Poms finally figure out how to win at cricket

**blutach** · August 21, 2006

Get the ump to make the other team so mad, they walk off and forfeit!

(Who can believe the Pakis? Why walk off and lose the game?)

Regards

**spinningwheel** · August 21, 2006

jack · August 21, 2006

Good old Daryl, he's a bloody good umpire.

Have to feel a bit sorry for the Pakistanis, they get a wicket and the umpires check the ball and it's fine, 15 minutes later the condition has changed so much that they are accused of cheating and the ball is changed. Seems like they didnt think that KP hitting a couple of sixes into the concrete stands wouldnt affect the state of the ball. A bad situation, badly handled by the umpires and officials. A bad day for cricket.

**spinningwheel** · August 21, 2006

A bad day for cricket.

And a good day is when you take them fishing????

jack · August 21, 2006

**lfcrule1972** · August 21, 2006

A good day for cricket is when it rains spinner !!! =))

**blutach** · August 21, 2006

Cos then, whether yer at the cricket or not, you can hop off to the bar for a coldie or 10. :D

@jack - coming down to see yer team get done? You have a place to stay in Melbourne mate.

Regards

Pain_Man · August 22, 2006

Seriously, what exactly is the attraction of a game named after a bug? OK, my bad. :blush: Seems the spellings are coincidental. Cricket the game comes from a Middle Dutch word for stick--logically enough.

I have enough trouble understanding the attraction of watching a bunch of guys in 50s basketball shorts chasing, sometimes kicking, a ball about a field for 90 mins where scoring is less likely to happen than it wa to me in a bar when I was single.

But cricket has me totally flumoxed. :huh:

It's like watching grass grow.

Some foreign sports I understand, Australian Rules Football. Now there's a fun game to watch!. Large guys kicking the crap out of each other to score points. And that thing the refs do when a goal's made. Very cool. Used to watch on ESPN with my dad when I was a kid.

Sumo. That's actually quite fascinating to watch.

But cricket? Batting--there's not a bat to be seen. Bowling? Not a bowling ball, let alone a pin, to be seen.

I'm being facetious there. But can someone help me here?

Can one of my Commonwealth cousins explain it to me (not the rules, dear God!) Just the attraction of it.

I just don't understand. :unsure:

Get the ump to make the other team so mad, they walk off and forfeit!

(Who can believe the Pakis? Why walk off and lose the game?)

Regards

**blutach** · August 22, 2006

You have to approach it with an open mind, as a wonderful few days to sit out in the sun with your mates, have a chin wag and a few ales and get involved with the action when it occurs.

What I can't understand, talking the converse side, is how anyone can win a World Series when only one country is represented. Totally baffles me.

Regards

Pain_Man · August 22, 2006

@Blu

Two topics, two answers.

1.

Maybe I was being to general, blu. What does it mean to you? What is the attraction to you?

2.

When the World Series began around the turn of the 20th Century, there were no baseball teams in other countries. Had there been, the criticism would be on point.

Since there weren't, the winner of the Woild Serious could rightly proclaim to be the best team in the world at baseball.

Today, more and more countries are taking the game up. "Latin" America, Japan, and Korea are producing some great players. So the day when the World Series actually is a global event may not be too far distant.

But it may have to be something like the World Cup for Soccer. You can't exactly have the Yankees flying to Seoul or Kyoto to play a four game stand and flying back to play three in Boston.

I saw Charlie Hussle* get his 3,000 hit. Watching one of the greatest players in the game hit one of its major milestones is a thrill I'll never forget. Right up the with Mary Lou Retton's 10s. With the Miracle of Ice.

Except I was there, not 50 yards from Pete Rose when he got that hit.

Amazing.

*(Pete Rose's nickname was "Charlie Hussle" because he was always gave 110% on the field.)

You have to approach it with an open mind, as a wonderful few days to sit out in the sun with your mates, have a chin wag and a few ales and get involved with the action when it occurs.

What I can't understand, talking the converse side, is how anyone can win a World Series when only one country is represented. Totally baffles me.

Regards

**blutach** · August 22, 2006

I know who Pete Rose is.

The attraction of cricket to me is actually one man's fight against the odds and his overcoming it or not. You got one guy with bat, a partner down the other end, but really you're on your own out there against 11 others, who can field where they like (often in your nose hair)! Your mind and skill vs the whole of the other team. This is not unlike baseball, except baseball is rather hit and miss.

The ball can, and does, arrive at 90-100mph - and this is bowled with a straight arm, not thrown (or pitched as you might call it) - so imagine the force and skill of the bowler to land it just so and move/spin the ball.

From the bowler's side, it is the challenge of psyching the batsman out, of devising and enabling a strategy for the team to get rid of the guy, who is determined to stay there, see you off, and take advantages of your poor deliveries. For in this game, the batsman's innings is not over in 7 effective deliveries, so he is not compelled to swing wildly to get on base.

In this way, cricket is very strategic.

On a somewhat more prosaic level, there are great innings to be built (sometimes into the 300s and even 400s), great bowling performances, and some inspired fielding (without the aid of mitts to do something as simple as catch a ball - when I was stateside in college, people used to marvel that I could actually catch a baseball without a mitt!).

I shall never forget a young chap, who was to go on and captain Australia take what is probably the greatest outfield catch of all time. He ran 60 or 70 yards to get a ball which would have cleared the fence had it not been for his incredible leap at the end of the chase. Nor will I forget a chap who's not noted for fielding, take a "blinder" in the outfield stretched at "full tilt". And quite frankly, dozens of others - important catches and misses alike.

How many great outfield (or infield) catches are their in BB? It's all a bit humdrum (having said that, I do like the game).

Cricket has some unforgettable moments. Perhaps it is because 160 games per annum are not played between the contestants and the game does not blur into a single smash and run contest. Perhaps it is because it requires patience, thinking and tons of guts on top of the skills a player possesses. Perhaps it is because the game can turn so quickly with a couple of quick wickets (this is rarely the case in BB but there are many many swings and roundabouts in a game of cricket). Perhaps even because sometimes it comes down to one missed chance at The Oval and a whole series of 30 days play can be decided in an instant (and Jack will know what I am talking about here), yet tantalisingly stay on the knife edge for hours to its final conclusion. Perhaps it is all this and more.

On Boxing Day (26 Dec) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, over 100,000 people (I am not kidding) will cram in to see day 1 of England vs Australia in what is truly one the great grudge series of all time. Of course, this rivalry has been going on for some 180 years now - in the US, you have an emerging "World Series". We simply call it, Test Cricket.

Regards

jack · August 22, 2006

Blu, try as I might, I could never put it better than that. Somebody that has never lived and loved the game can never understand the passion, the pressure, the ecstasy and the agony that can all be experienced in a single day of test cricket. It meant so much to me when we regained the Ashes that I did shed a tear, and we all hugged each other in the pub as the umpires removed the bails at the Oval last year. This year when the umps removed the bails we all shook our heads and wondered what the hell was going on

I guess you are talking about Warnes catch at the Oval? That was a pivotal moment for us and I felt for the fella. He was superb at Old Trafford when he got 91, to a man the crowd stood an applauded him off all the way to the pavillion. He was head and shoulders above the rest of your team and really deserved a hundred that day. I only hope we can get a full fit team on the field this winter, I have never known injuries like it Vaughan and Simon Jones are very doubtfull and they are both key players. Do you reckon McGrath will play? It will be a diffrent game with him playing, much tougher proposition with him than without.

I'd love to be there to watch it, but I already have two holidays and a cricket tour booked next year and the finances just wont run to it.

**lfcrule1972** · August 22, 2006

blu - you make it sound exciting mate, sadly I just can't see it when I watch the game.....

Pain_Man · August 23, 2006

@blu

Thanks for the explanation. I'm not sure I'll ever be a fan--if for no other than reason than that there's almost no opportunity to see it here (unlike soccer where one can, on cable, by "packages" to watch Manchester United games--no preference expressed, crule, so don't throw things at me :bomb: --or there's other packages that given you a variety of English games (only English, at least that I've seen for the obvious linguistic reason). As for cricket, I'm sure ESPN 2 shows a match (correct?) occasionally, perhaps once in blue moon. Other than that, nothing.

I also appreciate the lack of an attack on baseball. Most of the time when I've asked about cricket, I've been treated to a condescending attack on baseball (not by anyone on the ol' IBF to be clear). It was quite pleasant to read yours.

It seems that there are some strong similarities between the two games. The hitter vs. the pitcher and 8 defensive players.

The "pitching duels" when two of the greatest throw fire, fanning (striking out) hitter after hitter after hitter. Despite the often very low score (1-0, 2-1) in such games, they are usually the shortest.

Or watching one of the great hitters, such as Tony Gwynn (mentioned below) dig a hit out an absolutely unhittable ball off of some of the best pitchers ever to play. He was never a "slugger", he succeeded with finesse and exceptional eye sight; the latter was so good that he could see the position of the pitcher's fingers on the ball and usually guess what kind of pitch was coming.

And, to answer your question, yes there are fantastic catches made in both the infield and outfield--in addition to throws. Tony Gwynn--a player for my hometown team--had one of the greatest arms for an outfield ever. (he was also one of the best batters, winning the National League batting championchip a record 8 seasons in a row).

Ozzy Smith--another player who played a few years for my hometown team--was the greatest shortstop (the position between second and third base if one doesn't know) in the game's history. He did things on the field that simply defied belief. Absolutely impossible catches and then throws, as tho he could defy gravity at will.

Sadly, steroids have taken much of the fun out the game these last years (this is a universe problem plauguing nearly every kind of sport). Barry Bonds will soon surpass the record for the highest number of home runs (715) in a career. Unfortunately, his use of steroids essentially negates the achievement. A couple of years ago when he surpassed another homerun record, when he rounded the bases, he was greeted with silence--in his home park! so detested is he.

Probably the best part of the game though was going with the old man, just me and my brother and him. Even sitting in the nosebleeds, we still had a blast.

There's something about watching baseball in April or May that is magical. Can't really be explained--just experienced.

The ball can, and does, arrive at 90-100mph

That's the standard speed range for a fast ball. At 10 yrs old my "little" brother (now 6'3!) could throw in the 90s. He could have had, if not a professional career, certainly a college scholarship. But we both made mistakes and opportunities were gone as quickly, as the Bruce Springsteen song "Glory Days" puts it, "like the wink of a young girl's eye."

I know who Pete Rose is.

The attraction of cricket to me is actually one man's fight against the odds and his overcoming it or not. You got one guy with bat, a partner down the other end, but really you're on your own out there against 11 others, who can field where they like (often in your nose hair)! Your mind and skill vs the whole of the other team. This is not unlike baseball, except baseball is rather hit and miss.

The ball can, and does, arrive at 90-100mph - and this is bowled with a straight arm, not thrown (or pitched as you might call it) - so imagine the force and skill of the bowler to land it just so and move/spin the ball.

**blutach** · August 23, 2006

@PM

The reason I mentioned the speed was to get you thinking just how fast the ball would arrive had it been thrown (pitched) instead of bowled with a straight arm. I'd hazard to guess another 20% faster.

Your pitcher is some 90 feet away, IIRC. We got 22 yards of separation. By the time a fast bowler has completed his delivery, he's almost standing under the batsman's cap, snorting metaphorical obscenities at him!

Yes, both games have their attractions and the great camaraderie to be gained by going to see the sport you love with your mates and family. We are blessed - as our games is not over in an instant and it is truly a day out.

@Jack - yes indeed. How Warnie dropped that catch when we had fought back defies belief. But so does McGrath falling on a cricket ball 2 minutes before the 2nd test. And nor will I ever forget the LBW decision that Simon Jones survived while Flintoff belted another 30 in a 10th wicket partnership that would - strangely enough - decide the match and series in its own way. But you can't blame Warnie or Ponting for Australia's loss. They played their guts out and the poms (more or less) appreciated their fighting spirit.

I believe they are all fit for 2006-7. The ACB have hired about 100 prostitutes for Warnie - 1 for every day of the summer - so that should keep him happy. Simone has left the mansion now, so he's free to root whomever he wants whenever he wants. This is good for Warnie, and what's good for Warnie is good for cricket!

@LFC - The pleasure is watching, talking, eating, drinking, bullshitting, just having a real good time. Should you happen this way in our summer, I'd be happy to take you to a match. However, you would have to lift your game laddie - we in the Melbourne Cricket Club don't take all that kindly to Scousers!

Regards

**spinningwheel** · August 23, 2006

However, you would have to lift your game laddie - we in the Melbourne Cricket Club don't take all that kindly to Scousers!

lfc...I'm not sure with all that Brit jargon, but I think you've been insulted...

=)) =)) =))

jack · August 23, 2006

By the time a fast bowler has completed his delivery, he's almost standing under the batsman's cap, snorting metaphorical obscenities at him!

Theres nothing metaphorical about the things ive been called on the field

Had some fearfully obscene abuse from an Aussie pro a few years ago, but then he was the first one to applaud and say well batted when I got to fifty and he bought the first round in the bar, turned out to be a great bloke but thought my sister was a crap shag! :huh:

I believe they are all fit for 2006-7. The ACB have hired about 100 prostitutes for Warnie - 1 for every day of the summer - so that should keep him happy. Simone has left the mansion now, so he's free to root whomever he wants whenever he wants. This is good for Warnie, and what's good for Warnie is good for cricket!

He might lose some weight with all the shagging he will get to do!!!( =)) =))

But so does McGrath falling on a cricket ball 2 minutes before the 2nd test.

With him you would have won the series in my view, he wasnt fit when he came back and Lee didnt seem to get to grips with leading the attack, he only looked really threatening just before lunch on the last day at the Oval when he had KP in all sorts of trouble. If KP had of gone then he would have blown us away.

McGrath is the key man this winter, without him to back-up Warne the bowling looks weak as does ours without Flintoff. Should be a damn good series, cant wait to see warne bowling at Ali Cook, he doesnt have a clue against quality spin so Warne should have no trouble gettin him if he's brought on early enough.

Off to Old Trafford tomorrow evening to see England against Lancashire in a 20/20 game as long as the rain holds off <_< It's supposed to be a warm up for the one day series................................. :

**blutach** · August 23, 2006

turned out to be a great bloke but thought my sister was a crap shag!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHA =))

20/20 game

You've gotta be fuckin joking!!! That is baseball on a cricket pitch.

as long as the rain holds off

In England???? Yer dreaming.

Regards

**spinningwheel** · August 24, 2006

I'm trying to figure out how to include the NFL in here.....but I'm stuck on fishing bait...dam...

=)) =))

**Movie Junkie** · August 24, 2006

I'm trying to figure out how to include the NFL in here.....but I'm stuck on fishing bait...dam...

How do you think the Eagles will do this season? (Is that a good enough opening Spinner?) :innocent:

**spinningwheel** · August 24, 2006

Do they like crickets in their diet??? :w00t:

**Movie Junkie** · August 24, 2006

Do they like crickets in their diet???

I'm not sure about Eagles liking crickets but I know large mouth bass do.

Hey Spinner, if you use crickets to catch large mouth bass do you use cricket players to catch whales?

This thread has been hijacked by Spinner and MJ...

Edited August 24, 2006 by Movie Junkie

**blutach** · August 24, 2006

Arsehole hijackers. Still 18 posts without hijack is near a record for this forum.

Regards

**Movie Junkie** · August 24, 2006

Arsehole hijackers. Still 18 posts without hijack is near a record for this forum.

Regards

jack · August 24, 2006

The Eagles? Oh you mean Essex Eagles! They are doing pretty gold in the one day stuff and their County Championship form has beed decent as well. The Flower brothers score most of the runs for them

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