Heard folks buzzing about this Little Master Cricket game last week, figured I’d give it a go myself. Kinda looked like a mix of mini-golf and croquet at first glance. Grabbed a cheap set online – just some plastic wickets, a bat, and a ball – nothing fancy.
Setting Things Up
First step was figuring out the pitch. Right there in the dusty manual pictures, needed a flat stretch about 10 feet long. Cleared a space on my patio. Plonked down the three wicket arches at one end – that’s the “bowling” end. Took the other single wicket and stuck it opposite – the “batting” end. Measured roughly 10 feet between them. Felt a bit weird standing there with a tiny bat.
Total Confusion Phase
Okay, so what now? Read the rules. Sounded simple enough: one player bowls, trying to hit the batter’s wicket with the ball. The batter tries to hit the ball with the bat and stop that. If the bowler hits the wicket, batter is out. If the batter hits the ball, they score runs by dashing to the bowler’s end and back, touching the ground with their bat. Fine.
Tried it solo first, pretending to be both players. Started as bowler, rolled the ball underarm along the ground aiming for that single wicket. Missed wildly. Switched to batter. Tried hitting the ball when I rolled it at myself. Took me three tries just to connect! Felt ridiculous. Big question popped into my head: How many times does the batter get before they’re actually out? Dug deeper. Ah! Turns out the batter gets 4 “lives” – four chances for the bowler to knock their wicket before they’re done. Makes sense.
Playing Properly (Kinda)
Got my nephew over to be the guinea pig. I bowled. First few balls, he swung wildly, missed, but I missed his wicket too. Then he connected! Poorly, but it rolled away. He panicked, looked at me like “What do I do?!”. “Run, you numpty!” I yelled. He sprinted to my end, tapped the bat, sprinted back. Scored one run! We both laughed. Got more competitive fast.
We learned some stuff the hard way:
- Bowling straight matters a lot. Easy to send it way off course.
- Hitting the ball consistently is tough! That little bat feels awkward.
- Running quickly and touching the ground is key for runs. Dodgy footwork meant a few runs got disputed (“Did you touch?!”).
- Getting “out” actually happens. He knocked my wicket clean off on his third bowl! Felt surprisingly satisfying for him.
Swapped roles. He bowled slow, I tried batting, felt weirdly intense trying to defend that tiny wicket arch with this stubby bat. Managed to score a few runs, felt like a champ until he finally clipped my wicket.
The Final Verdict (From My Patio)
Played maybe 5 innings each. Little Master Cricket is dead simple to set up. The rules are straightforward once you bash your head against them for a bit.
- Who’s it good for? Honestly, brilliant for kids in the yard, maybe adults if you’re not too serious or just want a laugh. Easy to learn.
- Skill level? Seems low barrier – you don’t need cricket skills, just basic coordination. More frantic fun than technical mastery.
- Is it deep? Nah, not really. It’s plastic wickets on the patio. But it’s quick, physical, and surprisingly competitive. Great for burning off energy.
Would I play it again? Yeah, actually. Next sunny weekend, I’m challenging the kid to a rematch. Cheap fun. Thumbs up from me.
