Is India the worst place to watch cricket?

[Daemon]

SA commentators were very balanced during the India series I thought.

Were probably being threatened by the BCCI though, so we'll have to confirm whether they've actually changed when SA take on Australia.

 

[wiff]

Every test playing home ground is bad:
England—full of Englishmen
India—full of Indians
South Africa—full of South Africans
Australia—full of Australians
Bangladesh—full of Bangladeshians
Sri Lanka—full of Sri Lankans
West Indies—full of West Indians
New Zealand—full of New Zealanders
Zimbabwe—full of Zimbabwians
Pakistan—full of Saudi Arabians

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

No NZ test match is full of New Zealanders.

The sell-out Test matches are vs. England and vs. India and at both of those you're likely to see at least as many England/India fans as NZ fans.

Not that that improves anything by your synopsis, mind.

 

[smash84]

Every test playing home ground is bad:
England—full of Englishmen
India—full of Indians
South Africa—full of South Africans
Australia—full of Australians
Bangladesh—full of Bangladeshians
Sri Lanka—full of Sri Lankans
West Indies—full of West Indians
New Zealand—full of New Zealanders
Zimbabwe—full of Zimbabwians
Pakistan—Nobody

Fixed

 

[Kirkut]

Was out walking earlier and started musing to myself which test playing nation is the worst place to watch cricket. After weighing up all of the evidence, I came to the conclusion that the answer probably has to be India. Allow me to explain why.

Firstly, one of the things I enjoy the most about test cricket is watching genuine fast bowlers. India does not have any of these, and never has done. A constant failure to produce a genuine fast bowler seems to have led the brains in Indian cricket to think that they no longer need one, hence why on occasion we have seen Ashwin and Ohja take the new ball. Dull.

Secondly, the pitches are almost exclusively slow and low. The pitches have no carry whatsoever, which is what makes watching cricket from countries like Australia and South Africa so appealing. This also affects the sound of the ball. Not the most important thing, you might say, but I prefer to hear the crisp sound of the ball biting into the pitch rather than a dull thud.

Next is the commentary. Watching a series broadcast from India means we are subjected to the awfulness of Bhogle, Gavaskar and Shastri. Individually all of these commentators would be capable of turning even the most exciting contest into something totally snooze-worthy. Boring cricket supplemented by boring commentary. Tedious.

The absolute worst thing though, has to be the spectators at the grounds. The crowds at Indian cricket grounds just seem to produce an unpunctuated and incessant screaming noise which makes genuine applause absolutely meaningless. The consensual, silent sulk when another team dares to score a run or a boundary, or even a century, is the equally odious other side to this. Not only this, but the spectators at Indian grounds are often fenced in like inmates, what the hell is that all about?

So yeah, in conclusion, I honestly believe India is the worst place in the world to watch test Cricket. And to think, I got through all of this without any mention of Sachin!

Anyway, where does everyone else think the worst place in the world to watch test cricket is?

So what do you want Indians to do? Wear funny ties like MCC members and give sophisticated applause to a boundary in thriller game?

Looks like you're not aware of fanatic behavior of Premier League soccer fans. Passionate fans of any sport will behave wildly irrespective of the countries they belong to.

 

[Kirkut]

At least Test matches are played in India during autumn-winter season which avoids any chances of rain and gives full 5 days.

 

[Adders]

Every test playing home ground is bad:
England—full of Englishmen
India—full of Indians
South Africa—full of South Africans
Australia—full of Australians
Bangladesh—full of Bangladeshians
Sri Lanka—full of Sri Lankans
West Indies—full of West Indians
New Zealand—full of New Zealanders
Zimbabwe—full of Zimbabwians
Pakistan—full of Saudi Arabians

That one really does depend on whether they are winning.

 

[OverratedSanity]

So what do you want Indians to do? Wear funny ties like MCC members and give sophisticated applause to a boundary in thriller game?

Looks like you're not aware of fanatic behavior of Premier League soccer fans. Passionate fans of any sport will behave wildly irrespective of the countries they belong to.

Think what he meant was that the indian crowds are flat, that is, there's no ebb and flow to the atmosphere. I'd agree to an extent, because generally it's just one long loud drone, like those ****ing vuvuzelas, only not quite as annoying.

 

[Shri]

Er no. Hygiene has everything to do with it, otherwise the reverse would happen and tourists from Africa and Asia to the 'West' would be consistently ill. But they're not.

They don't use as many spices as we do in India. Sometimes weak stomachs just can't take it. Nothing one can do about it.

 

[harsh.ag]

Every test playing home ground is bad:
England—full of Englishmen
India—full of Indians
South Africa—full of South Africans
Australia—full of Australians
Bangladesh—full of Bangladeshians
Sri Lanka—full of Sri Lankans
West Indies—full of West Indians
New Zealand—full of New Zealanders
Zimbabwe—full of Zimbabwians
Pakistan—full of Saudi Arabians

England will be fill of Indians in a matter of 5 decades.

Er no. Hygiene has everything to do with it, otherwise the reverse would happen and tourists from Africa and Asia to the 'West' would be consistently ill. But they're not.

What's more the likes of Enteropathogenic E.coli and Rotovirus are pathogenic by definition and only exist because of inferior hygiene and sanitation. The fact that your immune system has produced antibodies against them is neither here nor there as it merely means that you got lucky at some point during your childhood. Simple diarrhea remains the third leading cause of paediatric deaths in India.

Almost 5,000 Indian Children Die Daily - India Real Time - WSJ

But I digress, back to cricket.........

But it's not like you have it everywhere. For the same amount of money you spend in an everyday restaurant in London or Melbourne, for example, you can get a five-star service in India. So, why would anybody from the "west" have any reason to complain at all when they come to India to watch cricket. Just tell your hotel to pack up a continental lunch for you, and get you a bottle of evian

 

[NickDB]

Every test playing home ground is bad:
England—full of Englishmen
India—full of Indians
South Africa—full of South Africans *
Australia—full of Australians
Bangladesh—full of Bangladeshians
Sri Lanka—full of Sri Lankans
West Indies—full of West Indians
New Zealand—full of New Zealanders
Zimbabwe—full of Zimbabwians
Pakistan—full of Saudi Arabians

*with tons of hot chicks in bikinis so not all bad.

 

[Jono]

Indeed!

 

[Burgey]

Interesting opinion, because I've never met a Saffa who doesn't strut around like they have a stump shoved up their cloaca and who lacks a Peter Costello level sense of entitlement.

 

[Unomaas]

That's one of the reason's I was so bloody upset that there wasn't a New Years Test at Newlands <_<. Yeah the mountain in the background is gorgeous but more importantly, if you take your binoculars with to the cricket, you can drool and salivate at the plethora of feminine eye candy in scantily clad outfits.

In fact, all male cricket fans should encourage their cricket teams and boards to visit SA in summer alot so that we all may collectively appreciate this eye candy extravaganza

 

[Unomaas]

Interesting opinion, because I've never met a Saffa who doesn't strut around like they have a stump shoved up their cloaca and who lacks a Peter Costello level sense of entitlement.

First time I have heard that expression used for a Saffa. Very sobering