h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Linus -

Right, I was tempted to accuse Mr. McCourt of comparing baseball to the fast Irish sports, but I guess without cricket, all the Irish sports are fast. At least that's what he said. Thinking about it, baseball and cricket aren't all that much different from a speed standpoint. The "World" Series (there, quotations ) just finished lasted four playing days over a week or so (even a "travel day" to drive across town ), not much different from a Test? All the post-season baseball playoffs are multi-day series.

I was going to say the difference for me is that cricket is new and sort of mysterious, and therefore interesting, and that I've seen everything in baseball a thousand times (and done most of them about as many). But then a Yankee pitcher throws a big piece of a broken bat at a batter ... so I won't say that. (The pitcher, BTW, said he wasn't throwing AT anybody, just throwing ... oh.)

In the World Cup Cricket last year, were they multi-day matches? I wasn't paying enough attention, too busy riding the Tube to all the interesting spots.

Gooday Loony,

Thanks for the team info; still haven't seen it here. The judgement on Warne is a bit harsh - is there a fieldsman ever who hasn't taken one 'on the finger'? And don't worry, Stuart McGill and/or Colin Miller will pick up on any slack caused by the chubby one's absence. Take care,

Walter

Gooday Loony,

Martyn and Gilchrist hit big hundreds as Western Australia enforce the follow-on against the Crow-eaters. Tassie in not too bad a shape against the Maroons coming into the last day of their Sheffield Shield match.

Heard the news from South Africa; another Black Capitulation, but it isn't fair dinkum cricket, just wait until the tests start and then the real Kiwi spirit will be seen. Take care,

Walter.

G'day, Walter. NZ will always struggle unless the Aussies let us enter North and South Island teams in the Pura Milk Cup. The only way to raise standards (in any endevour) is to compete against the best on a regular basis.

Is there a push for a Canberra-based team to be included in the competition?

Hi Steve,

There are a few cricket clubs in Ireland, but more in the east of the country (where the English landowner influence was stronger). I live about an hour's drive north of Limerick (practically next door by Texan standards) and have never seen a pitch this side of the country, though I heard a rumour of one in Galway somewhere.

One of the matches in the last World Cup was played in Dublin (about three weeks before I moved over here). The WC is always limited-over single-innings games: they can be "multi-day" in that there is usually a reserve day in case of rain, but we would still call them "one-dayers".

It's a good job that pitcher wasn't a bowler - they get into all sorts of trouble for throwing...

I'd better explain before you ask: the laws say you have to bowl the ball, keeping your arm straight. If you bend an then straighten your arm, that's called "throwing" (or "chucking"), and it's a no-ball. Some bowlers are blighted throughout their careers by accusations of "throwing", with committees studying their actions, and they can even be banned from bowling if they do it persistently.

Prominent current players to have got into throwing trouble vary from the very fast - Pakistan's Shaoib Akhtar is claimed to throw his bouncer, and rising Aussie star Brett Lee has had problems too - to the very slow - Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka's star spinner, is double-jointed and moves his arm very strangely as he bowls. I could rile the antipodeans by claiming that their umpires normally "call" (ie no-ball for throwing) foreign players doing well. Oh why not, let's .

There's more, if you're interested, at http://news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/cricket/newsid_864000/864825.stm

Okay, thanks GVI. Sounds like cricket is about as much Irish as it is American. I've also heard of cricket in Houston, but have yet to find a match. So I'll accept that all Irish sports are fast, and I'll let Mr. McCourt off the hook

The point of not "throwing" is that the bowler could bowl faster and/or with more spin, I guess? Seems like they bowl pretty fast as it is ... in any case, agreed on the trouble throwing piece of a bat - the pitcher was almost universally criticised, even his own team manager (non-playing captain) is reportedly getting tired of his behavior.

Yup, Texas and the entire USA West distances are vast - a comic strip had a guy going out late for cigarettes, his wife says "Kind of late, huh?" He says, "Its just down the freeway, I'll be back Thursday." this has led to a booming industry in books on tape

BTW, I had to look up "antipodean", my only thought was from speculative fiction, the people living on the "antimatter" side of the universe. Didn't seem to fit your allusion, the cricket world is not that large ...

1/ Any two places or regions that are on diametrically opposite sides of the earth.

2/ Something that is the exact opposite or contrary of another; an antipode

The second usage can be used in the sense that the Poms/English are sporting losers and Aus/NZ are winners

Oh, and talking about losers. Commiserations Walter, all Rickys good early work undone because of poor captaincy.

Gooday Loony,

Not saying anything about that.

Walter.

I'm old enough to remember the first half of the '80s, when England held the balance of power over the Aussies (if not the Windies). The last dozen years or so have been disappointing, to put it mildly, but one thing I'm sure of is that the wheel will turn once again. Maybe not next year (I'm realistic enough not to expect that), but some day. Maybe sooner than you think.

Oh, and almost everyone's old enough to remember when the Kiwis were a one-man team who wouldn't have held their own against a county side without the mighty Sir Richard - and who didn't win an away series in something like a decade.

You enjoy it while you can, Loony mate

PS This analysis does not apply to rugby - either code - where I utterly concede the short- and long-term dominance of the southern hemisphere. Just so you know I *can* smell the coffee .

GVI, Sir Richaed did have a bit of help maintaining our home series unbeaten run in the 80s (including Aus and the Windies). Martin Crowe, John Wright and Ian Smith would have walked into most national teams of the 80s.

Talking about rugby leagus. Our boys looked good this morning beating Lebanon 66-0. Is England schduled to play the mighty Lebonese?

Even after reading all postings in here I still don't know more about cricket than that it is a game involving a lot of people in funny white clothes who seem to be doing nothing exactly the same for hours and nobody seems to care until for no apparent reason at all the audience start to cheer and applaud. Oh, and I know that having six sixes is pretty impressive (though I still don't know how you score).

O.K., to be honest, I didn't read ALL postings.

Some of you may be interested in reading a yarn I have written entitled "Cricket Heroes". It lives at http://www.h2g2.com/A461918

Not bad Loony, but a bit short...

I always thought the high point was the photo of Dennis Lillee bowling and every Autralian fielder being in the picture in an extended slips cordon...

Linus, I remember the photo well. A classic

Why don't you write a similar yarn about Aussie cricket heroes. There have been a few.

I might wait for the enquiry to finish just in case i have to leave a few off the list ... hmm, make that

Nice one Loony.

In answer to your final question... it would be

If I ever get to finishing my cricket project, would you mind if I put in a link to this page?

GVI

GVI, I would be honoured if you linked to my humble yarn

An article about English Heroes would be nice to read.... and, Walter are you listening, one about Sheffield Shield heroes

Aragorn II -

Yup, its confusing to a non-cricketer. But I have to say I've gone from zero (my first attempt to understand was in London last year during the World Cup, might as well have been Greek) to maybe understanding 30% of Loony's "Cricket Heroes" writeup (and well-written, I might add). Admittedly this Forum tends to wander a little a way from the topic (those other guys, not me ). But there are some nuggets in there if you sift carefully.

If you are serious about wanting to understand cricket, I suggest a 40 minute video "Lovely Cricket - A Coaching Video", which I think I got from Amazon UK. It is a scripted cricket match with players like Sir Garfield Sobers showing the basics of the game. Even at that it assumes a little knowledge, being for coaches, not us plebeians.