6pm-8pm
£12 match fee!
Gunnersbury Park softball - 2 matches

1. Match Format & Timing
12 overs per side, 8 players per team.
Each innings must be completed in 25 minutes.
Toss takes place 5 minutes before the scheduled start time. A
team arriving late forfeits the toss. Maximum 2 minutes allowed between innings.

2. Batting
Batters bat in pairs, with each pair batting for 3 overs before the
next pair comes in.
The pitch is 17 yards; batters run on a crease set 11 yards from
the batting end stumps.
Since pairs bat for a fixed 3 overs, a dismissal does not bring in a
new batter. The same pair continues batting, switching ends if
required so that the not out batter is the one on strike.

3. Bowling
Each bowler may bowl a maximum of 2 overs. Not every player
is required to bowl.
Bowling is ideally overarm. A slightly suspect action is allowed,
provided it is not deliberate.
The final over requires 6 legal balls, but is capped at a
maximum of 9 balls overall. If a bowler has not managed 6 legal
balls by the 9th ball (e.g. due to repeated wides or no balls), the
over ends there — no further balls are bowled.

4. Wides & No Balls
Wides are called leniently — umpires apply a generous line
rather than a strict one. No balls include any delivery that does not pitch on the mat, or
pitches on the bowler’s side of the halfway line.
Both wides and no balls score 2 runs. Wides and no balls are not re-bowled, except in the final over,
where they must be re-bowled to ensure 6 legal balls are
delivered.

5. Scoring Runs
1 run for each run physically completed between the wickets
(crease-to-crease distance of 11 yards).
Side walls & ceiling: hitting a side wall or the ceiling scores 1
run. Multiple walls: if the ball hits more than one wall, it scores 1 run — provided the first wall it hits is not the boundary wall.
Overthrows: a throw that hits any wall, including the boundary
wall, adds 1 run.

6. Boundaries & Walls
4s and 6s count as normal, but only if the boundary wall is hit
before any side wall (bounce = 4, full = 6).
The ball is dead as soon as a boundary (4 or 6) is scored.
If a side wall is hit first, the ball stays live even if it goes on to
hit the boundary wall afterwards — it does not count as a 4 or 6,
and can still be caught (see Dismissals below).

7. Dismissals
A standard dismissal costs the batting side 5 runs.
Exception — Run Outs & Stumpings: the penalty is 5 runs net
of any runs completed on that delivery.
Example: A bowler bowls a no ball (2 runs), the batter hits it
into a side wall (1 run), and while attempting a further run is
run out. Runs scored on the delivery = 2 + 1 = 3. Net result =
3 − 5 = −2 runs (2 runs deducted from the team total).
LBW applies only if the batter is not playing a shot and is plumb
in front.
Caught out applies as normal, except when the ball has already
gone for a 6.

8. Umpiring
Ideally, each team provides an umpire or player to stand at square
leg / point to help judge dismissals at the batter’s end.
If a team does not provide someone for this, the on-field umpire
will use best judgment for the rest of the match.
For consistency, if this role wasn’t filled in the first innings, no
one will be permitted to take it up in the second innings.

Team overview