Do You Like To Talk About Cricket?

[nightprowler10]

Yeah, me too. Or trying to describe why it's actually the most awesome thing ever despite their preconceptions.

Haha yes! Have gotten into countless arguments about cricket v baseball due to this bad habit.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Depends.

To people with considerable knowledge: Yes.

To people with a vague grasp on the game: No, for some reason.

To people unfamiliar with the game: Maybe when they bring it up?

To people who frequently behave like knobheads and treat me like a ******: Obviously not.

Yeah, feel the same way.

 

[BoyBrumby]

For men in the UK football is sort of the default conversation if you're meeting someone for the first time or don't know them that well (to such an extent that it's always a slight surprise when someone doesn't have any interest in it) but it's always a pleasant surprise when someone is a fellow cricket nerd.

 

[GIMH]

Yes

 

[Dan]

Between 1pm Friday and 10am Monday, yes. But only to compare scores/performances from the weekend's games. Otherwise, it's only if something interesting happened in the Tests.

And right now you can't shut me up about Steven Smith's 167*.

And if I'm in the midst of a normal conversation with someone and they bring it up, I'll change the subject ASAP

 

[Shri]

Well I have a friend who always switches channels to check out other programs during tight run chases and he doesn't care about the game. Now, when I have the remote and refuse to switch channels, he starts commenting about the game like a ****ing know it all and that pisses me off. He speaks bull **** most of the time and I just don't like ****ers like those. 'Shut the **** up and watch the ****ing game' thats the longest cricket discussion I have had in real life.

 

[Craig]

Yeah, me too. Or trying to describe why it's actually the most awesome thing ever despite their preconceptions.

My best friend once asked me why I liked cricket and why I find Test cricket entertaining (although at times it can be very boring, like anything), even though it goes for five days and sometimes there can be eight overs in row and there be nothing but maidens, and how I find it entertaining. Maybe I'm rubbish at articulating myself, but he couldn't grasp that the bowler is bowling very well, not allowing the batsman to score any runs, as opposed to they are just being defensive, and could be setting the batsman up for a wicket, or the batsman trying to play out a great spell of bowling, and making the bowler lose patience and then profit from it later on. They don't understand that, and just see it as boring, because not every second ball is going for four or six like in a T20 game. I find it entertaining, some don't, but I see it is a different form of entertainment to a game like AFL where it is very free flowing.

Then a later discussion got on about if Australia lost the Ashes (this was during the Cardiff Test), that I said I didn't think Ponting would get sacked, he didn't believe me, and I said if Ponting got the sack, then he would probably retire since Australian Test captains don't traditionally hang around once they are no longer captain. It went on for a bit and I felt like I was banging my head against the wall because just decided to challenge everything I said, despite admitting to not really be interested in it. So that is why I don't bring up the subject much.

But if somebody wants to learn, then I'm more then happy to explain it to them.

 

[Uppercut]

Those guys are assholes, but I don't really encounter many like that in the UK.

Football fans are much worse here. I don't especially like talking about football with many people. Massive cricket fans in my experience generally know their stuff, but massive football fans are usually super-aggro. Amongst other things, they'll blame any of their team's failings on a lack of passion, put any disagreement you have with them down to your inherent bias, treat fans who only have a passing interest with utter disdain for no particular reason and never, ever budge on anything no matter how compelling the evidence is.

The football thread here's pretty awesome though.

 

[_Ed_]

No, because the people I know only have a passing interest at best, or watch cricket if there is nothing else on, so I don't bother. If the person was really interested in cricket, then yeah I do like to talk them about cricket, otherwise I don't bother.

Yeah, likewise.

 

[Johnners]

Yep, love it. Do get frustrated when speaking to workmates about it though, most of whom hate it, and therefore deliberately bait me.

 

[Ikki]

Love it. I love talking to people about it who know as much as me about the sport and even those who don't to try to get them interested in it.

 

[Jono]

Yes heaps.

Talk cricket, AFL and tennis with my mates all the time.

 

[zaremba]

Love it. I love talking to people about it who know as much as me about the sport and even those who don't to try to get them interested in it.

These are the two groups of people I like talking to about it. I like it less with who know a little bit, but not as much as me.

 

[Jarquis]

An unequivocal yes. It doesn't matter that not a single one of my friends has the slightest interest in cricket. Should anyone mention anything to do with cricket I will talk at them about it until someone finds a way to shut me up. I can't help it. Everyone has something that they talk and talk and talk about regardless of how disinterested their company is. For me, it's cricket.

When I meet someone genuinely interested in it at the pub or at a game and have a good conversation with them I'm filled with an embarrassing amount of joy.

This for me, so much so my friends went through a phase of calling me "Cricket". Imaginitive, I know.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

I could talk for hours about cricket. The problem is that I don't know many people who feel the same. Most people are good for 15 minutes or so, but then they start to get bored. I'm the same way about football and tennis, mind.

I remember I met up with Matt Pitt - the only CWer I met during my 3 years in England, regrettably - and we talked for a solid couple of hours about the Ashes. Ironically I'm not very keen on getting into long conversations about cricket on CW, mostly because I get tired of having to repeat myself.

 

[Pothas]

These are the two groups of people I like talking to about it. I like it less with who know a little bit, but not as much as me.

Yeah same here, only hate talking to those people (often armchair football fans) who think they are experts.

Most of my friends not at all interested by cricket (or any spot for that matter) so don't reallt about it, the people I live with know I love it though. A few people at work express an interest but normally just talk about with my Dad when I go home, there will always be a good Hampshire and England chat.

 

[Sir Alex]

Yep, love it. Do get frustrated when speaking to workmates about it though, most of whom hate it, and therefore deliberately bait me.

My best mates at best have cursory interest in cricket. So no, I don't speak about in real life. Unless, I happen to be watching a tense game in a crowd (which is frequent in India), sometimes I tend to have long, deep and enlightening conversations with people whom I don't know at all.

 

[TT Boy]

In real life, no. I don't have the opportunity to and have rarely been in an environment where cricket has been popular. Football on the other hand...

 

[aussie]

I love talking about it with knowledgeable people.

But, to those who have a rudimentary knowledge, I hate talking to them about the game.

This.

 

[SJS]

No, because the people I know only have a passing interest at best, or watch cricket if there is nothing else on, so I don't bother. If the person was really interested in cricket, then yeah I do like to talk them about cricket, otherwise I don't bother.

AWTA

I love talking about it with knowledgeable people.
But, to those who have a rudimentary knowledge, I hate talking to them about the game.

This.

I talk about cricket to the few people in my life who actually know a fair bit about it, and to randoms when I'm at a game, but when casual fans sprouting off crap annoys me to such an extent that I just don't bother talking to them at all about it.

Yes but only to people I know understand the game, for the vast majority who are cricket-illiterates I give a wide berth.

Yes i love talking about it with people who know a bit about it. Those who dont know much about it can be frustrating to converse with.

Sort of. I'd yap about it all day if I knew people who knew a lot about it, but most people I know are ****ing retards.

Depends.
To people with considerable knowledge: Yes.
To people with a vague grasp on the game: No, for some reason.

Yeah, likewise.

These are the two groups of people I like talking to about it. I like it less with who know a little bit, but not as much as me.

Yeah same here, only hate talking to those people (often armchair football fans) who think they are experts.

Most of my friends not at all interested by cricket (or any spot for that matter) so don't reallt about it, the people I live with know I love it though. A few people at work express an interest but normally just talk about with my Dad when I go home, there will always be a good Hampshire and England chat.

My best mates at best have cursory interest in cricket. So no, I don't speak about in real life. Unless, I happen to be watching a tense game in a crowd (which is frequent in India), sometimes I tend to have long, deep and enlightening conversations with people whom I don't know at all.

That seems to be a common refrain. Its a universal epidemic I think - cricket-illiteracy. I have always felt it wasn't like that say thirty years ago but its possible that is just an illusion since I was still playing then and one tended to meet knowledgeable people so very often.

Still there is a drop, a HUGE one I think, in those who have fair to good grasp of the nuances of the game. I am not talking statistics of course. In fact, I am amazed at how much everyone seems to be into statistics. Even the most dumb cricket fans seem up to their gills with stats. Thats a big change. Thirty years ago those who knew lots of stats were a rare breed and quite admired in a way. The regular cricket buff remembered his favourite matches and favourite innings and even favourite strokes but wouldn't be able to tell you stats of the leading cricketers around the world straight off as people do so easily nowadays. Of course there was no internet and therefore no cricinfo or howstat etc to visit everyday and polish one's numbers

Talking cricket was a very big part of one's pleasurable pursuits and a vital one in one's life. Today it exists, in the real life at least, as a most frustrating experience at least in India where quantity has blossomed while quality has shrivelled amongst those talking cricket. One has to call up cricketing friends long-distance to have a meaningful cricket discussion and then it is always fun but expensive

CW comes as a relief because their are so many very good people one can talk to although it can at times be tedious for reasons well known

But I would still say, thank God for CC what would we do without it