Cricket

[PeteC]

Here's a primer concerning Baseball. Is there a web site which explains Cricket in the same way? Pete

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/ba ... _field.jsp

[lomuamart]

Try this link, Pete. At a quick glance it seems pretty comprehensive although some of the diagrams don't seem to load:
http://www.abcofcricket.com/cfb1/cfb1.htm

[PeteC]

Thanks Lomu, I'll start there. There's so much of it on these days I guess I'll have to learn to at least be able to understand the sports news I'm hearing. Who knows, I may even begin to like watching it, Pete

[Big Boy]

I've always liked this explanation:

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[PeteC]

Technical question from watching a 1 day England/Australia yesterday. Don't know if live or tape. Batter hits the ball on the ground and runs, ball is fielded and thrown in, caught by a player right next to the wicket, runner is almost home and extends his bat but misses crossing the line by an inch before the wicket is touched/knocked off by the player who caught the throw in.

If the runner had left the ground and dived for the line, his bat probably would have crossed before the wicket was touched. Would that have been legal or does the runner have to remain on his feet? Pete

[lomuamart]

He could bounce down the wicket on his head, Pete, but as long as his bat, or another part of his body (the bat is an extension of it) has crossed the line and is grounded then he's "in".
Just a small technicality. It's actually the bails, or a bail, that must come off the stumps for someone to be "out". Whether run out or bowled it's the same. Not that it happens very much, but it's possible for the ball to hit the stumps so slowly that the bails don't fall off. That's not out.
I seem to remember that it used to happen occasionally in extremely hot climates. The varnish on the bails would literally melt and then stick on to the wickets as if glued. They must use a different varnish/substance now.

[PeteC]

Thanks Lomu and as is obvious, I'm not up to speed with the lingo yet, but I'll get there. Pete

[Arcadian]

[quote="lomuamart"]Just a small technicality. It's actually the bails, or a bail,

Pete, The Ashes, as fought over by England and Australia, are ashes of bails burnt long ago, hence the size of the urn, a couple of inches high. The original urn is housed permanently at Lords in London.

[PeteC]

Thanks for that history. The term 'sticky wicket' has now taken on a whole new meaning for me as well.

I was attracted to the match yesterday as the use of cameras was done really well. It was on either ESPN or the Sport channel and the camera angles were great. From the side of the wicket, from close behind the bowler, from the outfield etc. Many matches I've turned on in the past were very boring as there appeared to be one camera somewhere far out in the stands behind the bowler and all you saw was a swinging panorama from that one location. No close up's at all. They must of been using three cameras yesterday. Pete

[lomuamart]

The cameras must have been good to see and to give you a better idea of what bowler, batsman and fielders are trying to do.
I've seen a few test matches on "rover tickets" which basically allow you to be within certain areas of the ground as long as there's seats. Basically, you roam/rove around and see the game from a different perspective as do everyone else with the same.
When I was a lot younger, I used to bowl. Was never that fast, but was accurate. When you see international bowlers side on, the pace is frightening. The batsman has only a split second to make up his mind how he's going to play the shot. It's really cat and mouse. And I havn't even mentioned the spinners.
I remember having a conversation with an American about baseball and cricket from the batsman's point of view - I could never bat, BTW. Went in about number 9 or 10 and hoped the fast men weren't called up to try and kill me.
Anyway, I think the two of us pretty much agreed on the speed of the ball - maybe baseball slightly quicker - but I did point out that the cricket ball swung in the air - as a baseball - but then basically bounced off the wicket. To a batsman, a ball can swing into him at 80-90 mph and cut away from him after it's bounced. Pretty tricky really.
Keep up the interest in the sport. Maybe one day you'll put your feet up for 5 days and watch a Test Match. Then you know you've arrived or got nothing better to do

[Arcadian]

Non cricket fans cannot understand why you can play for 5 days and not get a winner but still have an exciting finish.

[Aussie Mark]

Test Cricket played over 5 days and for 7 hours per day.It has to be the greatest game on earth ,away from the wife for all that time and you can drink alot of beers in that time.

[Jimbob]

Pete
You need a little humour to seriously enjoy cricket.
I recommend you listen to the '12th man series' pi** take on Australian commentators. There are a whole series of Billy Birmingham's stuff on You tube

[Randy Cornhole]

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[Jimbob]

everyone can play cricket!