so that he or she can see if the ball bounces back and will have an opportunity to take evasive action to avoid being hit. In contrast, an adult cricket ball may have a mass of 150 to 160g and a circumference of 22 to 23 cm. A junior cricket ball may have a mass of 135g. In view of the large size of a cricket ball, a risk of a rebound is relatively high. In apparatus in accordance with this invention, the support may be deflected if struck with a cricket ball, so that the ball may pass through the aperture to form a pocket in the capture material.

The support, particularly the front surface of the support, may include a representation of a wicket. Alternatively, a wicket may be integral with the ground engaging structure. In a further alternative a freestanding wicket may be placed in front of the support.

In use, the apparatus may be located behind a batter's position, for example behind the location of the crease, so that a ball passing behind the batter is caught by passing through an aperture located at the height and width at which the ball contacts the capture material. The apparatus allows the players to observe the location (the height and width within the support) at which the ball passes behind the wicket. This would be difficult or impossible if playing against a wall or using a conventional cricket net.

The way of apertures may extend on both sides of the wicket and upwardly from the wicket so that a ball, which is hit rearwardly by the batter or which is deflected by the batter's body, for example leg or glove, or which is hit a glancing blow, or edged by the bat is caught by the apparatus and retained at the location at which it passed the wicket.

In use of the apparatus it may be possible to use the location of the pocket in which the ball is caught to determine whether a ball would have been caught behind by the wicket keeper, deflected to a slip fielder, played into the ground or hit above the wicket keeper or fielder and gone to the boundary, for example for 4 runs or over a higher trajectory for 6 runs.

The support may be planar or may be dome shaped, for example corresponding to the support extending behind and around the sides of the wicket. For example, the support may be concave or part-cylindrical about a generally vertical axis. A separate support may be provided on one side of the main support, for example on the onside or offside of the batter.

The support may comprise a net, for example a rectangular net composed of polymeric or natural fibrous material. Otherwise shaped nets, for example hexagonal nets, may be employed. Alternatively, the support may comprise a lattice, for example composed of perforated polymeric sheet material, for example polypropylene.

Square or rectangular netting is preferred, more preferably square netting. The dimension or length of the sides of the square or otherwise shaped apertures, are greater than a diameter of a playing ball, for example a cricket ball, so that the ball may pass through the aperture.

Use of netting confers several advantages. Use of netting is preferred because a strand of the netting may deflect when hit by a ball, to increase the likelihood that the ball is caught. Use of netting avoids or substantially reduces the risk of a ball bouncing back from the support towards the bowler, particularly avoiding any risk of an injury to the batter. Netting is inexpensive; it may be easily rolled or folded for transportation. Furthermore, wind may pass through the netting so that the apparatus may be used in windy conditions without need for it to be firmly secured to the ground.

The support netting may be maintained in an extended configuration, for example maintained under tension, in order to prevent excessive deflection in use.

Tension may be applied to the support (for example being in the form of netting) by securing an upper edge of the support (for example netting) to the frame and binding a lower edge of the support, such as netting, with a roller, or may be retained under tension with one or more weights attached to a lower portion of the support, such as netting. Alternatively, a tensioning force may be applied by a resilient frame which is kept under tension by the net.

In an exemplary embodiment, the support may comprise netting composed of monofilament or multifilament polymer, for example polyolefin fibres. Polyethylene or polypropylene may be employed. Alternatively, a low-friction material, for example polyamide (Nylon (Registered Trade Mark)) may be used Conventional sports netting, for example baseball or other ball games netting may be used.

The capture material may comprise a net composed of finer yarns than the support and having dimensions which are less than a diameter of the ball so that a ball striking the capture material will not pass through the capture material. The capture material is configured to deform such that the ball is retained in a pocket formed by passage of the capture material through an aperture in the support.

In an exemplary embodiment, the capture material is composed of polyethylene, polypropylene or polyamide. Multifilament netting may be preferred on account of its softness and flexibility. Multi filaments may be twisted into yarns which may in turn be twisted or plaited to form strands of the netting.

A display may be integral with the support or located in front or behind the support. The display may carry various indications, for example to show that a ball caught in a particular pocket has been caught by the wicket keeper; caught by a slip fieldsman or has gone for 4 runs or 6 runs; or has hit the ground without being caught.

Preferably the apertures are square so that the width and height dimensions of all of the apertures are the same.

The support such as a net, is maintained under sufficient tension so that it is deflected rearwardly by a distance less than four times, preferably less than two times, more preferably less than one time the width or height dimension of the apertures in the support The sides of the apertures of the support may be 8cm to 20cm. Optionally, the size of the apertures of the support may be 10cm to 15cm or any other size selected to allow passage of the ball.

A frame may comprise one or more ground engaging portions, one or more upright portions, and one or more crossbar portions.

The crossbar portions (also referred to herein as crossbar) is a portion of the frame which extends from an upright portion generally above the ground and optionally horizontally or nearly horizontally. For example, the crossbar portion may be parallel to the ground.

The ground engaging structure may comprise outwardly extruding horizontal members, for example feet. The ground engaging portions may be adapted to provide stability to the remainder of the frame and to the apparatus as a whole. One or more ground engaging portions may collectively be referred to as a ground engaging support structure. The ground engaging structure may comprise a collapsible frame, arranged when deployed to engage the support and hold it upright.

Each upright portion may extend upward, away from the ground and the ground engaging portions. The ground engaging portion may extend vertically or near vertically. One or more upright portions may collectively be referred to as an upright portion member.

A ground engaging portion may be coupled to or integral with an upright portion, for example if the ground engaging portion and the upright portion is made of a single piece of material with a bend in the material.

A crossbar portion may be coupled to an upright portion or may be integral with an upright portion, for example if the crossbar portion and the upright portion is made of a single piece of material.

In a preferred embodiment the frame comprises two ground engaging portions and two upright portions wherein the upright portions have a proximal end (nearest the ground) and a distal end (furthest from the ground) and each ground engaging portion is coupled to a different upright portion at the proximal end and a crossbar portion extends from the distal end of one upright portion to the distal end of the other upright portion.

The frame may optionally further comprise a third ground engaging portion extending between the two ground engaging portions.

The support may comprise an upper edge and a lower edge. As would be evident to 20 the skilled person the upper edge may be distal to the ground and the lower edge may be proximal to the ground, when in use.

The upper edge of the support, for example a net, may be fastened to the crossbar and tensioned on the lower edge by weights, springs or a tensioning mechanism, for example a roller around which the lower portion of the support, for example a net, may be wound.

In a preferred embodiment, the support is a net and is maintained under a tension force such that a ball striking the net directly does not rebound or bounce back towards the batter or bowler. A strand of the support net may be deflected laterally by impact with a ball by a distance of less than 0.3 x the width or height dimension of an aperture of the net, or preferably less than 0.2 x said dimension, more preferably less than 0.1x.

Lateral deflection of the strand of the support netting has the advantage of causing a ball striking the support netting to be deflected laterally and lose momentum. This may facilitate capture of the ball.

As the ball passes into the aperture, the capture netting may fold around the ball to form a pocket surrounding the ball, the aperture in the support netting forming a mouth of the pocket.

The capture material comprises a net, referred to as the capture net, having apertures with a maximum dimension less than the diameter of a ball, for example a standard cricket ball so that a ball contacting the support net cannot pass through an aperture in the capture net. This enables the ball to be retained by the capture net.

The capture net may hang freely or may hang from the crossbar of the frame under nil or minimum tension. Fasteners, for example runners, may be provided to prevent the capture material from being blown away or deflected in windy conditions.

The capture netting is preferably lightweight or flexible so that it deforms when contacted by a cricket or other ball. Multifilament netting may be preferred on account of its softness and flexibility. Multi filaments may be twisted into yarns which may in turn be twisted or plaited to form strands of the netting.

The invention is further described by means of example, but not in a 'imitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:-Figure 1 is a front elevation of cricket playing apparatus in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a detailed view of the support; Figure 3 is a detailed view of the capture members; Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention; and Figure 5 shows a ball captured using the apparatus.

A frame (I) comprises upright support members (3), (4), and a crossbar (5) supported by a ground engaging support structure (2). The frame may be held upright by guy ropes and ground engaging pegs or weights (not shown).

A wicket (6) may stand in front of the support or may be integral with the ground engaging structure (2).

A support (7) comprises a net extending over the front face of the opening formed by the support, the net having square apertures (9) as shown in Figure 2. The apertures (9) may 30 have a dimension of 8 cm to 20 cm, preferably 8 cm to 15 cm, more preferably about 10 cm. The support (7) is secured to the crossbar (5) and has one or more weights attached to the lower edge. The weights may apply a tension of 0.1 to 0.85kg to the support in a vertical direction, preferably 0.1 to 0.6kg, more preferably 0.2 to 0.6kg, most preferably 0.2 to 0.5kg, for example, about 0.25kg. The tension may be supplied by one or more springs or elastic members.

A capture material (8), shown in Figure 3, comprises a fine net overlying the front face of the support net.

The capture netting may be made from a low friction single strand or multifilament yarn, for example polyamide (Nylon (Registered Trade Mark)).

Figure 4 illustrates a lateral, for example leg-side apparatus of the invention comprising a frame, support and capture material as shown in Figure 1 in combination with a second panel located at the side of the wicket area. The second panel comprises a frame (10) having upright support members (11) (12), a crossbar (13) and ground engaging support (14).

A support material (15) and capture net (16) are suspended from the crossbar and uprights in the same way as described with reference to Figure 1, The lateral apparatus may be located at an angle to the main support, for example on the leg-side of a right-handed batter.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Figure 1. The ground engaging support comprises a quadrilateral, for example rectangular, frame comprising of four ground engaging portions forming the sides of the frame quadrilateral, extending rearwardly of the uprights (3) and (4). Two upright portions (17) (18) extend from the rear portion of the ground engaging support to the upper part of the uprights (3), (4) respectively. As such, the apparatus may, in certain embodiments, comprise four upright portions.

A ball (19) is captured in a pocket in the capture netting (8), having passed through the aperture (20) of the support net (7). Capture of the ball (19) in the pocket extending behind the aperture (20) allows the players to see what region of the support was struck by the ball. Thus, the players are able to determine whether the ball could have been caught by the wicket keeper, slip fielder, or other fielders, or had passed between or above the fielders and gone to the boundary for 4 or 6 runs.

Claims

CLAIMSCricket playing apparatus comprising:-a frame, the frame including a ground engaging structure; a support mounted on the frame, the support having a front face, a rear face and an array of apertures communicating between the front and rear faces; wherein a minimum transverse dimension of each aperture is greater than a maximum dimension of a ball to be used with the apparatus; a capture material overlying the front face of the support, the capture material comprising a deformable sheet, the deformable sheet arranged to deform when contacted with a said ball to allow the ball to pass through an aperture in the support from the front to the rear so that the sheet may form a pocket to retain the ball beyond the rear surface of the support; wherein a tensioning force is applied to the support wherein the tensioning force is in the range of 0.1 to 0.85kg.
Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in claim I wherein the front face of the support includes a representation of a wicket.
Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a wicket integral with the ground engaging structure.
4. Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the support is planar.
Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the support comprises a net.
6. Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the support comprises square or rectangular netting Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the netting is square netting and the dimension of the sides of the squares are greater than the diameter of a playing ball.8. Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in any of claims 5, 6, and 7 wherein the support netting is maintained under tension.9. Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in any of claims 6 to claims 8 wherein the support net is maintained under sufficient tension that it is not deflected rearwardly by a distance of greater than 4 x, preferably greater than 2 x, more preferably greater than 1 x the width or height dimension of the aperture when struck by a playing ball. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in any of claims 6 to 9 wherein the support comprises netting, comprising multifilament strands.Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in any of claims 6 to 10 wherein the support comprises netting, the upper edge of the support netting being fastened to the frame, the lower edge of the support netting being tensioned by weights, springs, or a tensioning mechanism Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein a strand of the support net may be deflected laterally by impact with a ball by a distance of less than 0.3 x the width or height dimension of an aperture of the net, preferably less than 0.2 x the dimension, more preferably less than 0.1 x the dimension.Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the capture material comprises a net, having apertures with a maximum dimension less than the diameter of a ball.Cricket playing apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein the capture net hangs freely from the frame