Bat and Trap

Playing Bat and Trap
The Game is a team game with eight players on each side for a garden play, a minimum of 3 players per side is recommended.  The team captains should toss a coin to decide which team bats first.  An “innings” consists of each player on the team having one chance to bat, each player batting until he is “out”.

The front part of the trap is the “wicket” which is a square white target with a black painted disc for the bowlers to aim at.  This is hinged at the bottom and stands vertically so that a successful throw will knock the flap down.  On the top of the trap is a simple see saw mechanism that propels the ball upwards when the batsman pushes down the other end.  The wooden bat has an oval face maximum 8” long by 5” wide.  The ball is special sorbo rubber.

Buy Bat and Trap Sets

Only one player bats at a time.  To start, the batsman stands beside the trap and knocks the lever down smartly with his bat which shoots the ball upwards where it can be hit with the bat.  The batsman is allowed 3 attempts to shoot the ball to a sufficient height to be struck but as soon as a swing is made at the ball, the strike is deemed to have been taken.  The objective is to strike the ball so that is passes between the two posts.  If the batsman misses the ball or the ball does not manage to cross the line between the two posts or if the ball passes over the line at a higher altitude than the top of the fielders heads, the batsman is “Knocked Out”.  Behind and between the two posts, the opposing or fielding team stand in a line ready to field the ball. 

The fielders must remain behind the posts but should the ball be caught by one of the fielders before touching the ground, the batsman is “Caught Out”.  This is quite unusual however and normally, the ball bounces once or twice before successfully crossing the line where it is stopped by the fielders.