Vigoro is a sport like both 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...

 and baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 and has been mainly played by women. It is most popular in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

History

The game was invented by Englishman John George Grant. A key figure in the promotion of the game was Ettie Dodge, who was President (1919-66) of the New South Wales Women's Vigoro Association and foundation president (1932-66) of the All Australian [Vigoro] Association. Ettie's husband had met John George Grant in England. When the game was introduced to New South Wales schools in the 1920s, Dodge & Co. began selling vigoro equipment. Grant died in 1927 and bequeathed the trademark and copyright of the game to Ettie.

Description

Vigoro is played on a pitch slightly shorter in length than a cricket pitch. The balls are much lighter than those for cricket, and the bat has a different shape with a long handle resembling the shape of a paddle.

There are two teams of 12 players which will bat and field two innings each (except in the event that a team wins with an innings in hand). The aim of the game is for a team to score more runs than the opposition team.

There are no overs and the batters bat from one end only. Two bowlers bowl alternately and can incorporate any type of "throwing" action as long as the ball is released above the shoulder (i.e. not underarm).

A run is completed each time both batters safely make it to the crease at the opposite end of the pitch. Fours and sixes also apply where the batter hits the ball past the boundary markers. In addition to shots made off the bat, byes and leg-byes add to the team's score.

Players may be dismissed by the same methods as in cricket - bowled, caught, run-out, stumped, LBW, hit wicket, handled ball and hit the ball twice.

Interstate Competition

Teams from Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland compete annually for the All Australian Vigoro Titles. These teams compete across four divisions - State (Senior) One & Two, Veterans and Juniors.

New South Wales are the current champions in the State One, State Two & Veterans divisions, whilst the Junior (u/18s) title is held by Queensland.

The 2012 Australian Vigoro titles will be held in Townsville, QLD in late March.

Competing States

NSW, Tasmania and QLD are the only States in Australia which host local competitions.

The 2010 Australian Vigoro Titles were held in Bendigo, the first time they had been contested in Victoria.

External links

• http://www.vigoro.com.au/
• http://qldvigoro.com.au/index.php
• http://home.iprimus.com.au/wecel