One of the UK’s oldest cricket clubs has banned players from hitting sixes over fears that flying cricket balls could annoy neighbours.
Southwick Cricket Club said players will be called out if they hit two sixes during an innings.
It comes as house windows, parked cars, garden sheds and even people have found themselves in the firing line in the past.
Cricketers playing on The Green in Southwick have been told that the first six they hit will count for no runs, and that if they hit a second one then they will be out.
Players have raged at the decision. One keen batsman said: “Hitting the bowler for a six out is part of the glory of the sport. How can you ban it? It’s ridiculous.
“To take that away removes the joy of it. I don’t agree that the rules should be tinkered with in this fashion.”
Another said: “Everything is about health and safety these days and insurance companies are charging a fortune to indemnify sports clubs against accidental damage or injury to bystanders.
“If you buy a house next to a cricket ground then you’ve got expect a few cricket balls in your garden.”
The club which was formed in The Green in Southwick in 1790 has played on its particularly short pitch since the reign of George III.
Nets have been erected by the club to protect surrounding residential homes but their height is limited by the trees surrounding the ground.
Neighbour Mary Gill, 80, whose family have lived in the Grade II-listed cottage alongside The Green for generations, said: “I’ve lived here all my life and I think the ban is a good thing.
“It’s a very small ground and can’t accommodate the testosterone-fuelled young men who come along and just want to hit the ball as far as they can.
“My parents and grandparents lived in this house before me and cricket balls were always sailing over and causing damage.
“One time - probably in the 1940s - my baby brother was outside in the garden and my mother found a cricket ball in his pram.
“Over the years we’ve had tiles smashed off the roof, windows broken and all sorts of damage.
“The club has always been absolutely excellent, sorting out the forms to claim on their insurance but I think the step to ban sixes is a good thing.”
The club has fallen foul of residents’ fury before when, in the 1930s, Southwick Council tried to stop the playing of cricket on The Green.
Journalist S.P.B. Mais, who lived nearby, launched a celebrity team to play against Southwick Cricket Club in defiance of the ban and the nationwide publicity eventually led to the council backing down.
Peter Naghten, a retired black cab driver, said: “I’ve never had a ball in my property but I don’t really agree with banning sixes - it’s one of the most interesting things about the sport.
“I can understand why the ground is not really appropriate because it’s so small but how do you stop a batsman hitting a six? Surely it is in their blood and when the ball presents itself you’d just give it an almighty hit.”
Another resident, Nick, said: “You can’t just stop sixes being hit in a game of cricket. I don’t agree with the rules of the game being changed at all. It’s just not cricket! If you don’t like the game then maybe don’t buy a house alongside a cricket club.”
Gina Flowers, 42, said: “I worry for my children when they’re playing in the garden so I think it’s a good thing. It should have happened a long time ago.”
Mark Broxup, Southwick club treasurer, said the club took the decision after cars and houses had been damaged by flying cricket balls.
He said: “We don’t want to have to pay costly insurance or have any legal claims against us so it seemed a sensible thing to do.
“In the olden days cricket was a more sedate affair; you’d have Geoffrey Boycott hitting one for in a day’s innings.
“But today bats are far more dynamic and players have a different expectation of the game than they used it.
“With the advent of Twenty20 and limited over cricket the sport has become far more explosive and players can just slog away. It makes the chance of damage to cars and vehicles almost inevitable.”
The club still uses the old ground to play Sunday league, juniors and ladies' cricket but senior matches are hosted at a second ground.
Mr Broxup said: “It was a difficult decision but in the olden days if we hit a tree on or it went into the road it was a four and if it went over it was a six. That’s just too dangerous today.
“In the past we have paid for the repairs to cars and homes but we wanted to put in place a new set of rules that would prevent that happening to begin with.”
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