Any Cricket Fans?

[scottmitchell74]

My wife is from Barbados and in Barbados Cricket is an absolute obsession. Her brothers have been my "Rosetta Stone" and I've come to love Cricket.

I love that it's a stick-and-ball sport that shares obvious things with Baseball, but is different enough to be unique.

In my city of Abilene about 12-15 years ago there was a group who had built a Cricket grounds and I tried to get an invite to play...but it their group was sort of insular I think they may have not trusted me (?) and it never materialized. That's a regret of mine.

[milladrive]

My wife is from Barbados and in Barbados Cricket is an absolute obsession. Her brothers have been my "Rosetta Stone" and I've come to love Cricket.

I love that it's a stick-and-ball sport that shares obvious things with Baseball, but is different enough to be unique.

In my city of Abilene about 12-15 years ago there was a group who had built a Cricket grounds and I tried to get an invite to play...but it their group was sort of insular I think they may have not trusted me (?) and it never materialized. That's a regret of mine.

It's with that in mind that we should remember it's not baseball. Similar, yes, enough for some latitude, but the discussion should stay on topic.

[Jmills1212]

i love cricket. similar vibes at a game, very little idea of the time and you can get granular into every ball. its a great day out lot like a ball park atmosphere.

[jamescarrey]

I have a great love for cricket. The atmosphere during a game is reminiscent, with little awareness of time, allowing for a deep dive into every ball. It's a fantastic experience, much like the lively atmosphere of a ball park, making it an enjoyable day out.

[Otis Nixon's Bodyguard]

I watched a game (match?) with some classmates from India in my grad. program several years back. I believe it was the finals of this tournament:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Cricket_World_Cup

They had gotten up in the middle of the night to watch the whole thing, but I just showed up in the morning for the ending. I had gotten a primer on the rules, but it wasn't enough for me to really be able to follow what was going on. I could tell that it was an interesting/exciting sport though. If baseball apparently suffers from length of play, we Americans must have terribly short attention spans...cricket contests can go on for hours and even days. But I only watched the last hour or two of this one, India won, and then we all went out for (my first meal of) Indian food, which I now really like (even if I didn't become a big cricket fan).

[ol' aches and pains]

The great Bill Bryson on Cricket in Australia:

Eventually the radio dial presented only an uninterrupted cat’s hiss of static but for one clear spot near the end of the dial. At first I thought that’s all it was — just an empty clear spot — but then I realized I could hear the faint shiftings and stirrings of seated people, and after quite a pause, a voice, calm and reflective, said:

“Pilchard begins his long run in from short stump. He bowls and . . . oh, he’s out! Yes, he’s got him. Longwilley is caught legbefore in middle slops by Grattan. Well, now what do you make of that, Neville?”

“That’s definitely one for the books, Bruce. I don’t think I’ve seen offside medium-slow fast-pace bowling to match it since Badel-Powell took Rangachangabanga for a maiden ovary at Bangalore in 1948.”

I had stumbled into the surreal and rewarding world of cricket on the radio.

[…] it must be said there is something incomparably soothing about cricket on the radio. It has much the same virtues as baseball on the radio –an unhurried pace, a comforting devotion to abstruse statistics and thoughtful historical rumination, exhilarating micro-moments of real action – but stretched across many more hours and with a lushness of terminology and restful elegance of expression that even baseball cannot match. Listening to cricket on the radio is like listening to two men sitting in a rowing boat on a large, placid lake on a day when the fish aren’t biting: it’s like having a nap without losing consciousness. It actually helps not to know quite what’s going on. In such a rarefied world of contentment and inactivity, comprehension would become a distraction.

‘So here comes Stovepipe to bowl on this glorious summer’s afternoon at the MCG,’ one of the commentators was saying now. ‘I wonder if he’ll chance an offside drop scone here or go for the quick legover. Stovepipe has an unusual delivery in that he actually leaves the grounds and starts his run just outside the Carlton & United Brewery at Kooyong.’

‘That’s right, Clive. I haven’t known anyone start his delivery that far back since Stopcock caught his sleeve on the reversing mirror of a number 11 bus during the third test at Brisbane in 1957 and ended up at Goondiwindi four days later owing to some frightful confusion over a changed timetable at Toowoomba Junction.’

After a very long silence while they absorbed this thought, and possibly stepped out to transact some small errands, they resumed with a leisurely discussion of the England fielding. Neasden, it appeared, was turning in a solid performance at square bowel, while Packet had been a stalwart in the dribbles, though even these exemplary performances paled when set beside the outstanding play of young Hugh Twain-Buttocks at middle nipple. The commentators were in calm agreement that they had not seen anyone caught behind with such panache since Tandoori took Rogan Josh for a stiff at Vindaloo in ’61. At last, Stovepipe, having found his way over the railway line at Flinders Street – the footbridge was evidently closed for painting – returned to the stadium and bowled to Hasty, who deftly turned the ball away for a corner. This was repeated four times more over the next two hours and then one of the commentators pronounced: ‘So as we break for second luncheon, and with 11,200 balls remaining, Australia are 962 for two not half and England are four for a duck and hoping for rain.’

I may not have all the terminology exactly right, but that I believe I have caught the flavour of it.

[beisbolfiebre]

I LOVE cricket!

Growing up in Brooklyn, NY I played some sand lot games back in the day. We used pasteboard as our wickets, Spaldeens as our balls, and broom sticks as our bats. Lots of West Indians in my neighborhood and they loved the sport so much.

I try to watch some cric in youtube, especially the Windies team. Lots of characters in the team. Back in the 90s they were the first ones to introduce pink colored uniforms. And what bowlers (pitchers) they had back then. Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, "Whispering Death" Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall -- what an array of talent. Then there was Sir Vivian Richards - to me he was the Ted Williams of the sport.

Not only are there characters on the field, there are characters in the stands. Anyone know who King Dyal was? He was truly one of a kind. The sport welcomes people like him so that often there is just as much fun in the bleachers as there is on the field.

And the sport is not just for men. Watch as the very pretty and talented Indian girl makes a spectacular catch:

What a sport!