French cricket is an informal game

Game

A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...

 derived from the sport

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

 of cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

. There is only one batsman, and their objective is to not be dismissed

Dismissal (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out . Colloquially, the fielding team is also said to have snared, bagged or captured a wicket. At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings...

 by the other participants - who are fielders

Fielding (cricket)

Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...

, or a bowler if they have possession of the ball - for as long as possible. The objective of the other participants is to dismiss the batsman. There are only two methods of dismissal, being caught

Caught

Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Being caught out is the most common method of dismissal at higher levels of competition...

 or being "leg before wicket

Leg before wicket

In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...

", but as there are no stump

Stump (cricket)

Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:# part of the wicket# a manner of dismissing a batsman# the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...

s, this method of dismissal is effected by a bowled ball hitting the batsman's legs typically below the knees. Once the batsman is dismissed, the other participant who took the catch or effected the "lbw" typically replaces them as batsman, and the game-play begins again.
There are many varieties of additional rules. The batsman may be obliged to stay with their legs in the same place, facing the same way for the whole of their innings

Innings

An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...

; they may remain in the same place but be permitted to change their stance if they effect a shot by hitting the ball; or, they may be able to freely move around after playing a shot. The batsman may also score runs

Run (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...

 in some variations of the game.

Basic Rules

The batsman stands stationary with the bat protecting their legs, their legs being the "stumps" of formal cricket. Whichever other player has the ball throws it at the batsman attempting to dismiss them by hitting their legs. If the batsman hits the ball, the other participants may also dismiss the batman by a catch.

Playing French cricket

French cricket is most commonly played by children, or mixed groups of children and adults, although adults sometimes play it as a diversion during outdoor parties

Party

A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, or recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....

 or on picnic

Picnic

In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...

s.
If the game is played more seriously, players take turns to bat and the player who batted for the most balls or the longest time is considered the winner.

Equipment

The ball is typically a tennis ball

Tennis ball

A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis,approximately 6.7 cm in diameter. Tennis balls are generally bright green, but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous fluffy felt which modifies their aerodynamic properties...

, bowled underarm

Underarm

-Axillary intertrigo:Excessive perspiration can result in axillary intertrigo. Intertrigo is an inflamed skin condition caused by heat, friction, and moisture. A warm, wet armpit may accommodate the growth of pathogenic bacteria, yeasts, and fungi. The condition is responsible for rash-like...

 at the legs of another player holding a cricket bat

Cricket bat

A cricket bat is a specialised piece of equipment used by batsmen in the sport of cricket to hit the ball. It is usually made of willow wood. Its use is first mentioned in 1624....

, a tennis racquet, or some other object that can be used as like a cricket bat.

Batting

The player holding the bat, the batsman, is required to block and defend his "wicket", with the batsman's legs taking the place of the stumps. The batsman is not allowed to move their legs, and in some variants, the batsman can only hit the ball in a direct upward or scooping-like motion.

Fielding

Any number of fielders can stand around the batsman, and any fielder can bowl at the batsman from any angle.

Batting

• Often, the batsman is only allowed to turn to face the next delivery if they hit the ball. If they miss and are not dismissed, the must attempt to play the next ball (which is bowled from where the ball ended up after the previous delivery) without being allowed to turn to face it. Sometimes additionally, if the batsman does not turn to face the ball before a fielder picks it up, they would have to turn their waist and face the fielder bowling in order to hit the ball.
• In some variations, the batsman is not allowed to turn at all, and is declared out if their feet move.
• In other variations, if the batsman has effected a shot, they can relocate as fast as they can run, until a fielder has the ball in their hands.
• In other variations, a batsman can score runs. Alternatively, when the batsman hits the ball
  Ball
  A ball is a round, usually spherical but sometimes ovoid, object with various uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for simpler activities, such as catch, marbles and juggling...
  
  , he can make 'runs' by revolving the bat around themselves with both hands. A batsman can take these runs until the ball is in the hands of a fielder and they call 'ready'.

Fielding

• In one variation, once the fielder has fielded the ball they cannot take any steps until they have bowled the ball or passed the ball to another fielder. Passes to fielders can be thrown overarm or sidearm but to get a batter out with a direct throw the fielder must throw the ball underarm.
• Sometimes the batsman can be caught out "one-hand one-bounce". When this rule is applied, the batsman will also be dismissed if the catcher takes the ball with one hand after it has bounced only once on the ground.

Origin of the name

Suggested possibilities include juxtaposition with the English origin of regular cricket. It seems likely that as the game is a lesser version on regular cricket that the name is intended to mock both the game and the French — just as a "French cut" in the sport of cricket is a poorly executed cut shot which almost gets a batsman out. The name may also have arisen from the similarity of the batting motion to the one used in croquet

Croquet

Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...

which while not a French game is sometimes assumed to be French because of its name.