In the game of cricket there are provided'two wickets respectively at each end of a pitch of twenty two yards.

Each wicket comprises three vertical stumps, which are elongated cylindrical members, that are joined at their upper ends by loose bails. Known stumps are provided at their lower ends with pointed conical ends, which in use are forced into the ground to maintain the stumps upright. Such stumps are widely and generally used. In general they are suitable for use in the game. A disadvantage of such stumps is that the conical hole in the ground formed by the pointed end of the stump often distorts if the stump is struck often by a cricket ball or by the hand of a wicketkeeper or other fielder. As a result of such distortion, the stump will not stand vertical or indeed at the correct spacing from the other stumps of the wicket.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a stump formed at its lower end with an upwardly converging recess. This recess will enable the stump to be fitted on to a holding member or spike firmly placed on or fixed to the playing field.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided the combination of a stump as aforesaid with a spike or holding member adapted to be held on the playing field,

the spike being upwardly converging and being capable of fitting into the recess to hold the stump vertical.

The spike may be mounted on a pointed end which can be inserted into the ground. Alternatively the spike may be mounted on a support plate on which two further spikes are mounted at the appropriate relative location to hold the stumps in the correct position to form a wicket.

The upwardly converging recess is preferably of conical or frusto conical shape. The spike is preferably of similar shape. If desired the upper end of the spike may be rounded in longitudinal section. The cone angle of the recess and the spike are preferably the same and preferably such as to hold the stump firmly in position but able to permit the stump to be moved or toppled if struck by a cricket ball.

Thus the preferred cone angle is preferably between'75° and 30° and most preferably about 45°.

The stump may comprise a cylindrical body member and a union member, the union member having a generally cylindrical outside surface which is of the same diameter as the body member and comprising an upwardly converging recess in its lower part and a cylindrical recess in its upper end, and the body member, which preferably comprises timber, has its lower end of reduced diameter and being received within the cylindrical recess. The union preferably comprises a plastics moulding and a passage preferably joins the said two recesses to reduce the amount of material of the union between the two recess.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front view of a wicket of the invention, Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing a stump on a stand, the section being to a larger scale, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the stand showing stumps mounted thereon; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the underside of an individual stump holder and a conical end, Figure 5 is a perspective view of the stump holder co- operating with a stump, Figure 6 is an exploded view of a modified wicket of the invention, Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 3 of the modified wicket, Figure 8 is a detail longitudinal section through a further modified stump and stand of the invention, and Figure 9 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the stump and stand of Figure 8 with certain modifications of the stump.

Referring now to Figure 1 there is shown a wicket 110 of the invention. The wicket 110 comprises three stumps 112 each being in the form of an elongated rod of between llX" and 1%" (38.1 mm and 34.9 mm) diameter and just under 28" (711 mm) height. The stumps 112 are aligned and spaced apart by slightly more than 21/s" (54 mm). Each stump 112 has a crown part 114 projecting thereabove to bring its overall

height to 28 inches (711 mm). The crown part 114 has a diametral groove of arcuate section. The grooves of the three stumps 112 receive in known manner the cylindrical smaller end projections 116 and 118 of a pair of bails 120, which projections have a diameter of 1Sll (12 mm). As thus far described the wicket is conventional.

The wicket 110 further comprises a stand 120 comprising a thin but heavy metal plate 122 that is rectangular in plan.

Carried by the stand 120 (as will be described) are three aligned identical holding members in the form of frusto- conical spikes 124 at 41X1t (114,8 mm) centres. Each spike 124 is in the form of the frustum of a cone having a vertical axis and a cone angle of 60°. The diameter of the base 126 of the spike 124 is 30 mm. The diameter of the smaller end 128 of the spike 124 is 14 mm. Thus the height of the spike 124 is approximately 26 mm. A coaxial smaller diameter cylindrical part 130 projects downwardly from the spike 124. This part 130 is secured in a bore 132 in the plate 122.

Each stump 112 comprises a hollow aluminium cylinder.

The crown part 114 comprises a separate plastic member 134 which has a co-axial spigot that fits into the upper end of the cylinder. The lower end 136 of each stump 112 is flat forming an annular land 146 of 4 mm thickness which lies in a plane normal to the axis 138 of the stump 112 and on which the stump rests. A plastic insert 140 is securely located in the lower end 136 of the stump 112. A coaxial conical recess 142 is formed in the lower end of the insert 140. It

has the same cone angle and dimensions as the spike 124 so as to fit closely thereon. Near its deepest part, the conical recess 142 has a short cylindrical extension 144 of greater diameter than the smaller end 124 of the spike 124.

The stand 120 can be placed at the appropriate location for the wicket. The stumps 112 are placed on the holding members or spikes which hold the stumps 112 in the correct position. Should a cricket ball strike a stump 112, the stump 112 will move on the spike 124 sufficiently to cause the bail (or bails) 118 which it supports to fall off and most usually the stump 112 will move sufficiently on the spike 124 as to fall off the spike 124. It will be seen that after the stump 112 has fallen off the spike 124, it can quite easily be replaced on its spike 124 in the correct vertical position.

The stand 120 is of sufficient mass to remain firmly on the ground in the correct position.

In a modification as shown in Figure 4, each spike or holding member 150 is a separate unit. It is of the same dimensions as the spikes 124.

On its underside, the spike 150 is provided with a conical pointed end 152 which can be forced into the ground to hold the spike 150 firmly in position. When a stump 112 carried by the spike 150 is knocked over by a cricket ball or the hand of a fielder or wicketkeeper, it will become dis-

lodged from the spike 150 normally without causing sufficient force on the pointed end 152 to move it in the playing field.

With this arrangement, a suitable jig may be provided to enable the spikes 150 to be in the correct relative positi- ons. Similarly an intermediary member (not shown) that fits over the spike 140 may be provided to facilitate the transfer of forces from a mallet or the like to force the pointed end 152 into the ground.

The recess 162 is complementarily shaped.

Reference is now made to Figure 6 and 7. Here the stumps are turned timber items. A co-axial recess 162 is formed in the lower end of each stump i. e. there need not be an intermediate member for this purpose. The spikes or holding members 164 on the stand 166 are frusto-conical in shape having an upper end 168 which is rounded or parabolic in section.

A modified timber stump is shown in Figures 8 and 9. The stump comprises a cylindrical body member 170 which has its lower end 172 turned down slightly. This member 170 is mounted on a spike or holding member 174 on a stand 176 by means of a union 178. The union 178 is a plastics moulding having a cylindrical outer surface 180 of the same diameter as the body member 170. A cylindrical recess 182 is formed in the upper end of the union 178 and receives the end 172 as an interference fit. At the lower end, the union 178 has a frusto-conical recess 184 having a cone angle of 45°. A

cylindrical passage 186 joins the two recesses 182 and 184 to reduce the thickness of material forming the union 178 mid- way along its length.

The stand 176 comprises a metal plate 186 (see Figure 9) which is encased in a plastic moulding 188. It, the stand 176, has a flat upper portion 190 with inclined sur- faces 192 leading therefrom to a narrow edge 194. The height of the portion 190 is 12 mm high. The edge 194 is 5 mm high.

Three conical spikes 174 are integrally formed on the flat upper portion 190. These spikes 174 each have a cone angle of 45°. The location of the outer spikes 174 is such that when a stump is placed thereon the outermost part of the stump is aligned to the outside edge 196 of the stand.

The union 178 as shown in Figure 8 may be modified as shown in Figure 9. There are two possibilities as shown on either side of the axis 198. In both arrangements there is an annular groove formed in the base of the recess 182. The purpose of these grooves is further to reduce the material of the union between the recesses 182 and 184 to give better control of the material during moulding and cooling. The groove 200 shown on the right hand side of the axis 196 has a flat radial base 202. The groove 204 shown on the left hand side has a frusto-conical base 206 which can extend further into the material of the union.

Further as shown on the left hand side, the lower end of the union 178 may flare slightly outwardly to provide a

larger surface 208 to rest on the flat upper portion 190 of the stand 176.

The invention is not limited to the precise construc- tional details hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the stumps may comprise other materi- als. The timber stump may be provided with a cylindrical re- cess at its lower end in which an intermediate member having a conical or frusto-conical recess may be received. The plate 122 may be provided with one or more openings N so that nails or the like may pass therethrough into the ground to hold it firmly in position. However the mass of the plate may be sufficient to remain firmly in position without the use of such nails so that the openings may be omitted. The various dimensions may be changed as desired, normally within those laid down in the laws of cricket. The cone angle of the frusto conical spikes may vary as desired although it is believed that the optimum dimensions are between 30° and 70° and more desirably between 45° and 60° and in particular the latter two angles. The spikes 174 may be formed as separate members which are fitted into the stand 176 in the same manner as are the spikes 124.

It is appreciated that certain features of the inven- tion, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely various features of the invention which are for brevity described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination.