Major Indoor Cricket League Rules:
All of the rules in outdoor Twenty20 Cricket apply with the following exceptions:
The Field:
The Field:
- Overall Dimensions - 200ft x 85ft (61m x 26m).
- The field uses the same padding found in Arena Football or in indoor cricket.
- The Pitch - 66ft x 10ft (20m x 3m).
- Zones A & C (ends) - 67ft x 85ft (20m x 26m) each.
- Zone B (middle) - 66ft x 85ft (20m x 26m).
- All Games last 24 overs of six balls, with each team getting 12 overs.
- All Games start with a coin toss, with the visiting team always getting the pick.
- The regular season consists of 46 (23h/23a) games; 10 games (5h/5a) against the other 3 teams in the division (30), and 4 games (2h/2a) against all 4 teams in the other division (16).
- Inter-conference play is in between the two halves of conference play.
- The postseason is a 4-team best-of-3 series tournament consisting of the top 2 teams from each division.
- The All-Star Game is a game where all of the best 24 players from each division play in a MICL Stadium with each series being rotated in a E-W format; this takes place one week after the conclusion of the Playoffs.
- 6 players on the field; 24 players on the roster.
- Each player must bowl in a partnership for 2 overs, and bat in a partnership for 4 overs.
- The stumps used in indoor cricket are collapsible spring-loaded stumps that immediately spring back to the standing position when knocked over.
- The ball used in indoor cricket is a modified cricket ball, with a softer center; The ball also differs in that it is yellow in color so to make it more obvious to see indoors against varied backgrounds
- Both traditional outdoor cricket bats or more specialized lighter-weight indoor cricket bats may be used.
- Players wear traditional outdoor cricket gear when batting.
- Uniforms will be traditional outdoor twenty20 cricket uniforms with the addition of baseball caps.
- Scoring is split into 2 areas: physical runs and bonus runs.
- Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other.
- Bonus runs are scored when the ball hit into the walls or stands. Bonus scores for particular parts of the walls follow:
- Zone A (front wall - behind the wicket-keeper): 1 run
- Zone B (side walls between the striker's end and the bowlers end): 2 runs
- Zone C (back wall - behind the bowler): 3 runs
- Hitting the ball into the stands: 4 runs
- NB: For bonus runs to be scored, at least one physical run must be attempted. The bonus runs are then added to the physical runs; For example, a batsman strikes the ball, hitting the back net on the full (3) and makes one physical run, for a total of 4 runs.
- A batsman can be dismissed in the same ways they can be in conventional cricket - with variations in the case of LBW and mankad (see below) - and with the exception of timed out.
- Mankads: A mankad is given out if the bowler completes their bowling action without releasing the ball, breaks the stumps at their end without letting go of the ball and the non-striker is out of their ground.
- LBW: A batsman can only be dismissed LBW if he does not offer a shot and the umpire is satisfied that the ball would then have hit the stumps.
- When a batsman gets dismissed, however, one run is deducted from their total and they continue to bat.
- Batsmen bat in pairs for 4 overs at a time, irrespective of whether they are dismissed.
- A player can also be "caught" by a ball rebounding off a wall as long as it has not previously touched the ground.
- This negates any physical or bonus runs that might have been awarded.
- american indoor cricket is officiated by one umpire who stands usually 3 yards behind the wicket-keeper.
Major Indoor Cricket League Teams:
Eastern Division:
- D.C. Forward - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Arena (11,286)
- Florida Thunder - Tampa, FL - Tampa Bay Times Forum (19,204)
- New Jersey Fire - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center (17,615)
- New York Storm - Albany, NY - Times Union Center (13,941)
- Chicago Tornadoes - Chicago, IL - United Center (19,717)
- Los Angeles Unity - Los Angeles, CA - LA Sports Arena (14,546)
- San Francisco Freedom - San Francisco, CA - Cow Palace (11,089)
- Texas Arrow Heads - Houston, TX - Toyota Center (17,800)