What do you like so much about Cricket?

[sanga1337]

Timing an off drive and see it racing to the boundary for four or stumping a batsman with my leg spin.

 

[Uppercut]

I absolutely love the sound of a ball hitting the stumps. It's possibly the greatest noise of all time. The real reason stump microphones were introduced was so we could hear it more clearly.

 

[zaremba]

Watching cricket:

- the complex development of a match over its course
- individual conflicts
- aesthetic beauty
- technical skill
- tension
- excitement
- Darren Pattinson
- delight in crushing the opposition
- misery at being crushed by the opposition
- courage
- characters
- statistics
- history
- literature
- pointless arguments (on cricket websites and elsewhere)
- the excitement of waking up on the first morning of a Test match
- rules which (most) Americans don't understand

Playing cricket: many of the above plus

- spending time with your friends
- bitching about the skipper's decisions re the toss / batting order / bowling changes
- spending time in the sun not doing very much
- very occasional personal glory

I'm sure I've forgotten loads.

 

[fredfertang]

Watching cricket:

- the complex development of a match over its course
- individual conflicts
- aesthetic beauty
- technical skill
- tension
- excitement
- Darren Pattinson
- delight in crushing the opposition
- misery at being crushed by the opposition
- courage
- characters
- statistics
- history
- literature
- pointless arguments (on cricket websites and elsewhere)
- the excitement of waking up on the first morning of a Test match
- rules which (most) Americans don't understand

Playing cricket: many of the above plus

- spending time with your friends
- bitching about the skipper's decisions re the toss / batting order / bowling changes
- spending time in the sun not doing very much
- very occasional personal glory

I'm sure I've forgotten loads.

Must be a lot like being led in the Court of Appeal

 

[zaremba]

Must be a lot like being led in the Court of Appeal

Quite!

OK it's now time to own up to your profession Fertang

 

[fredfertang]

I cannot tell a lie ...........................................................

 

[haroon510]

Fast bowling..

 

[Richard]

Accurate fast bowling?

 

[Smudge]

I keep saying New Zealand because I have such a great desire to go there (one of the few major countries I haven't been to).

Your taste cannot be faulted, SJS...

 

[Langeveldt]

The relaxation of the sport.. Chilling out with a cold one on the grass banks, smelling the braai's cooking.. Hours ticking by, not caring what the time is.. The spirit of the game as a whole is also pretty unparallelled.. And you can never beat English village cricket, absolutely awesome tradition.. T20 can GAGFF, and if it's the future of the sport, then I'm devoting my time to rugby..

 

[SJS]

Your taste cannot be faulted, SJS...

I think its a beautiful country. Even though I haven't seen it, but for my wife not being supportive, I would strongly consider migrating to New Zealand and living there. It seems to have almost everything I would like to in the country where I spend my last years - everything.

 

[GIMH]

The relaxation of the sport.. Chilling out with a cold one on the grass banks, smelling the braai's cooking.. Hours ticking by, not caring what the time is.. The spirit of the game as a whole is also pretty unparallelled.. And you can never beat English village cricket, absolutely awesome tradition.. T20 can GAGFF, and if it's the future of the sport, then I'm devoting my time to rugby..

Don't share your dislike for T20 but agree so much about the not caring about the time. When you're engrossed in the cricket, or there, it just seems like it will go on forever and that's what you want

 

[BHG86]

One word to sum this question up for me: Batting.

I'm an opener myself, not a blocker by any means, but certainly not a big hitter, and if I wasn't any good at it, I probably wouldn't play the game, just watch.

I've read that the skill, concentration and dedication needed to be succesful spurs professionals on, but for me it's just the feeling of timing a ball to the fence and looking up at the bowler and thinking the words 'bowl again, son'.

Sucks if you get a Golden Goose however. 45.5 overs of watching, and occasional square leg-ing, followed by 46 overs of fielding. Not so great.

 

[Uppercut]

One word to sum this question up for me: Batting.

I'm an opener myself, not a blocker by any means, but certainly not a big hitter, and if I wasn't any good at it, I probably wouldn't play the game, just watch.

I've read that the skill, concentration and dedication needed to be succesful spurs professionals on, but for me it's just the feeling of timing a ball to the fence and looking up at the bowler and thinking the words 'bowl again, son'.

Sucks if you get a Golden Goose however. 45.5 overs of watching, and occasional square leg-ing, followed by 46 overs of fielding. Not so great.

Oddly, i'm the opposite. I have no particular skill in either discipline and play purely recreationally. But when i'm watching a team i particularly want to win, like SA in this series for reasons related to my occasional gambling habit, i like watching them bowl moreso than watching them bat. Largely because the successes come in big, exciting bursts that give you something to jump up and celebrate about. You can't really do that over four or six runs.

Even when i'm not emotionally involved, i still prefer watching a team bowl well and take wickets. I thoroughly enjoyed Freddie's fantastic spell today, but if it had been Michael Vaughan scoring a century i'd have turned the tv off in disgust. I think i'm in the minority, but for me bowling keeps me interested moreso than batting.

 

[zaremba]

I think i'm in the minority, but for me bowling keeps me interested moreso than batting.

I agree with you in that as a general rule low-scoring matches are more entertaining than high-scoring ones.

 

[GIMH]

Oddly, i'm the opposite. I have no particular skill in either discipline and play purely recreationally. But when i'm watching a team i particularly want to win, like SA in this series for reasons related to my occasional gambling habit, i like watching them bowl moreso than watching them bat. Largely because the successes come in big, exciting bursts that give you something to jump up and celebrate about. You can't really do that over four or six runs.

Even when i'm not emotionally involved, i still prefer watching a team bowl well and take wickets. I thoroughly enjoyed Freddie's fantastic spell today, but if it had been Michael Vaughan scoring a century i'd have turned the tv off in disgust. I think i'm in the minority, but for me bowling keeps me interested moreso than batting.

I think that if you stick around this forum you'll find your not in the minority. We all seem to love watching our team/great players bowl round here. Have you encountered silentstriker yet? He'd have all batsmen shot at birth.

 

[Uppercut]

I think that if you stick around this forum you'll find your not in the minority. We all seem to love watching our team/great players bowl round here. Have you encountered silentstriker yet? He'd have all batsmen shot at birth.

Hmm. Maybe not the minority of this forum, but the minority in general i feel. Compare how ridiculously popular Tendulkar, Laxman, Dravid and Ganguly are compared to... well, any Indian bowler, for instance. Selective example, perhaps, but i do believe batsmen are the main subject of love for most of those who follow cricket.

 

[GIMH]

Oh definitely if you look at the wider picture people prefer batting, hence why casual cricket fans prefer limited overs. But if you stick round, perception will become reality and what is said on CW will be the truth

 

[Uppercut]

Exxxxcellent

 

[GIMH]

Just to elaborate, before long you will be typing tbh in your work emails, sending your colleagues/friends IMs saying "GAGF" and discussing the first chance theory with anyone close who cares about the great game