For coaches, clubs and anyone with a bat
The real game, on grass. No phones, no screens, no equipment you do not already own. Free for anyone to run, at training or anywhere else.
At a glance
Everything below is explained properly further down. This is the version to glance at with a session about to start.
Download the two-page rules sheet (PDF) — with a pitch diagram, made to be printed and taken to the ground. Free to copy and pass on.
Where it comes from
Pavilion was invented by Ben Holderness and colleagues at the Yorkshire CC offices, kicking around ideas for new games. They tried it at junior training. The children took to it like wildfire and never went back, and it became the thing that ends a session.
Harry Wenham came across it while playing a season at Beckwithshaw Cricket Club near Harrogate, and built the video game version. These are the rules of the original, written down so anyone can run it.
It was initially created by the men of the North. The eclectic thoughts collected through the air brought down to them a fast, fun and inspiring game. During the War of the Roses they played the game of Pavilion in idyllic fashion. It has now been played for centuries — or centuries to be — in Yorkshire, where families turn out weekly to share a glass of pinot noir, a cup of tea or a good ol' fashioned beer, sharing laughs and a connection on the ground.
In the beginning there was fire and ice. Then there came cricket. As cricket evolved there came many formats — T20, One Day, Indoor — and then there came Pavilion.
A tall tale, told properly. The true version is the one above it.
Setting up
Just like fire and ice, there are two teams. Two sides. The best part is that you decide how many players are in each.
In the video game we have split it to a maximum of five a side. That fits the dynamic of a full eleven cut in half, so after a training or a game you could finish with a good ol' fashioned game of Pavilion cricket. If you had twelve players and the time, you could split them and play six a side.
Typically, as you need fielders, I would encourage four or five a side as a minimum. That lets people spread out and stop boundary balls going for four and six — which is what brings players back in.
Or in this case, as it is on the ground, the bat flip. Valleys or mountains. One nominated captain tosses, the other calls. The coach or umpire oversees it so there is no ill error or dispute.
Whoever wins decides whether to bat or field. If they choose to bat, the batting team heads to the pavilion to line up and get ready — a nominated spot, typically to the left of the pair of stumps, marked out by a cone, where the children line up in order, one by one.
The other team takes to the field. They position themselves wherever they want and see best fit. It is up to them where they field.
The coach or umpire becomes the bowler. This is to ensure every batter receives a fair delivery and can hit it, feeling a connection with the bat at the beginning. If the team gets better and bats for a while, this is where you ramp the bowling up and make it harder to score. It is entirely up to you how you set the tone and pace of the innings.
The field layout is very simple. Two sets of stumps, like a traditional cricket pitch, set to whatever length suits the ability and age of your players. It is best to model it on proper pitch dimensions — while remembering that players have to run every single ball, so they need to make the other end in time. Shorten the pitch if you need to.
The rules
The scoring results are 1, 4 and 6. These are the only run values you can score. Every ball you have to run, no matter what — that is the single. If you hit a boundary, you score the four or the six.
The ways you can get out are run out, caught, bowled and caught behind. Those are the simple formats. If you are more advanced and want to play competitively, you can add LBW, stumpings and everything else in between.
I would encourage an older person — a coach, a manager or the umpire — to keep wicket, especially for the younger age groups. A fast return to the bowler's end is worthwhile to make sure run-outs happen and to keep the game moving.
A batter can only be run out at the bowler's end, as that is the end they are running towards, and only one batter is at the crease at a time. Once they complete a run and are safe, they return to the back of the batting line to await their next turn.
But if they find themselves out, they are banned to the picket fence.
That means retiring to the pavilion and waiting to be brought back in by a reload from a teammate — or, failing that, waiting for the team to be all out, at which point the sides swap and the batting team takes the field.
Make the out zone a small square or cone area to the far right, out of the way of play, at backwards point next to the batter's stumps. The children stand there awaiting their chance to get back in, cheering on their teammates for a maximum reload.
The best bit
Very simple. If a batter scores a six, the whole team is back in. Maximum reload. Whoever is out and waiting in the pavilion comes back in and joins the back of the batting line.
Depending on the players' abilities and skills, a four can bring one person back in. Scoring a four and returning a teammate is a solid reward for a child batting.
⚠️ In the video game the four does not currently bring anyone back — we found it returned players too easily. On grass, with real fielders, it works.
The reloads are a really fun and exciting concept, and they make children feel greatly rewarded when they bring players back in from their own side who are already out.
The innings continues until either the batting team is fully out, or your allocated time slot has finished.
A timed innings is nice, especially for juniors. It gives maximum chances to bat and makes sure both teams get a fair turn. If you are more advanced you can simply play until everyone is out, for an unlimited amount of time.
The game ends on time, on the chase, or on being all out. For example, the first batting team scores 33 and the second team needs 34 to win. If they get there, they win. If they do not, the other team wins.
For juniors it is fun to make it close and tight. Especially in a training scenario, counting freely but not overly accurately adds fun and excitement — particularly as you draw near the end of an innings.
Going further
For older age groups or adults, you can play with a hard ball, or add bowlers.
Personally, unless it is being played on a proper cricket pitch, I would not encourage a hard ball. It can be unsafe and dangerous, especially at the pace this game is played, with batters continually changing and running between the wickets.
Bowlers make a fun variation. Each player bowls an over as you see fit, and the game continues like that until the innings is complete.
If you are feeling adventurous you can also set up leagues for the children to play it as a regular cricketing format. They really do feel a connection with it. There is something about a reload that makes it fun and exciting.
Please use it
It is truly a really fun and exciting game and the children absolutely love it. I would encourage you to give it a go during or after a training session and see how they like it.
These rules are free to use, copy, print and adapt. No permission needed. If you run it at your club, I would love to hear how it went — hello@pavilioncc.com.
A pitch diagram, the whole game at a glance, and the reload explained — made to be printed, put in a kit bag, and passed to the next coach. Free to copy and share.
The game is Ben Holderness's, invented with colleagues at the Yorkshire CC offices and run at Beckwithshaw Cricket Club's junior section ever since. This page is just the writing down of it.
Same game, same reload, on a phone. Free.
