The cricket thread
Discussion
Isn't cricket the worst game?
I recently employed a Swedish lad (about 20 yrs old) who came over from Stockholm for six months work experience (his father is my Swedish agent.)
Anyway, the lad was lodging with an English bloke who played cricket. This chap invited my colleague to watch a game. After two hours the Swedish lad asked someone when the game was going to start - he thought they were just warming up. Needless-to-say, he didn't go back.
I recently employed a Swedish lad (about 20 yrs old) who came over from Stockholm for six months work experience (his father is my Swedish agent.)
Anyway, the lad was lodging with an English bloke who played cricket. This chap invited my colleague to watch a game. After two hours the Swedish lad asked someone when the game was going to start - he thought they were just warming up. Needless-to-say, he didn't go back.
Great way to whilst away a summer Sunday afternoon outside in the sun:
Watch an over…
Read a couple of articles in the Sunday Times…
Watch another over…
Trip to the bar…
Watch another over…
Brief snooze…
Watch another over…
Return to step one…
Some Germans came to my house when I was a student whilst we had a test on TV and asked what the difference between Cricket and Baseball was
Watch an over…
Read a couple of articles in the Sunday Times…
Watch another over…
Trip to the bar…
Watch another over…
Brief snooze…
Watch another over…
Return to step one…
Some Germans came to my house when I was a student whilst we had a test on TV and asked what the difference between Cricket and Baseball was
srebbe64 said:
There's only one thing sadder than someone who will watch a five day cricket test on the telly - someone who listens to it on the radio.
Oi! I resemble that remark ;-)
And in addition to watching it if I can or listening to it on the radio when I'm on the road, I also sometimes have to read ball-by-ball updates online
Nothing wrong with cricket - I used to play it but I won't pretend it was the most energetic sport in the world. Still - takes skill, precision and strategy so it's satisfying when you crack the ball across the boundary. And yes, it is a bit scary when someone's hurled what amounts to a leather-bound rock in your direction.
Watching the whole match is a bit dreary though, unless the scores are really close when it suddenly does get quite exciting.
Watching the whole match is a bit dreary though, unless the scores are really close when it suddenly does get quite exciting.
zoe22 said:
I prefer a good game of rounders myself.
That's a proper game.
Ahh the memories.
I have a GCSE in rounders (kind of)
Memories indeed, at Junior school my old chum Chris swung the bat with such force the handle came off, this was followed by the whipping unwinding at great speed. The bat actually went through a school window. He didn't even get shouted at, which was a real surprise.
srebbe64 said:
There's only one thing sadder than someone who will watch a five day cricket test on the telly - someone who listens to it on the radio.
Unless you have ever actually listened to Test Match Special - then you will realise that you don't need to enjoy cricket to be entertained by the absent minded ramblings of English eccentrics at their best. TMS is an institution to be enjoyed.
As i was lucky enough to grow up watching the mighty Somerset in their hayday with Richards,Botham and Garner in their prime, i may be biased, but it is God's own game (should he exist...).
I retired from playing the year that Joel Garner spent a season playing in the then Avco Premier league for Glastonbury.............even an "old" Big Bird was enough to convince me my reactions had gone.
Oh, and not forgetting the batting Maestro that was Sunil Gavaskar.....such a small guy, but timing to die for.
Happy days.
I retired from playing the year that Joel Garner spent a season playing in the then Avco Premier league for Glastonbury.............even an "old" Big Bird was enough to convince me my reactions had gone.
Oh, and not forgetting the batting Maestro that was Sunil Gavaskar.....such a small guy, but timing to die for.
Happy days.
the other great thing about cricket is that it is a chav free zone, the subtlety of the game is wasted on those whose attention span only runs to 2 lots of 45mins .
sitting in the sun, on a sunday afternoon, the sound of leather on willow, pint of ale slipping down the neck. . . . .
HOWZAT!!
sitting in the sun, on a sunday afternoon, the sound of leather on willow, pint of ale slipping down the neck. . . . .
HOWZAT!!I must admit I get a bit vexed when people say cricket is boring. I also get vexed by those people who find science boring simply because they don't understand it, (but these same people somehow think they're sophisticated because they have a degree in art history.)
A bit of a tangent, I know, but the point is cricket is not meant to be an accessible game. It is supposed to be complex, chess on grass if you like. The more you understand the game, the more beauty you will find in it.
That you can play until well into your 50s means that it can be perceived as a leisurely hobby instead of a ruthless and dangerous sport. But a close look at today's Australian squad should tell you cricket is a cut-throat business dominated by the most merciless and focused. This is what sport should be.
The passion and excitement you will find in the stadia of South Asia are a world apart from the soft clunk of leather on willow and polite applause of the English village green. And this is why I imagine the English renanissance will not last because the passion just isn't there at grass roots level. Schools aren't playing cricket.
As for being a relaxed game, the only time I have come close to passing out in any sport was after bowling 5 overs at pace in over 40C heat, and I am a regular sports player so not unfit by any stretch of the imagination.
If you still think cricket is a gentle hobby, head down to a decent club one afternoon and check out their bowling machine. Most can wind themselves up to around 90mph which is a few clicks short of the likes of Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee. Stand behind the nets facing the bowling machine (not inside!!) and see what it takes to face the quick stuff. To get some perspective, a decent league cricketer (i.e. one rung below county cricket) is likely to face around 70 mph, and a non-cricketer will struggle to see the ball at that pace.
Just my tuppence.
A bit of a tangent, I know, but the point is cricket is not meant to be an accessible game. It is supposed to be complex, chess on grass if you like. The more you understand the game, the more beauty you will find in it.
That you can play until well into your 50s means that it can be perceived as a leisurely hobby instead of a ruthless and dangerous sport. But a close look at today's Australian squad should tell you cricket is a cut-throat business dominated by the most merciless and focused. This is what sport should be.
The passion and excitement you will find in the stadia of South Asia are a world apart from the soft clunk of leather on willow and polite applause of the English village green. And this is why I imagine the English renanissance will not last because the passion just isn't there at grass roots level. Schools aren't playing cricket.
As for being a relaxed game, the only time I have come close to passing out in any sport was after bowling 5 overs at pace in over 40C heat, and I am a regular sports player so not unfit by any stretch of the imagination.
If you still think cricket is a gentle hobby, head down to a decent club one afternoon and check out their bowling machine. Most can wind themselves up to around 90mph which is a few clicks short of the likes of Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee. Stand behind the nets facing the bowling machine (not inside!!) and see what it takes to face the quick stuff. To get some perspective, a decent league cricketer (i.e. one rung below county cricket) is likely to face around 70 mph, and a non-cricketer will struggle to see the ball at that pace.
Just my tuppence.
Snoremeister said:
There's only one thing sadder than someone who will watch a five day cricket test on the telly - someone who listens to it on the radio.
Unless you have ever actually listened to Test Match Special - then you will realise that you don't need to enjoy cricket to be entertained by the absent minded ramblings of English eccentrics at their best. TMS is an institution to be enjoyed.
I must admit, that cracks me up when my Dad's got it on non-stop over the summer. It's dying for a proper comedy sketch. The commentary's something like this (in 'retired WWII colenal' voices)
"This really is a superb sandwich isn't it"
"Yes, my mother's recipe you see - runs in the family"
"ah"
"Of course this takes me back to a picnic I had in 1958 - we had the cricket on the wireless then too"
"Oh look - a blue tit has perched on the edge of the commentary box"
"Hmm. Bit early this time of year for a blue tit isn't it"
"Don't suppose you have any cake?"
"Oh, hang on, Caddick's out, Vaughan steps up to the crease...anyway, where was I?"
"Blue tits"
"Oh yes, blue tits - get quite a few in the garden of The Manor this time of year"
"Oh really"
"Oh wait a minute - he's hit a six - remember that time Botham hit that memorable six, back in 1981 I think it was - you know, that reminds me of another story..."
zetec said:
I used to play cricket, it is a great game. Those that knock it just don't understand the game. It takes guts to stand in front of a hard ball bowled at 60/70 mph, bearing in mind you have a flimsy piece of plastic protecting your crown jewels.
There was a time when this was so, but todays professional cricketers now wear that much protective equipment, it takes them 2 hours to get dressed and another 20 minutes to waddle out to the crease.
Stood at the wicket wearing all that crap, they are pretty much impervious to pain and therfore haven't the same motivation to wield the bat as they should.
The great batsmen of yesteryear faced ferociously fast bowlers bowlers in their shirtsleeves and cloth caps. You seldom saw them 'padding off' a delivery, rather than attempting a shot, because it bloody hurt.
Compared to their predecessors, modern cricketers are a load of overcossetted softies. They should make them get rid of the pads and play in their winter undies, like baseball players do. That'd sharpen their reflexes and make for far better spectator sport
>> Edited by sparkythecat on Monday 17th January 11:05
sparkythecat said:
There was a time when this was so, but todays professional cricketers now wear that much protective equipment, it takes them 2 hours to get dressed and another 20 minutes to waddle out to the crease.
Stood at the wicket wearing all that crap, they are pretty much impervious to pain and therfore haven't the same motivation to wield the bat as they should.
The great batsmen of yesteryear faced ferociously fast bowlers bowlers in their shirtsleeves and cloth caps. You seldom saw them 'padding off' a delivery, rather than attempting a shot, because it bloody hurt.
Compared to their predecessors, modern cricketers are a load of overcossetted softies. They should make them get rid of the pads and play in their winter undies, like baseball players do. That'd sharpen their reflexes and make for far better spectator sport
>> Edited by sparkythecat on Monday 17th January 11:05
Softies they may be, but if anything they can now play at the ball more aggressively knowing that a mistake will not cost them their fertility.
I doubt very much that batsmen of yesteryear had sharper reflexes than the likes of Lara and Tendulkar, or indeed the entire Australian batting line up. If anything, modern fitness and training regimes ensure that today's cricketer is leaner and meaner than his counterpart of 30-40 years ago. Can you imagine someone with the body shape of WG Grace playing test cricket today? Even Inzamam Al Haq had to trim down to keep his place, and his hand-eye coordination is near to perfect as any human, living or dead.
And finally, in baseball, the ball does not rear up at you off the pitch. A bouncing ball introduces a totally different dimension to the batsman, hence baseball players don't need the same level of protection.
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