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

Even as a newcomer to cricket, I have heard those names, it must have been quite an experience to walk into a "friendly" game with cricket legends. There is a public park in Houston where NBA basketball stars gather in the off season to go after each other, the prices are a little cheaper than the big arenas

I have to agree trying to understand cricket by talking is a problem, even with all the great input here on h2g2. Watching a live game in Houston is not impossible, but almost. So I decided to try a video - Amazon UK seemed about right. Sure enough, that site referred me to another site in ... Florida (the Empire didn't collapse, it just just went underground). A nice big selection, all in North American NTSC format, I ordered an old one with Sir Gary Sobers "coaching" a scripted game, sounds like better learning than all the highlight videos. We'll see ...

http://www.cricketvideo.com/catalog.html

I assume "WI" is West Indies? My little book describes the style as "Lithe, lissome, spectacular. Capable of playing appallingly badly, but always with style and a broad smile of hostility".

Yes That about sums it up ...and their supporters are noisy,exhuberant...and great fun...oh...and very friendly
I was invited into the *enemy camp* to partake of a few beverages,and went home with a really cool Windies hatImagine a beach party with homemade musical instruments and you have the image correct
shazzPRME

'Tis a shame that here in the UK most of the major grounds have banned the playing of instruments during the match.
I remember watching test matches on TV with the Windies as a kid and seeing all the colour and noise, almost as good to watch as the cricket itself

If you are really interested the one day match between Australia and NZ starts in about an hour. They usually have ball by ball descriptions on either http://www.baggygreen.com.au or http://www.thepavillion.com.au.

I think you can actually get audio from ABC Australia (sorry don't know the site address) if they are covering it.

As for you Shazz, I'm sure you were on your best beha.....LOL

I'm curious, are you talking about steel drums? My wife is a serious birdwatcher, Trinidad is one of her favorites. She is also a somewhat less serious drummer - pretty good, tho - and was fascinated by the steel drummers in Trinidad. So no more steel drums at cricket matches?

I think the drum ban is only in the so called 'civilised' parts of the world.

There is no way they would ban it in the West Indes and i doubt they would in India, Pakistan etc.

Sally -

I am an American, so I don't always understand cricket ...

You spent "ages" trying to learn to bowl? Do girls in ... uhh ... wherever you live (not all cricketers live in the UK, as Linus has pointed out, pointedly) play cricket a lot?

The women in the US are getting MUCH more active in sports, I think for the better. One young woman is a good kicker for a college football team.

This assumes you are female. If you are male, nevermind ... according to the book "Rain Men", you are about average.

Some girls have always played cricket. Isn't there some tale about overarm bowling being invented by a woman because bowling underarm got caught up in her long skirts?
I think the authorities are going to find banning music completely, even in England, very difficult indeed. Non-test matches in Birmingham still seem quite noisy

Ahhhhh Edgbaston Home of the best test match ever...what was it? 12 wickets and copious numbers of runs?
Girls have always tried to play cricket...but seemed to be limited to beach cricket or french cricket in the main Schools have seen the light more recently,but ,as pointed out earlier in this thread, the lack of good school playing fields hampers any real involvment
As for watching it on TV...the Beeb lost it to Skye...and Channel 4...so coverage is not what it used to be. Re the drums...they still manage to *improvise* on *musical?* instruments...so live matches are still great fun...witness the Indian, Pakistan and Sri Lankan matches here last year
Of course I behaved myself Linus ...ish
shazzPRME

Girls played cricket at my secondary school (late 50s,early 60s) wearing a wierd garment called a divided skirt, which was like knee length pleated white flannel culottes. Since the pitch was on the Essex marshes, the legs below the knees were always bright blueNow that the men are allowed fancy pyjamas, possibly women are allowed to wear long trousers and thus keep a few more alive to continue playing.
We used to have mixed teams in Malawi in the mid 70's, which involved Indian ladies playing in saris and pregnacies of more than three months entitled the player to a runner..... Good job the MCC never found out.

They still wear those ridiculous looking things today. They look like a skirt designed by nuns

Malawi sounds like fun though

I think the English womans team was out here recently (sorry didn't do any better than the men). I know for a fact they are in NZ now.

Well...they ARE english...LOL.The best known ladies cricket team captain was Rachel Heyhoe-Flint...and she has finally been allowed into the Lords Tavern...without being obliged to make tea for the members hehehe
shazzPRME

Great name,imagine when she was younger : heyhoe, lets go !!! LOL

i think i heard about her. we got some wonderful news footage of some typical upper class twits who were most outraged by the prospect of having to let woman in.

Didn't do much as far as breaking down the stereotype i'm afraid

You are correct there! Most of the Lords members are pompous twits who need a good rub down with a wire brush!A lot of the golf clubs are just as bad! Why, even here in Northampton I had *sexist* problems.I was the captain of a mixed *cheese skittles* league when I lived in the countryside...it made sense to include both sexes for during harvest time etc...but when I moved to the town I was asked to play...only to find out that it was women only ;-( Not my idea of fun LOL
shazzPRME

I played in a mixed touch football team for a few years. Much more fun when it came to going out for a drink afterwards

Yes The village I lived in used to have a mixed rugby match every boxing day...only 2 rules:The men couldn't tackle above the waist...and the women below ...but rules are made to be broken aren't they?
shazzPRME

gives new meaning to ruck and maul LOL

Scrums would be very interesting, although i'm guessing that none of the women would have volounteered to be hooker !!!!

As I have said elsewhere, whatever the temptation do NOT play mixed hockey. In terms of broken ankles and "acidentally" mashed ears, the men always come off worse

No danger of me playing any form of hockey.

People may think i'm mad for playing rugby (or for numerous other reasons LOL) but at least the other team aren't all armed with big sticks !!!

just huge forearms, bulging muscles (some!), broken noses and cauliflower ears...and that's just the lady rugby players LOL
shazzPRME