Basic Cricket Strategy

There are a few concepts that you will need to be aware of to become a proficient cricket player. First of all cricket is not a race like is the case in 501. Cricket is a WAR! If the word war frightens you, think of chess. Any good cricket strategy attempts to control the opponent while systematically gaining a strategic advantage.

Own the High Ground
Because of the pointing aspect of cricket having control of the higher value numbers is important. Each turn the maximum amount of marks that can be hit is nine. Obviously 9 twenties are greater then 9 fifteens. In point battles, the person owning the highest number has the advantage. In the case of 20's vs. 15's the person owning the 20 has a 3 to 4 advantage. Meaning it only takes 3 twenties to equal 4 fifteens.

Know Your Capabilities
Just like any good general should have the pulse of his troops, you need to be in touch with what your strategic capabilities are and be able to adjust. Good cricket strategy is not about set rules. It is about being able to adapt to many different circumstances. While you may not know everything about your opponent you do have a good idea of what your good at shooting. Try to point on your better numbers while quickly closing the ones you are less proficient at hitting.

Control Your Opponent
A cricket game does not end until someone has closed all their numbers and is ahead on score. For this reason, you can dictate the length of the game. Whenever possible control your opponent into shooting numbers that they are uncomfortable with attempting. And try to stall the game in times when you are shooting a good number for you and they are on a number they struggle with. The more extended the game becomes when you have the advantage the harder it is for them to overcome your lead. And the easier it is to overcome any advantage they may have previously held.

Don’t Waste Ammo
Your opponent will have pretty close to the same amount of darts as you each game (within three). Just as each time you miss out of the pie hurts your chances so does wasted triples. Wasted triples occur when your opponent has closed and number and you hit more then 3 without scoring. For example, my opponent starts the game with 3 twenties. My response is S20, S20, and T20. I have hit FIVE twenties to his THREE but despite my better darts the score is equal and he still has the advantage of throwing first! This is because I wasted a triple.

Whenever possible try to acquire targets that if you hit more then three on produce points. In the above example, I would recommend shooting the 19 segment. As I mentioned before good cricket strategy is not about set rules but adapting to the moment. While it is often advisable to risk a wasted dart for a key close it is also equally viable to sacrifice territory for position. Knowing the proper mix and timing is often the difference between winning and losing between players of similar skill.