Stinning

Stinning is a contact team sport („game”) originating in and most popular in Great Nortend. It first formalised in the 19th century and is a form of football played on a round, oval field wherein the goal is to kick (known as striking) with the feet or punch with the fist (known as punting) an oval leather ball between two of four posts (known as metes) set at either end of the field, around three quarters of the way between the centre of the field and the boundary.

Players are arranged in two teams of eleven a side. The aim is for players to advance the ball, sometimes known as a stone, up the field by either striking or punting it. The player must send, however, the ball cleanly between the centre metes for a full goal to be counted, worth six points. If the ball should be sent through from the ends, or hit a mete and then pass through, or if it should pass through a side mete, a „behind” is counted, worth one point.

Stinning and cricket, are considered the national games of Great Nortend. Stinning is a very popular game, and is the traditional game played in winter, cricket being played during the summer. Stinning became popular in the mid-19th century as a recreation for cricket players during the winter seasons, although the game of stinning dates back as far as the 17th century. The rules of stinning were formalised to provide for eleven men a side, the same as in cricket, and the use of the cricket green as the field.

History

The history of stinning is clouded in much murkiness, as with many similar „football”-type games. The first mention of the name „stinning” is in a letter of the Lord of Flemisham, who refers to meadows on which „the lads play games of stinning”. The word „stinning” is believed to be a childish derivation of „stone” + „-ing”, as the ball of the game is historically known as a stone (and still is in colloquial and idiomatic speech), although it is unclear whether this meant that it was actually a stone or simply that the ball looked like a stone originally.

Teams

Teams consist of eleven players on the green at any given moment. These are allocated generally in the roles of three defenders, known as backmen, five midfielders, known as midgreenmen and three forwarders, known as foremen, although these positions are not fixed. The captain plays during the match and serves as the team's coach whilst also traditionally acting as a ruckman. The roles and responsibilities of the other team members are relatively self explanatory. There is no equivalent to a goalkeeper as most goals pass through the metes high above the ground.

Players wear shorts, white open-collared shirts, stinning caps and a stinning vest. The stinning vest is a woollen pullover, with coloured stripes according to the team's colours. These same colours are repeated in the playing cap. Players wear leather boots, similar to football boots.

Laws of Stinning

A typical village stinning-cum-cricket green.

The field in stinning is known as a green, and is practically the same as a cricket green. It is generally oval shaped, though it can be round as well. The size of greens vary, depending on local use and custom; however, most stinning and cricket greens are between 400 and 500 ft in their largest axis.

The centre of the green is marked by a line, perpendicular to the longer axis of the green, known as the crease. Three quarters of the way from this line to the ends of the green, opposite each other, are set in the ground four tall posts at each end known as metes. These are traditionally made of wood and painted white. They are set around 22 feet apart, and up to 22 feet high. The four metes are not connected together.

Stinning matches are either „long” or „short”. Long matches are split into thirds. Each third lasts for an hour, leading to a total playing time of three hours. In between thirds are the breaks, which last twenty minutes each. The duration of an average long stinning match is nearly four hours. A short stinning match only lasts for a bit over one hour and has three twenty-minute-long thirds.

Ball

The ball, is a round leather ball filled with cork. It is brown and somewhat smaller than an association foot-ball. It is around eight inches in diameter though it is not entirely spherical but rather somewhat squashed. It is also rounder and smoother and harder than a typical foot-ball, which has led to its being called a 'stone'.

Goalscoring

A player scores a point when he kicks the ball through one of the three pairs of metes which the other team is defending at a height of at least a foot off the ground. If the ball flies cleanly between the two centre metes, defined as when the ball 'flies in a smooth arc, unperturbed by a collision from either the metes or another player from one side to the other', the team scores a goal worth six points, signified when an umpire waves two white flags. If the ball is kicked through from behind the metes, or the ball happens to hit a mete whilst passing through, or if it passes cleanly through two side metes, a behind is scored worth one point and an umpire waves a single chequered flag.

Fouls

There are a number of types of foul in stinning, divided into common fouls, hand fouls and offensive fouls. Common fouls do not affect play; however, they result in the deduction of ports. A player who commits a foul may be liable to be caned by the senior umpire, at his discretion. When a foul affects an attempted strike, the umpire may award a free strike to the opposing team.

Common fouls include, but are not limited to:

• Striking the ball backwards.
• Striking the ball with the head.
• 'Rolling' the ball with the foot.
• Intentionally colliding with the ball struck through the metes (except by backmen).
• Striking the ball past the boundary, except when striking.
• Knocking a man's cap off his head.
• Crossing the crease line (except by frontmen).
• Crossing the crease line before the ball is in possession, by frontmen.

Hand fouls include:

• Throwing the ball.
• Bouncing the ball with the hands.
• Dropping the ball intentionally.
• Swiping the ball being carried.
• Punting the ball (except by frontmen).
• Picking up the ball from the ground (except by backmen).
• Catching a ball with the hands by midgreenmen.
• Touching the ball with the hands at all, by a midgreenman.
• Running with the ball held for too long, by a frontman.

Certain fouls are considered 'offensive fouls' may result in the dismissal of the player without replacement at the discretion of the senior umpire.

• Unreasonably battering or assaulting another player or an official.
• Complaining unreasonably, yelling, cursing, spitting or acting in an ungentlemanly manner.
• Failure to heed the umpire's lawful directions.
• A player leaving the green without permission from the umpire.

Starting or restarting play

The umpire starts play by bouncing the ball in the centre of the green, with all players on their own 'side' of the green. If after a foul occurs the ball is returned to the centre, the non-feasing team's captain will be able to start play after the umpire signals, at his reasonable leisure.

Officials

An under umpire signalling a goal.

There are three officials in a normal match of stinning: one senior umpire and three under umpires. An under umpire follows the ball in play, whilst the other under umpires each watch their allocated mete. Umpires wear a white over black shorts and a white hat. Under umpires signal to the senior umpire by means of hand gestures and flags.

Competitions

Stinning is played in Great Nortend at an amateur and professional level. At a domestic level, the Cricket and Stinning League comprises the national winter stinning tournament or competition, in addition to the summer cricket competitions. Its top level, Division I, comprises the top sixteen cricket and stinning clubs in the country. Stinning is also played on an international level, although it is not as popular as other games.