A corporate cricket day is a short cricket tournament built around office teams rather than club sides — usually a handful of departments or partner companies, playing a scaled-down format in an afternoon or a weekend. It's the most requested event on our calendar, and also the one most organisers underestimate at the planning stage.
This guide covers what a corporate cricket day actually involves, the formats that work best for mixed-ability office teams, and a checklist for planning one — whether you're running it yourself or handing it to someone like us.
Why companies run them
Cricket days sit somewhere between a team outing and a proper tournament. They work well for the same reason five-a-side football tournaments work in other industries: the format is short enough to fit around a working day, the rules are familiar to most employees, and mixed-ability teams can still have a competitive game without anyone needing to have played seriously before.
The events that go well tend to share three things: a format short enough to finish on schedule, enough support on the ground that no one is scrambling to find a twelfth player or a working stump, and a result — a scoreboard, a trophy, a photo — that gives the day a proper ending.
Formats that work for office teams
Most corporate cricket days use one of three formats, chosen by how many teams are playing and how much time is available.
| Format | Team size | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Box cricket (6-a-side) | 6 players | Small turfs, 4–8 teams, a half-day event |
| 8-over knockout | 8–9 players | A single afternoon with 6–10 teams and a straight knockout bracket |
| League day (15 overs) | 11 players | A full weekend event with round-robin group stages and a final |
Box cricket is the easiest starting point for a first-time corporate event — smaller teams mean you need fewer players per department, and matches rarely run long enough to disrupt a working day. League-day formats are better suited to annual flagship events, where a full weekend and a proper final are part of the appeal.
What a good cricket day actually needs
A ground that matches the format
Box cricket needs a turf or enclosed ground; an 11-a-side league day needs a full-size ground with a proper outfield. Booking the wrong size ground is the single most common planning mistake — it either cramps a full-format game or leaves a box cricket match looking sparse on an oversized field.
Neutral umpires and a scorer
Even a friendly office match runs smoother with someone neutral making the calls. A dedicated scorer also means there's a result sheet at the end, rather than a dispute about who actually won.
A fixture list that respects the clock
Overs-per-match should be set by how much daylight or venue time you actually have, worked backwards from a fixed finish time — not the other way round. A tournament that overruns loses its ending, and the ending is usually what people remember.
Something at the finish line
A trophy, a scoreboard photo, or a short felicitation for the winning team gives the day a natural close. It's a small addition that consistently comes up as the highlight in feedback after the event.
A short planning checklist
- Confirm team count and pick a format (box cricket, knockout, or league) that fits your timeframe.
- Book a ground sized correctly for that format.
- Arrange umpires, a scorer and equipment — don't rely on players bringing their own gear.
- Build the fixture list backwards from your finish time, including a buffer for delays.
- Plan the result: a scoreboard, certificates or a trophy for the winning team.
Running through this list is usually enough for a single-department, half-day match. Once you're coordinating several teams, a turf booking, umpires and a fixture list at the same time, most organisers find it's faster to hand the logistics to someone who runs these regularly.