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Kilikiti is sport similar to cricket that originates in Samoa. This game is the national sport of Samoa. It is also played in Tuvalu and it is gaining popularity in New Zealand and around polonynesia.

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The equipment used to play the sport is similar to that of cricket, which are:

• Bat - The bat used has 3 edges, resembling closer to a baseball bat in shape, and are much longer than that of cricket bats. They are modeled on the three-sided Samoan war club called lapapa.
• Ball - The ball used is round in shape, filled with hard rubber and wrapped in pandanus. The ball is much softer than that used for cricket, so unlike cricket, there is no protective gear of any form required to play the sport.
• Stumps - The stumps used are longer than what's used in cricket, and have no bails.
• Players do not wear any padding or masks, but they wear lava-lava, which is a daily traditional clothing in the Polynesian area.

The rules of this sport are flexible. Until recently, the sport had no official rules, no set number of players, or match duration. The New Zealand Kilikiti Association has started to codify standardized game rules. Based on new rules, one team will bat for 30 minutes, and the other team will also bat for the exact number of balls, and the team with the most runs will be declared as the winner.

There is a batting team, a fielding team, and a pitch. The game is very similar to cricket, where one team bowl and fields, while two players of the other team bats, till all the players in a team are out. The ways in which a player is declared out is same as that of cricket. The bowl is alternately played between two bowlers. In this game, there are two wicket keepers unlike in cricket there’s only one.

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Similar Sports

• Cricket — a team sport played on a rectangular pitch in the center of a large grass oval, two batters protect their wicket while the fielding team attempt to get them out.
• Vigoro — an Australian sport that combines elements of Cricket and Baseball, mainly played by women. Played on a pitch shorter than for cricket, with a bat with a long handle like a paddle.

Related Pages

• Sport in the Samoa
• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports