THE England and Wales Cricket Board is stepping into the row that has seen village cricketers blocked from scoring sixes at one end of their ground.

Britwell Salome Cricket Club has introduced the new rule because of complaints from neighbour, Diana Attenborough, about balls flying over the boundary, and the threat of an injunction.

The club has had to put in two poles with netting to indicate a ‘dead zone’ where sixes cannot be scored.

Now the ECB – the sport’s national governing body – said it would discuss the issue with local cricket officials.

ECB spokesman Andrew Walpole said: “Our Cricket Partnerships team will be in touch with the Oxfordshire Cricket Association to gather more information and we will be happy to offer the club our assistance in addressing this issue if required.”

He said the ECB could not comment further without having more information, such as pitch ownership.

Mr Walpole added: “With local authority pitches, we have sometimes been able to involve the local council to broker an agreement, but I don’t have all the information on this particular situation.”

Mrs Attenborough has now put her home next to the cricket ground on the market, with Savills advertising the four-bedroom property for £875,000.

Nigel Joyner, the chairman of the cricket club, said: “We have spoilt the look of our ground and bankrupted the club over this.”

Britwell Salome play its first game of the season today away at Hailey.

When it plays home games, if a batsman sends the ball over the ground’s boundaries without bouncing the umpire will declare a dead ball rather than award six runs.

The cricket club has been in existence for more than 80 years and has been at its current ground for more than three decades.