Owzthat
Encyclopedia
Owzthat is a dice based cricket
simulation
. In its non-commercial form it is often called Pencil Cricket as in pre-war Britain 6 sided pencils, shaved back to bare wood, with the numbers and words written on them were used. Today this game is supplied by a variety of manufacturers, including William Lindop Ltd.
Before commencing, the form of 'cricket match' to be played is agreed e.g. Test cricket
, Limited overs cricket, etc.. An appropriate cricket scorecard is then drawn up and the teams are written in. A toss of a coin decides which team chooses to bat first.
The batting side starts the game by rolling the batting die. Any runs signalled are recorded on the scorecard. When a 'owzthat' appeal is signalled, the umpire die is rolled for a decision. The batsman has a 1/3 chance of being not out, if the 'Not Out' or 'No Ball' is signalled. As in real cricket a 'No Ball' entitles the batsman to an additional strike (roll) and an extra run. A batman is out if 'bowled', 'stumped', 'caught', or 'L.B.W.’ are signalled, and the next batsman comes to the crease. Depending on the cricket format the batting side is dismissed when all the batsmen are out or and if the over limit is reached. The other side then bats in an attempt to score more runs and hence win.
The game is elegant, highly portable and simple to use. The dice themselves are very tactile. However, it is a poor cricket 'simulation' in that it has no skill element - the chances of scoring a 6 are equal to that for a single, and there is no reference to bowler or fielding action.
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...
simulation
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
. In its non-commercial form it is often called Pencil Cricket as in pre-war Britain 6 sided pencils, shaved back to bare wood, with the numbers and words written on them were used. Today this game is supplied by a variety of manufacturers, including William Lindop Ltd.
The game
The game is usually played between two players, but can be played alone. It is played with two, six sided bar dice and a paper scorecard. One die, the batting die, is labeled 1,2,3,4, 'owzthat' and 6. The second die, umpire die, is labeled 'bowled', 'stumped', 'caught', 'not out', 'no ball', and 'L.B.W.'.Before commencing, the form of 'cricket match' to be played is agreed e.g. Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
, Limited overs cricket, etc.. An appropriate cricket scorecard is then drawn up and the teams are written in. A toss of a coin decides which team chooses to bat first.
The batting side starts the game by rolling the batting die. Any runs signalled are recorded on the scorecard. When a 'owzthat' appeal is signalled, the umpire die is rolled for a decision. The batsman has a 1/3 chance of being not out, if the 'Not Out' or 'No Ball' is signalled. As in real cricket a 'No Ball' entitles the batsman to an additional strike (roll) and an extra run. A batman is out if 'bowled', 'stumped', 'caught', or 'L.B.W.’ are signalled, and the next batsman comes to the crease. Depending on the cricket format the batting side is dismissed when all the batsmen are out or and if the over limit is reached. The other side then bats in an attempt to score more runs and hence win.
The game is elegant, highly portable and simple to use. The dice themselves are very tactile. However, it is a poor cricket 'simulation' in that it has no skill element - the chances of scoring a 6 are equal to that for a single, and there is no reference to bowler or fielding action.