How come cricket is not spreading to other countries?

[sledger]

Words cannot describe how strongly I disagree with this.

Yeah I would also disgaree. Though I was still "young" when I got into cricket, I really did not like it at all until around the age of 15-16. As such I can see why at a young age people would not like it and then realise there is a of appeal in the sport and start liking it as they get older. That's obviously not to say there are not people out there who like cricket from a very young age, as there obviously are.

 

[Pothas]

Will always remember your conversion to cricket at around that age, I believe that I had been telling you it was the greatest sport in the world for a number of years by that point.

Cricket's image has always been a problem and an attraction to me, of course a lot of the idea of cricket as gentelmanly victorian sport is a load of rubbish and its past is just as complicated as any other sport. I have also never been sure if I like the image cricket has or not, I hate much of the things it stands for but I am also part of it, I certainly love the unique atmosphere cricket has if not everything its culture stands for.

 

[sledger]

Will always remember your conversion to cricket at around that age, I believe that I had been telling you it was the greatest sport in the world for a number of years by that point.

Cricket's image has always been a problem and an attraction to me, of course a lot of the idea of cricket as gentelmanly victorian sport is a load of rubbish and its past is just as complicated as any other sport. I have also never been sure if I like the image cricket has or not, I hate much of the things it stands for but I am also part of it, I certainly love the unique atmosphere cricket has if not everything its culture stands for.

Haha yeah I remember it well. I remember thinking that going to watch a live cricket match would be one of the dullest things imaginable at one point, and then things started to change drastically.

I remember when I was very young I always found it a very dull and uninteresing game, though a lot of that may be through not understanding the rules and how it was played. As I used to play in Goal for Kingsclere I always really enjoyed watching the fielding on display, but was never much interested in the batting or bowling, watching the wicket keepers take diving catches was the only bit I enjoyed. I can actually pinpoint the moment where it all changed, I remember just turning on the TV one morning and watching Vikram Solanki getting his ODI hundred against South Africa, and he instantly became one of my favourite players and I immediately started enjoying it. The test series that followed was great as well, so my interest just grew and grew.

I think I can identify the reason(s) for me not liking Cricket up to that point, were down to the fact that it's wasn't the easiest sport to get into as a young kid, as you need a certain amount of equipment/people to play, and a decent area in which to do so. As prior to me going to secondary school I had never even picked up a bat in my life before my interest was minimal. Once you did Cricket in PE you learnt about general technique and the basic rules, but I found from that I didn't really take much enjoyment, neither did I really learn much at all at what the game was all about. In fact were it not for the fact that you (Pothas) were a fan, chances are I would have never have really developed my interest in it at all. I imagine I am not the only one to have taken a similar route into liking the game, and I imagine there are several others who would take the same path and end up not liking it whatsoever, so I can see why the growth of the sport would struggle in some cases.

 

[Pothas]

Yeah cricket unlike football can easily pass you by in primary school, my Dad loves the game so it was always around me when I grew up and I cannot remember a time when I did not love it but that is not the case for the majority. I personally love the fact that so many people are bemused by cricket, my Greek firend who is staying with us at the moment is utterly confused by the whole thing, he loves that I like it though for some reason.

 

[Uppercut]

I started liking it very gradually. It's a repulsive sport to the uninitiated, every one of my good friends in Belfast hates it despite barely having watched it for a moment in their life, and when I was a little kid I was more or less the same. I wouldn't have called myself a cricket fan at all until I was about 16.

Before I knew it I was wondering how I'd manage to watch Australia-India at 2am when I had school the next day.

Football I fell in love with the moment I saw it, I've no idea what age I was, I was so young I have no memories of that time.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Interesting post.

I don't personally think the cultural aspect of cricket in England will ever be under threat from Twenty20. People have been playing 20-over games on a village green on a sunny afternoon in June for years, and it's not going to stop just because someone on the other side of the world is playing the same game in a packed stadium filled with Indian fans.

Meant more the values that underpin the game or the 'essence' (sorry to be a bit vague about it) would be erroded by the game of Twenty20 at a high level, especially the IPL and its $$$, sponsors, win-at-all-costs attitude etc. The village game in England will continue regardless of what happens, but is richer for assimilating the game at its highest level.

 

[sledger]

Yeah cricket unlike football can easily pass you by in primary school, my Dad loves the game so it was always around me when I grew up and I cannot remember a time when I did not love it but that is not the case for the majority. I personally love the fact that so many people are bemused by cricket, my Greek firend who is staying with us at the moment is utterly confused by the whole thing, he loves that I like it though for some reason.

Something I always find with people who do not understand, but happen to come into the room or whatever when you are watching it, is how when they ask you "Who is winning?", and quite often when you can't really split it, you just give an answer along the lines of "er,.....not really sure at the moment". And they just look totally perplexed by the whole thing.

 

[sledger]

I started liking it very gradually. It's a repulsive sport to the uninitiated, every one of my good friends in Belfast hates it despite barely having watched it for a moment in their life, and when I was a little kid I was more or less the same. I wouldn't have called myself a cricket fan at all until I was about 16.

Before I knew it I was wondering how I'd manage to watch Australia-India at 2am when I had school the next day.

Football I fell in love with the moment I saw it, I've no idea what age I was, I was so young I have no memories of that time.

I actually didn't. The first match I can remember watching was the FA Cup final between Man Utd and Liverpool, a terrible terrible match, which turned me off from football for the immediate time after that. I started liking football around Euro 96, though I was quite familiar with the famous players etc... already. It was the Seaman penalty save against Scotland and then the one against Spain which really grabbed my attention, as with Solanki, Seaman instantly became my favourite player at the time, and remained there till his retirement, just a shame his behaviour away from football leaves a bit to be desired.

 

[Pothas]

Something I always find with people who do not understand, but happen to come into the room or whatever when you are watching it, is how when they ask you "Who is winning?", and quite often when you can't really split it, you just give an answer along the lines of "er,.....not really sure at the moment". And they just look totally perplexed by the whole thing.

Phil (my old housemate) was awful for this, as you may know from the few times you met him he asks questions about EVERYTHING even when he is not in slightest bit interested. The amount of questions I have had to answer was nausiating. I remember my mum took a German woman who she worked with to a test match once, apparently she loved it although had no idea what was going on, kept asking why the batsman were not running around the edge of the field when they ran.

 

[Uppercut]

Haha, I avoid conversation on cricket altogether with friends. There are friends-of-friends who I've been seeing and talking to regularly for months and months without them ever having the slightest idea that I like cricket. My real friends kinda forget that I do most of the time. Maybe that's why I post so much here.

But when someone makes the mistake of bringing it up I rant and rant and rant about it. And I know I'm boring the pants off them, and they're going to hate me forever as a result, but I can't help it. I just can't stop.

 

[sledger]

Phil (my old housemate) was awful for this, as you may know from the few times you met him he asks questions about EVERYTHING even when he is not in slightest bit interested. The amount of questions I have had to answer was nausiating. I remember my mum took a German woman who she worked with to a test match once, apparently she loved it although had no idea what was going on, kept asking why the batsman were not running around the edge of the field when they ran.

Haha, only really met him once I think, and at that time seemed totally disinterested in talking, so perhaps on that occasion I was spared. I love it when people who know nothing are really enthusiastic about it though, it somehow makes your own experience of watching it that much more enjoyable, one of the ways in which sport is unique in bringing people together I would suggest. Much better than the people who take an interest around a peak time (Ashes 05) and then think they immediately know everything about the sport, those sorts are far worse, but fortunately once the hype dies down they fade away or generally become proper fans and develop their knowledge.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Something I always find with people who do not understand, but happen to come into the room or whatever when you are watching it, is how when they ask you "Who is winning?", and quite often when you can't really split it, you just give an answer along the lines of "er,.....not really sure at the moment". And they just look totally perplexed by the whole thing.

Yeah I think we all get this a lot. Even more so when my sister walks in, sees that the score is 5 for one, and says something along the lines of "this lot can't be much good, the batsmen must be terrible if they go out so quickly." Usually ends with me saying that there's a real possibility the team could be 150 for one within 30 overs.

 

[sledger]

Yeah I think we all get this a lot. Even more so when my sister walks in, sees that the score is 5 for one, and says something along the lines of "this lot can't be much good, the batsmen must be terrible if they go out so quickly." Usually ends with me saying that there's a real possibility the team could be 150 for one within 30 overs.

I would usually do that, but such a response usually provokes another question along the lines of "what's an over?".

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

I would usually do that, but such a response usually provokes another question along the lines of "what's an over?".

Think I've got past that stage, luckily. The scoring system is quite unique though. Even in baseball, the teams have multiple innings so it is fairly easy to track which team has the advantage (although one of the reasons I find baseball so difficult to enjoy is how quickly the scoreline can change, so that a 3-0 lead looks safe but can be blown away in minutes).

 

[sledger]

Think I've got past that stage, luckily. The scoring system is quite unique though. Even in baseball, the teams have multiple innings so it is fairly easy to track which team has the advantage (although one of the reasons I find baseball so difficult to enjoy is how quickly the scoreline can change, so that a 3-0 lead looks safe but can be blown away in minutes).

I've never much liked Baseball, because to me it just seems like glorified rounders, and as a bat and ball game I have not been able to identify any appealing features that are not already offered by cricket. That said, as I mentioned earlier, I didn't much like Cricket till I actually sat down and took notice of it, so perhaps the same thing could happen with baseball. I personally doubt it would, and I don't really have the time to offer it anyway. That said, I recently have really picked up an interest in NFL, something that I always thought of as being stupid, but nowadays find it very entertaining.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Why is it that cricket has not taken off in the rest of the world and its only strongholds are the same Test-playing nations that have been playing for decades? Even the newest Test-playing nation, Bangladesh, was actually holding Test matches back in the 50s as East Pakistan. Compare it to baseball, soccer/football, basketball, rugby, etc and it's just pathetic. I used to think it was the money but cricket actually pays well, nowadays. We do see teams like Canada, Netherlands, and Hong Kong participate in some tournaments but they are mostly filled up of expatriates from other cricket playing countries.

Obviously, the future of cricket is healthy with close to 1.5 billion people (rough estimate) in South Asia but it makes the game only a regional sport. It's not even in the Olympics, though it appears in 2020 it will be.

Is it the game itself? I know cricket's detractors consider it boring, too complex and not the most athletic of sports. Or is it the way the ICC is handling the spread of the game? Does T20 make the game more appealing? Are those mostly American sports listed above spreading due to the high profile of American athletes and their professional leagues? Obviously, baseball and cricket are too similar and there's really no room for cricket in baseball playing countries. But Europe is not a baseball playing continent, though it may frown upon an English sport.

There are a couple of factors in my view. Firstly, the idea of comparing different kinds of sports just because they all fall in the category of sports if flawed. Its as silly as comparing Sachin Tendulkar with Wasim Akram just because they both happen to be cricketers.
Before the advent of T20, cricket at its shortest still went on for over 8 hours. Now people are only getting busier every day, and in the small opening for recreation an individual's life, cricket is not only competing with other shorter sports like football and tennis but also with 2 hour movies, tv shows, reality shows etc etc. A bit difficult isnt it?

Secondly, and this is purely based on the various conversations I have had with non cricket followers when trying to promote cricket to them, I have found cricket to be a much more complex game. I have had to explain why there are two batsmen running in the middle of a pitch when only one of them plays a shot and thats not even what is complicated with cricket. As a result, cricket by its very nature is going to have less "mass appeal" than a 90 minute game of football.

The other aspect that discourages people is the fact that after 5 grueling days of cricket, there is no guarantee of a result. I have had people ask me why they would invest 5 days of their lives and money with no guarantee of a result?

The solution? its simple. We have to understand that cricket is not meant to have a massive following all over the world like football. Attempts to shorten it and make it "more" exciting by introducing T20 cricket might work to a certain extent in terms of the financial aspect but I doubt any of these new fans will be convinced to become fans of Test cricket of even 50 overs. So many of these new fans will be liking cricket for qualities that not necessarily ingrained in other formats of the game.

Cricket has massive following in South Asia, enjoys decent popularity in Australia, South Africa and England and I think we should be content with that.
Another example I would use to complete point is that of music. There are various kinds of music, classical, pop, rock, metal, r&b, rap, jazz, trance etc etc. Each has created its own audience and enjoys its following within that audience. A Guns & Roses album is not competing with a Rihanna album. They enjoy their success with their own audiences!

 

[Johnners]

As has been said before, cricket being a much more complex game than most other sports, along with the time factor (The shortest form of Cricket still goes longer than your average football match) is the crux of the issue imo.

 

[brockley]

You have to look at vehicles.
Well IPL and 20/20 world cup as well as the world cup are the best vehicles.
But when you consider ipl is watched by a majority of indians at 96%,there seems little hope.
The growth of cricket will be incremental and slow.
Afghanistan is the major boon if they respond well get them into test cricket quick.

 

[slugger]

Its all about world cups.

Once the t20 world cup starts to take off other countries will want to be involved.

the rugby world cup of 87 had 7-9 automatic entries, the rest were purely invited to make a comp of 16 teams. In the tournament there were big blow outs. over time there is now a qualification system however there is still big hidings. NZ vs Portugal 108 - 13 as example.

I think cricket has to accept some of these blow outs as well... its normal and part in parcel of giving teams the chance to dance with the big boys.

hell Australia in the 2007 football world cup probably should have gone further than they did, if it hadn't been for a late penalty to Italy ...

 

[Richard]

Words cannot describe how strongly I disagree with this.

You can disagree, but that's the way it is. Yes, your own case is different, but the number of people like you are tiny. That is well established. The overwhelming number of cricket fans are people who've grown-up with the game because their parents (usually fathers, of course) are fans and\or players. They don't neccessarily have to have been into it from the age of 6 or whatever as I was, but it'll have been there and thereabouts, then they'll gradually fall under the spell.

There's heaps of research out there that's been done on the matter.

Cricket's great challenge is to try to draw in, in large quantities, people who are already relatively grown. It may be impossible - it's something it's been unable to do for centuries. Other games are miles, miles better; and, of course, have much more of a mass-market to the very young as well.