Cricket....er...what?

As a new fan of cricket in a country who doesn't give a damn on it, i find it funny to try to "spread the gospel". Cricket is a very simple game once you get the knack, but seems to be very hard to explain, and people more often take it to pieces, like "boring", "silly", "stupid" etc.
I guess some of you here did get some chilly reactions from people who looked strange at you because of your passion or involvement in cricket.
Please share. Some of these moments can be fun.
And even in cricketing countries some may take a mocking attitude to the game, so noone's spared...

When I tell people I collect cricket books, they say things like 'well it shouldn't take you long to collect them all, there must only be about 100'

When I say I have a 1000 and know people with over 6000 they can't fathom it

Funny the perceptions people have on cricket.

Fred Trueman told the story of how someone he met from the States said it was "That gentlemen's game". Trueman apparently said "Depends on your definition of a gentleman I suppose. I always thought a gentleman was someone who got out of the bath to take a p*ss".

A lot of sports suffer from perceptions of those who don't know/ follow them. I for one can't abide basketball, it strikes me as ridiculous that you have to be (barring a few exceptions who prove the rule) 6 and a half feet tall to play it, and that teams don't often try to get the ball until the other team is 3/4 of the way towards scoring points against them. Now I know there's more to the game than that, but it's the perception I have as a 5 foot nine inch tall outsider.

Often people can't believe a game of cricket can take 5 days only to end in a draw. That's one I hear quite a bit, and from an outsider's perspective I can understand that because those people don't understand how the game can fluctuate between the two sides, or how a game can be drawn yet be very exciting at the same time (eg: third Ashes test 2005, Adelaide 1960-61, etc.)

well, tbh, even life ends in a draw most of the times, few manage to get out of it winners

atisha_ro said:

well, tbh, even life ends in a draw most of the times, few manage to get out of it winners

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Good post.

I once did an after dinner speech at an NZICA formal dinner and half way through, I put down my prompt cards started dancing and singing "Dreadlock Holiday". I think only then did they appreciate my love for the game.

Burgey said:

Adelaide 1960-61, etc.)

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That wasn't actually a "draw" was it?

atisha_ro said:

I guess some of you here did get some chilly reactions from people who looked strange at you because of your passion or involvement in cricket..

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Never. More people are ignorant of Rugby League than cricket, in my experience. Met a southern **** once who hadn't even heard of the sport. And this was when it was the second most attended domestic spectator sport in England, and had been for about 50 years (union overtook it in about 2002)

HeathDavisSpeed said:

I once did an after dinner speech at an NZICA formal dinner and half way through, I put down my prompt cards started dancing and singing "Dreadlock Holiday". I think only then did they appreciate my love for the game.

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Haha, I can actually imagine you doing that as well

how do people behave when you're absorbed in watching (or following via web) a looong Test match?

Burgey said:

A lot of sports suffer from perceptions of those who don't know/ follow them. I for one can't abide basketball, it strikes me as ridiculous that you have to be (barring a few exceptions who prove the rule) 6 and a half feet tall to play it, and that teams don't often try to get the ball until the other team is 3/4 of the way towards scoring points against them. Now I know there's more to the game than that, but it's the perception I have as a 5 foot nine inch tall outsider.

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Tyrone Bogues was just 5 feet 3 inches and still played in the NBA. Exception indeed but you don't need to be the tall to enjoy a game of basketball. Playing at the highest level and enjoying the game are two different affairs. I will give another example.. in football you have 11 players and so the role is divided. In basketball, there are just 5 players. So you have to contribute more in each play. Plus, there are so many baskets while you have just a few goals in football. Not trying to say football is crap because I love it too and it has it's own strengths, just saying a few reasons why basketball is a great game.

atisha_ro said:

how do people behave when you're absorbed in watching (or following via web) a looong Test match?

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My friends find my late-night Ashes watching weird. They can't seem to understand why I'd want to go to bed at eight pm to watch three hours of cricket.

They're weird.

atisha_ro said:

how do people behave when you're absorbed in watching (or following via web) a looong Test match?

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One of my brothers, who doesn't like cricket at all, cannot fathom why I would watch ball after ball of the same thing - bowler bowling, batsman facing, bowler bowling, batsman facing. He is oblivious to the fact that cricket is one of the games with the maximum variation in it.

Pratyush said:

Tyrone Bogues was just 5 feet 3 inches and still played in the NBA. Exception indeed but you don't need to be the tall to enjoy a game of basketball. Playing at the highest level and enjoying the game are two different affairs. I will give another example.. in football you have 11 players and so the role is divided. In basketball, there are just 5 players. So you have to contribute more in each play. Plus, there are so many baskets while you have just a few goals in football. Not trying to say football is crap because I love it too and it has it's own strengths, just saying a few reasons why basketball is a great game.

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Yeah,no probs with that at all. I was trying to show how, if you're not into a sport that much, your pre-conceptions govern your thoughts on the game.

A note, never try and impress a girl by talking about cricket. I have expirience of this

me too.... never ever try! it's tedious to start explaining the game....cricket seems to be the most easy of sports to watch and the most hard to explain

PhoenixFire said:

A note, never try and impress a girl by talking about cricket. I have expirience of this

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That once worked for me, actually. Well, sort of. By the end of the school year she was watching England's games and discussing them with me, but that's as far as it went. I class it as a victory as she didn't immediately swtich off.

steds said:

That once worked for me, actually.

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Did it involve you lying??

PhoenixFire said:

Did it involve you lying??

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No, and I've edited.

Haha fair enough.