I do not understand cricket

[Haris]

I might watch some games but when they talk about overs and wickets and sixes and fours and all of these other words I have no idea what they are talking about.


If I am honest I do find it very boring but I want to get interested in it



So could anyone explain or give a website concerning all of the basic rules and words used in cricket for me please?

[khashayar]

well I will help you with a few. Maybe other members can join in.

An over= 6 balls per over.

A normal one day match has 50 overs. Therefore when you are the bowling team you bowl 50 overs. Then the other team bowls to you.

20 20= newer concept. Where each team bowls for 20 overs. A faster paced game. More fun.

Wickets= the sticks behind the batsmen. When a bowler bowls /gets the batsmen out it means he takes a wicket.

Lbw= leg before wicket. It is when you bowl and it hits the batsman on the pads and he is directly infront of wicket. It mean that if he didn't stick his leg in the way he would have been bowled out.

Wicket keeper= the guy crouched down behind the batsman. He catches and stumps out the batsman.

11 players per a team.

You can be a specialist batsman , fielder, bowler, wicket keeper or all rounder. All rounder is equally good at batting and bowling.

You could be a fast bowler= 90mph plus

A spinner= leg spinner or off spinner

Or medium/slow etc bowler.

A yorker is a type of bowling where the bowl is low and fast and normally hits the batsmans toes.

Okay that's it for now lol.

[khashayar]

A six = when the batsman hits the ball out of the boundary. The boundary is the White role around a cricket field. It has to go over with out bouncing before the rope. Normally hit into the crowd.

A four= when the batsman hits the ball and it crosses the boundary rope, but bounces or slides towards it.

[sgulab]

ahahhaha i completely agree. I watch and everything but I never have any idea what is going on lol. When the game btw india and pak was going on I had to keep updating my father and I had no idea what was going on lol.

[khashayar]

^ that's kinda retarded watching something and being clueless at the sametime!! Wow just wow. :P

[Laila]

I cannot watch cricket because it gets so boring for me. I guess i only have some sort of care for it because Afghanistan has a team.

[faye]

i prefer playing pool.

[Janana]

Ditto to the other comments, too boring to watch!

[tor_khan]

In general, the excitement level that cricket provides is the equivalent of a wet Tuesday in Scunthorpe. Even 20/20 is just not "fast" enough. I prefer soccer - 90 minutes and you've got a conclusion.

I have lots of cricket videos of highlights on my cell phone, which I can just about cope with, but I refuse to give up my day to watch India and Pakistan posture and pose and act out another conflict that might be a flashpoint for two egotistical nuclear powers that might cause us all to be sorry.

Cricket is all rather colonial and the desified version is an attempt at adding spice, but in reality, county cricket has about as much flavour as cucumber sandwiches.

[sgulab]

I cannot watch cricket because it gets so boring for me. I guess i only have some sort of care for it because Afghanistan has a team.

haha yeah the only reason I watch it- if i ever do is bc pak has a team lol.

^ that's kinda retarded watching something and being clueless at the sametime!! Wow just wow. :P

yeah well abo's orders :p and plus I just wanted to know if pak won or not. It would have been good if they did you know after everything that has happened. Like the flood etc....

[Haris]

Taa shakor friends,

Some more questions,

What is an inning? and what does the score format look like? (for example in football it could be 2-0)




I was bored in the holidays so I thought I would watch some IPL matches....It was so dry...the commentary was dry, the match analysis was dry, the gameplay was dry....how can that be a national sport?!

I agree with tor khan's snetiments.

[KhalsaWarrior]

In general, the excitement level that cricket provides is the equivalent of a wet Tuesday in Scunthorpe. Even 20/20 is just not "fast" enough. I prefer soccer - 90 minutes and you've got a conclusion.

I have lots of cricket videos of highlights on my cell phone, which I can just about cope with, but I refuse to give up my day to watch India and Pakistan posture and pose and act out another conflict that might be a flashpoint for two egotistical nuclear powers that might cause us all to be sorry.

Cricket is all rather colonial and the desified version is an attempt at adding spice, but in reality, county cricket has about as much flavour as cucumber sandwiches.

Its a subjective thing. We Indians and Pakistanis have grown up playing, breathing and literally eating cricket. It doesn't matter to me if its a colonial remnant. I do not care. I just care for the game.

I watch cricket for the contest. 20-20 slam bang action is fine but the real quality lies in Test matches. More so between evenly matched opponents. Imagine a post-tea, fourth-day crumbling Lahore wicket - watching Akram running in with the second new ball, his nippy action off 10 yards and delivering an outswinger pitched on middle, taking off to Sachin who after playing since morning is trying to save the game. He watches the ball till the last moment and then drives the ball, left elbow high and up, straight through the line to mid-off fielder. No run scored but the contest of quality craft combined with the basic grit on display there is pure beauty my dear friend.

I like football too and I could wax something eloquent about Messi's display against the Madrid defense during his second goal the other day.

[KhalsaWarrior]

Taa shakor friends,

Some more questions,

What is an inning? and what does the score format look like? (for example in football it could be 2-0)




I was bored in the holidays so I thought I would watch some IPL matches....It was so dry...the commentary was dry, the match analysis was dry, the gameplay was dry....how can that be a national sport?!

I agree with tor khan's snetiments.

Dry compared to what? If you mean soccer, then you are setting the wrong benchmarks. Its a different game.

[tor_khan]

Its a subjective thing. We Indians and Pakistanis have grown up playing, breathing and literally eating cricket. It doesn't matter to me if its a colonial remnant. I do not care. I just care for the game.

I watch cricket for the contest. 20-20 slam bang action is fine but the real quality lies in Test matches. More so between evenly matched opponents. Imagine a post-tea, fourth-day crumbling Lahore wicket - watching Akram running in with the second new ball, his nippy action off 10 yards and delivering an outswinger pitched on middle, taking off to Sachin who after playing since morning is trying to save the game. He watches the ball till the last moment and then drives the ball, left elbow high and up, straight through the line to mid-off fielder. No run scored but the contest of quality craft combined with the basic grit on display there is pure beauty my dear friend.

I like football too and I could wax something eloquent about Messi's display against the Madrid defense during his second goal the other day.

Khalsa Jan,

You are right - it is a very subjective view, but there is some key excitement factor that I'm missing. I too, will overlook certain colonial hangovers.

I would not be lying to you if I said that I actually fell asleep watching live cricket on the grounds despite two cups of coffee, cola and a cappuccino ice-cream. And no, I wasn't tired. I was just painfully bored. (At least I gave the game a try).

If I was in a particularly facetious mood, I would perhaps even be tempted to say that between cricket and this, I'd rather watch the the latter.

[KhalsaWarrior]

Khalsa Jan,

You are right - it is a very subjective view, but there is some key excitement factor that I'm missing. I too, will overlook certain colonial hangovers.

I would not be lying to you if I said that I actually fell asleep watching live cricket on the grounds despite two cups of coffee, cola and a cappuccino ice-cream. And no, I wasn't tired. I was just painfully bored. (At least I gave the game a try).

If I was in a particularly facetious mood, I would perhaps even be tempted to say that between cricket and this, I'd rather watch the the latter.

I understand that and I wouldn't blame you for it. While on the ground is a different experience, TV allows you to appreciate the details. And I wouldnt say that all series are competitive. Many of the times the opponents are mis-matched or the teams are just too defensive, taking out the excitement and thrill out of the game.

But sometimes there are contests within a contest. Like the one I described in my previous post. I would leave a front row seat for a Nadal vs. Federer game to watch that. You have to be in love with the art and aesthetics of the game to enjoy Test cricket. And believe me, a majority of the people in the sub-con desire greater action and excitement from the game. Hence, the rise of 20-20 cricket. But the real magic for purists like me is Test cricket.