How to play Hand Cricket

The modes

Every ball

• The bowler picks a number from 0 to 6 first; then the batter picks one. Each number stays secret until both are in.
• The same number: the batter is out. Different numbers: the batter scores their own number.
• 0 is a dot ball, no run. If both pick 0, that's out too.
• Six balls make an over.

Limited overs

• Choose 2, 5, 10, 20 or 50 overs, and 1 to 10 wickets. Each side bats once.
• An innings ends when the wickets are all down, the overs run out, or the chase is won.
• The side batting second needs one run more than the first side made.

Super Over

• A tie in a match of 20 overs or fewer goes to a Super Over: one over each, two wickets.
• The side that batted second bats first. Tied again: another Super Over, up to ten; then the tie stands.
• In a 50-over match or a Test a tie stands. BCC knockouts use a Super Over in 50 overs too.

Test match

• Two innings each, every innings up to 100 overs.
• The batting side may declare in the first three innings once a ball has been bowled; in the third innings only while ahead.
• After two innings, a side 200 or more ahead may make the other follow on.
• Results: a win by an innings, by runs or by wickets; a tie; or a draw when the last innings bats out its 100 overs.

Against the bot

The bot reads your habits and remembers them from match to match. It never sees your number for the ball. If you switch apps, the match waits for you. Leaving with Back counts as a loss.

One against one online

• One player calls the toss. The server tosses the coin, settles every ball and decides the result. Nobody can see your number, not even the room's host.
• You have the room's turn time to pick (45 seconds with no timer). Three seconds before the end you hear a warning, then a number is picked for you.
• A player who leaves, or is away for three minutes, loses by walkover. After the match either player can ask for a rematch.
• The host can put people in the audience: they hear the commentary but don't play.

Team against team

• The host picks the captains. One captain calls the toss; the winner chooses to bat or bowl.
• The bowling captain picks the bowler for each over (nobody bowls two overs in a row); the batting captain picks the batters.
• Odd runs and the end of an over change the strike.

Real players: BCC Tournaments, BCC Series and Franchise Cricket

• Pick a decade, a country (or a franchise) and an eleven of its real players: one wicket-keeper, at least five who can bowl, at most four specialist bowlers.
• Specialist bowlers bat only after six wickets. A bowler may bowl a fifth of the overs (no limit in a Test), never two in a row.
• In a tournament, a win is 2 points and a tie or a draw 1. Level on points: net run rate.
• Win a tournament and its trophy goes in your Trophy Cabinet (Hand Cricket menu).
• Online, a team whose player leaves the room withdraws. A player who is only away stays in: the bot plays for them until they're back.
• Anyone not playing the match on screen has three buttons: Points table, Match schedule and Player stats.

Squad Clash

• Share a team with friends: 2 to 5 people a team, and teams can be different sizes. Online only: a one-off match, a series, a BCC tournament or a franchise league.
• Whoever starts a team leads it and picks the decade and the country. Members then pick the eleven in turns, in snake order; the bot picks any players left over, to balance the side.
• Each of you bats with your own players, so the wickets are shared. The overs are shared equally, in turn.
• The leader calls the toss, picks the openers and the captain, gives out leftover overs, may declare and decides the follow-on.

Commentary

Choose English or Hindi commentary in Settings, Sound and speech, Cricket commentary. It is separate from the app's language. Each ball is said as the bowler's number, then the batter's; the score comes at the end of each over.

Tips for screen reader users

• The board reads in a few stops: the format, each side, the last ball, this over and the chase. Double tap This over to hear every ball of it.
• The number keys stay fixed at the bottom of the screen. Keys you can't press yet are dimmed and say so.
• In the app, How to Play has a Read aloud button that reads all the rules.