hey guys, serious question, my father in law is moving to the us to stay with us and he's a huge cricket fan. someone explain some of the games basic concepts please.

cricket is basically a sport played by 11 men. The ICC (international cricket council are the ruling body, and they preside over all matches at international level. So far Test Match Status is only available to the following nations

England & Wales (just known as england)
West Indies
Australia
New Zealand
India
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Zimbabwe
South Africa


Test matches consist of 90 overs a day for 5 consecutive days and are seen as the ultimate test in endurance for nations, who get 2 innings during it

Each innings has 10 wickets from 11 men, when 10 of the 11 men are bowled out, the other team come in (unless its a follow on which is a bit complicated for now to explain)

The team with the most runs over their 2 innings wins the match.


Other forms of the game at international level include One Day Internationals, where only 50 overs per side are permitted for the biggest score, and just coming in soon is 20/20 which only has 20 overs per side & is aimed at bringing more crowds in for games that can be over in 3 hours.

The typical cricket fans are very intelligent & respectful of others, having a great laugh with their counterparts & appreciating the physical and mental attributes it takes to play the sport.

good reference sites include
www.lords.org
www.cricinfo.com
www.cricketworld.com
www.baggygreen.com.au


will add more if you want at somepoint, but it's very complicated

thanks, so what is a wicket? and what does it mean to bowl? I appreciate it.

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Originally posted by ghille thanks, so what is a wicket? and what does it mean to bowl? I appreciate it.

bowling basically involves running up & bowling (not chucking or throwing) the ball down with 1 bounce allowed to try & hit the wicket (which is 3 stumps set up equal distance apart with bails)

the ways you can be out involve

Bowled
Hit Wicket
LBW (leg before wicket - where the ball hits your pad on the way to hitting the wicket, has many variations tho)
Caught
Stumped (if you come out of your crease which is the permitted zone & the wicket keeper removes the bails with the ball)
Run Out (like stumped, but when going for a run and not making your ground in time)
Handled Ball - not used much, its a gentlemans thing not to use it, tho the indian team have twice in the last 7 years, that aside never seen anyone else use it.

and other ways i dont think of right now

cricket definately sounds like a confusing sport ..

but i do know that it is a competitive sport ..

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well it cant be any worse than flipping through the channels and finding girls badminton on espn2

i wish espn or someone would venture out and cover some good sporting events especially during the day when there isnt much live stuff on.

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quote:

Originally posted by lucid pro tip: if you value your life, NEVER do anything that will place you "outside" of the jonze circle of trust.

quote:

Originally posted by LeopoldStotch but i do know that it is a competitive sport ..

yay go sports


but yeah I remember the days when ESPN actually showed games during the day.Weather it was Australian rules football,which was cool, or even those corny miniture golf events at least it was some sort of competition lol.Now they seem to be going towards an MTV kind of style programing.

quote:

Originally posted by Eddie N MIAMI yay go sports but yeah I remember the days when ESPN actually showed games during the day.Weather it was Australian rules football,which was cool, or even those corny miniture golf events at least it was some sort of competition lol.Now they seem to be going towards an MTV kind of style programing.

Old ESPN = New ESPN

Those documentarys of sports teams etc are great. Except ESPN hollywood and other shows are awful...the game shows are good too. MINI GOLF BABY! thought I was the only one who watched that

I know little about cricket but its cool I guess if you have nothing to do for a day. I just remember seeing Austrailia and being :eek oh and Brian Laurar or whatever from the West Indies is the SHIT!

quote:

Originally posted by InterMilan31 I just remember seeing Austrailia and being :eek

You shouldna said that with Ian lurking around here ..............




Brian Lara is one of the best batsmen going around.
Other players you should be aware of
Glenn McGrath (Australia) fast bowler
Shane Warne (Australia) spin bowler, also known for not being able to keep it in his pants
Brett Lee (Australia, fastest bowler in the world)
Andrew Flintoff (England, absolutely destroyed Australia in a recent series) allrounder - means he can bat and bowl really well.
Sachin Tendulkar (India) another of the best batsmen in the world
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka), spin bowler, but he "chucks" or throws the ball rather than bowling it, very controversial)
Kevin Peterson (England) Excellent young batsman, watch out for him.


Theres a series starting in about three weeks time, try to watch it if you can. Its Australia (the top team in the world) vs a Rest of the World team. The ROW is made up of the best players, should be a good introduction for you.

One thing Ian didn't explain I think is bowling. The bowler is the guy who 'throws' the ball from one end to the other, trying to hit the stumps. However, when bowling your arm HAS to be straight, it cannot bend. Thats the difference betweem throwing and bowling. Now, Muralitharan throws the ball as he bends his arm during his action. He is very controversial. It is illegal to throw the ball.


I'd watch a test first if I was you. The 20/20 and One dayers have a few special rules which will just confuse you. The Test is the real cricket.

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**Man I'm Pretty**

quote:

Originally posted by Trance Nutter You shouldna said that with Ian lurking around here .............. Brian Lara is one of the best batsmen going around. Other players you should be aware of Glenn McGrath (Australia) fast bowler Shane Warne (Australia) spin bowler, also known for not being able to keep it in his pants Brett Lee (Australia, fastest bowler in the world) Andrew Flintoff (England, absolutely destroyed Australia in a recent series) allrounder - means he can bat and bowl really well. Sachin Tendulkar (India) another of the best batsmen in the world Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka), spin bowler, but he "chucks" or throws the ball rather than bowling it, very controversial) Kevin Peterson (England) Excellent young batsman, watch out for him. Theres a series starting in about three weeks time, try to watch it if you can. Its Australia (the top team in the world) vs a Rest of the World team. The ROW is made up of the best players, should be a good introduction for you. One thing Ian didn't explain I think is bowling. The bowler is the guy who 'throws' the ball from one end to the other, trying to hit the stumps. However, when bowling your arm HAS to be straight, it cannot bend. Thats the difference betweem throwing and bowling. Now, Muralitharan throws the ball as he bends his arm during his action. He is very controversial. It is illegal to throw the ball. I'd watch a test first if I was you. The 20/20 and One dayers have a few special rules which will just confuse you. The Test is the real cricket.

very well written


To add to the great players (imo of course)

Rahul Dravid - Unsung hero of the Indian side, not the natural flamboyancy of Tendulkar or Sehwag, but if you wanted to show kids how to play proper cricket shots, this guy is great

Sanath Jayasuriya - Sri Lankan who's in his mid 30s now, on his day he can make any bowlers in the world look like a schoolboy

Jacques Kallis - South African Allrounder, in test cricket about the only other man who can hold anything upto Andrew Flintoff, although bowls less now due to back problems

Ramnaresh Sarwan - West Indians hope he'll be the next Lara, bundles of natural talent

Chris Read - Can't get into the england side as his batting isn't considered good enough (averages over 50 in the domestic game, but his face doesn't fit) but is the best natural wicket keeper i have ever seen, and one I think England really need



Then you get the special fielders, these include

Paul Collingwood (england)
Ricky Ponting (Aus)
Michael Clarke (Aus)
Jonty Rhodes (SA - now retired)

What about the English guy with the Chorley FM shirt on everywhere he goes. I met him once

quote:

Originally posted by Ian^ England & Wales (just known as england) West Indies Australia New Zealand India Pakistan Sri Lanka Bangladesh Zimbabwe South Africa

Fuck you for putting RSA last. Alan Donald and Johnny Rhodes were my childhood idols. Along with Chester Williams and the whole 95 Rugby WC winning team.

No seriously, Cricket is a hugely underrated sport. MUCH FUNNER than baseball could ever be. Living in Canada now, I can't watch it, but I still remember the days in my childhood where we'd take radios to school to listen to the commentary during class. I remember the math teacher had a radio on too during class to listen to the results.