Catholicism's impact on cricket

[sledger]

My contention in this thread, is simple: that Catholic teachings inspire values which are prerequisites for opening batsmen. It is, in my view, no coincidence that some of the greatest opening batsman of the last few generations have been Catholic. For instance, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, and AB de Villiers are all Catholics.

Hayden, for instance, had a great test career, amassing over 8000 test runs and 6000 runs in ODIs. This achievement required huge amounts of personal and physical resilience. Much of this, I would submit derives from his Catholic beliefs. Whilst the secular world routinely saw the Sign of the Cross he made whenever he scored a century as the outward sign of his Catholicism, the inner struggle he faced to achieve what he did is less well known or publicised. In Hayden's own words, being a Catholic is about being a leader, because you have to challenge the way your peer group will want to steer you in a certain direction. This, I believe is representative of the struggle he faced early on in his career when many considered his technique to be ill-suited for test cricket. Nevertheless, he endured in the face of adversity, and rose to prominence.

Furthermore, being a Catholic is all about finding solidarity and strength in other brothers in Christ. This is where Langer comes into the picture. Hayden's long-standing partnership with Langer was obviously an important part of not only his professional career but his life. It is undeniable that this solidarity helped forge the success of both men. Langer himself, also largely credits great portions of his success, notably his innings from the 1999 Hobart test against Pakistan, to the inspiration he took from Catholic teachings. There is evidence, therefore, that Catholic teachings, and the embodiment thereof, are extremely beneficial to cricketers, perhaps opening batsmen especially.

Are there any other notable instances of Catholic teachings having influences on cricketers?

 

[Howe_zat]

where was this copied and pasted from?

 

[GIMH]

Interesting topic. I expected a massive flame when I saw you'd started this and wondered what your angle was. But reading through, maybe you have a point? Worth looking and seeing if there is further empiric evidence available.

 

[Dan]

Created a nice rift in Australian cricket in the 1930s, IIRC.

 

[GIMH]

I was copied into an email chain the other day that suggested that actually

 

[Red]

There was contention over Lindsay Hassett becoming Australian captain due to the fact he was Catholic.

Have there ever been any truly great fast bowlers who were practicing Buddhists?

 

[fredfertang]

Had those damned Catholics not given DGB so much grief he'd have scored more runs than he did, well surely four more anyway

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

Probably had a huge impact on a cricketers family jewels, given their stance on protection.

 

[Jono]

Yeah interesting. Haydos was a bit of a bully and did like to abuse young kid........... bowlers whenever they played against him.

 

[Red]

Catholicism really weirds me out.

 

[watson]

Me too Monk. But the persistence of religion is not hard to fathom given the human propensity for being over credulous.

I did find this article from the British Medical Journal interesting;

Like a virgin (mother): analysis of data from a longitudinal, US population representative sample survey

Introduction

During Advent, many recount the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. Virgin births in non-humans are generally by asexual reproduction, where growth and development of the embryo occurs without fertilization, termed parthenogenesis (from the Greek parthenos for virgin and genesis for birth). Occurrences of parthenogenesis in vertebrates, including pit vipers, boa constrictors, sharks, and Komodo dragons, have attracted much attention. Parthenogenesis also appears in popular culture, including the Spielberg blockbuster Jurassic Park and the 2008 Dr Who episode “Partners in Crime.” Births without a human father are seen as distinct from asexual reproduction, and involve a non-mortal father—for example, the gospel of Matthew reports that Mary’s was found to be “with child” from the Holy Spirit, and numerous Greek demigods, such as Perseus, were reportedly born of mortal women (or in the case of Dionysus, his immortal father, Zeus).

Some supporters of the doctrine of the perpetual virginity (aeiparthenos) of Mary (who include not only Roman Catholics but also reformers such as Martin Luther) believe that Mary dedicated herself and her virginity to God, and that her husband Joseph was guardian of that virginity—perhaps a precursor of present day pledges of chastity. Chastity pledges may be signed by those who plan to remain chaste until marriage and by non-virgins who pledge to abstain from further intercourse until marriage; the latter are often called “born again” virgins; this concept of the reconstitution of virginity has also appeared in pop culture, notably in the play Camino Real.

Using data from the US nationally representative, multiethnic National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), spanning the 14 year lifecycle period between adolescence and adulthood, we examined the incidence of virgin pregnancy and birth based on self report of pregnancy and ***ual debut, hypothesizing that individual and contextual factors may influence reporting......

Like a virgin (mother): analysis of data from a longitudinal, US population representative sample survey | BMJ

1 in 200 mothers reports a "virgin" birth, study finds
1 in 200 mothers reports a "virgin" birth, study finds - Los Angeles Times

 

[Burgey]

"Could ya help an old altar boy, fadda?"

One of the great books.

 

[Marius]

My contention in this thread, is simple: that Catholic teachings inspire values which are prerequisites for opening batsmen. It is, in my view, no coincidence that some of the greatest opening batsman of the last few generations have been Catholic. For instance, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, and AB de Villiers are all Catholics.

Hayden, for instance, had a great test career, amassing over 8000 test runs and 6000 runs in ODIs. This achievement required huge amounts of personal and physical resilience. Much of this, I would submit derives from his Catholic beliefs. Whilst the secular world routinely saw the Sign of the Cross he made whenever he scored a century as the outward sign of his Catholicism, the inner struggle he faced to achieve what he did is less well known or publicised. In Hayden's own words, being a Catholic is about being a leader, because you have to challenge the way your peer group will want to steer you in a certain direction. This, I believe is representative of the struggle he faced early on in his career when many considered his technique to be ill-suited for test cricket. Nevertheless, he endured in the face of adversity, and rose to prominence.

Furthermore, being a Catholic is all about finding solidarity and strength in other brothers in Christ. This is where Langer comes into the picture. Hayden's long-standing partnership with Langer was obviously an important part of not only his professional career but his life. It is undeniable that this solidarity helped forge the success of both men. Langer himself, also largely credits great portions of his success, notably his innings from the 1999 Hobart test against Pakistan, to the inspiration he took from Catholic teachings. There is evidence, therefore, that Catholic teachings, and the embodiment thereof, are extremely beneficial to cricketers, perhaps opening batsmen especially.

Are there any other notable instances of Catholic teachings having influences on cricketers?

I strongly doubt AB de Villiers is a Catholic. The number of Afrikaners that are Catholic is negligible. I know he is a devout Christian but he is much more likely to be a member of the Dutch Reformed Chruch, or a charismatic Christian church.

 

[Muloghonto]

Classic case of confusion between correlation and causality.
The whole idea of 'you suceeded/are good/bad at X because of your religion' is a simple case of you wanting to see what you want to see, aka, the good old 'mary in a bread pudding' syndrome.
It means nothing. Or, if you want it to mean something, its a miracle.

 

[Flem274*]

dont you think being catholic gives them a better life grounding and sense of self to succeed though?

 

[ohnoitsyou]

theres always someone....

 

[Marius]

Classic case of confusion between correlation and causality.
The whole idea of 'you suceeded/are good/bad at X because of your religion' is a simple case of you wanting to see what you want to see, aka, the good old 'mary in a bread pudding' syndrome.
It means nothing. Or, if you want it to mean something, its a miracle.

Agreed. KP is a wanker, but a brilliant batsman, does that mean what must be a tool to be a great player.

But Hashim Amla is apparently a very nice man and humble. And a Muslim. So does that mean one must pray to Allah and grow a great big beard to be good at cricket?

 

[Daemon]

Well the evidence for beards is compelling..Grace, Amla, Yousuf and more recently Moeen Ali, who is likely to be a future star.

 

[the big bambino]

Agreed. KP is a wanker, but a brilliant batsman, does that mean what must be a tool to be a great player.

But Hashim Amla is apparently a very nice man and humble. And a Muslim. So does that mean one must pray to Allah and grow a great big beard to be good at cricket?

Talent isn't dependent on religion but when a man falters a strong faith (or other value) can give him the will to regain his status.

Beards I'm not so sure about. But if you wanted to bowl fast in Australia a mo helps.

 

[Adders]

Well the evidence for beards is compelling..

Didn't do much for Joe Root.