“Thrills, disappointment” and “excitement” were three words co-founder Andy Waugh used to describe an experience at Sixes Social Cricket when I spoke to him recently – and I can confirm, he is bang on the money.
Being an Aussie, cricket is in my blood. I have played and followed the sport from a young age and will happily defend cricket from all those people who call it “boring”.
So when the opportunity to visit one of the Sixes Social Cricket bars came up, I jumped at the chance to give it a go.
What to expect from Sixes Social Cricket?
From the moment I stepped through the doors of Sixes in Manchester, I could tell I was entering cricket heaven.
For instance, cricket bats hang from the ceiling and greet you as you walk down the stairs.
From the moment I stepped in to Sixes in Manchester I could tell I was in cricket heaven. (Image: Patrick Glover)
Then when you enter the main Sixes area – you have a bar on one side, and a large seating area on the other, with three cricket nets set up in various corners of the venue. Seriously, it is all I could want in one room.
Upon getting a drink at the bar, my wife (who has no cricket experience whatsoever) and I were led straight over to our net.
The staff member ran through all the details of the various levels, game modes and safety measures to follow before we were left to our own devices and whack a few balls.
We were given an hour between the two of us, which was more than enough for us to complete the new ‘The Hundred’ simulation – where we attempted to get the highest score possible in 100 balls and World Cup mode (simulating the 12 best balls in World Cup history).
We even had some time left over at the end to have a hit and a giggle in T20 mode.
There are five levels you can set the machine at: – beginner, amateur, club, professional and world-class.
The handicap system helps create a level playing field – evident in my wife beating me in both The Hundred mode and the quick T20 hit around at the end – so you don’t need to worry if you have never played cricket before.
I started at amateur to get my eye in before working my way up through the levels, while my wife stuck to the amateur setting for most of the session.
We both found the lower levels quite easy. But even as a cricketer, the higher levels I found quite challenging, playing and missing, or mistiming balls regularly (although I am a bowler and not the best batsman, so that may have something to do with it).
You get five or six balls each (depending on which mode you are playing) before swapping, so you get time to take a breather compose yourself and grab a drink in between, before heading back in to whack another set.
“Thrills, disappointment” and “excitement” were three words co-founder Andy Waugh used to describe an experience at Sixes Social Cricket.
So the three words Andy used to describe a Sixes session – 1) thrills and 2) excitement, definitely, I don’t care who you are there is something rather satisfying about belting some balls around a net while enjoying a beer or two with mates.
And 3) disappointment, tick – being the competitive person that I am, even though it was great fun and a fantastic afternoon out, I was still gutted to lose to my wife (but I was on a harder setting, so I would have won otherwise).
Just like everything else at Sixes, the food was great as well. While there is a limited choice as far as mains are concerned – the burger and chips we had were delicious.
While there are also various light bites and sides, that are perfect for nibbling on in between whacking a few sixes in the nets.
There are Sixes venues located all over the UK. (Image: Patrick Glover)
So all in all, whether you are a cricket nuffy, like myself, or have never played the game before – Sixes is a must-visit.
Andy sums it up perfectly: “It’s just about having fun with friends, colleagues, or your children. A load of drinks, some great food and then whacking some balls in a net, there’s quite a lot of thrill involved in it.”
He added: “It’s not that easy to get into the world of cricket, be we are kind of like level 0 – you don’t need to have played, you don’t need your own bat, you don’t need your own pads, you just rock up and then put your name into the tablet and off you go.”
Where to find Sixes venues
There are various Sixes venues scattered across the UK from Manchester to London and everywhere in between (you can see the full list of venues on the website).
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Andy said there are also plans to open three more UK sites in 2024 in Bristol, Leeds and Kingston.
Sixes has also begun expanding beyond UK shores with venues in the US and West Indies.
They are even eyeing up locations like Australia, India and South Africa for future sites.
Andy said they wanted Sixes to be the “world’s biggest cricket party” – I can happily say they are well on their way.
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