I love Cricket. Not the gross insects. The sport. Cricket has to be one of my favorite sports. It is fun to play, and now that the World Cup has started, watching matches gives me pure joy. Unfortunately, many people in the U.S. don't know much or anything about cricket. The relationship I have with cricket is much different than the average American. This stems from the fact that my parents are Indian, and ever since I was born we have been visiting India almost every year. In India, people live and breath cricket. Even though it isn't the national sport, it is by far the most popular sport there. A general overview of the rules of cricket can be found here.
It is needless to say that my favorite International cricket team is the Indian team. I grew up supporting them because it was always on T.V. whenever I was in India. The Indian cricket team is actually surprisingly good. I say surprisingly because I can't name a single other popular sport that Indians are known to excel in. India is ranked number 1 in test cricket, and number 2 in one day international cricket. Test cricket is played over the course of 5 days, and goes at a much slower pace than one day cricket. One day cricket (or ODI's) last about one day. Each batting side gets 50 overs to bat (each over being 6 balls in length). I prefer watching ODI's because they are quicker paced, and can be extremely exciting.
I love cricket because of how amazing a game can be. A team can look like there is no way that they can lose, then lose two wickets in rapid succession and get thrown onto the back foot. The games can be completely dominated by the bowling side, or dominated by the batting side. Either way it is a great game to watch.
My dad bought a package where we get to watch every single world cup match on T.V.. Currently, India is leading their group in points, and have clinched a spot in the quarter finals. If you want to keep up with the cricket world cup, this is a good website. Cricket will always be one of my favorite sports, and I hope that one day, it will become popular in the U.S.
It is needless to say that my favorite International cricket team is the Indian team. I grew up supporting them because it was always on T.V. whenever I was in India. The Indian cricket team is actually surprisingly good. I say surprisingly because I can't name a single other popular sport that Indians are known to excel in. India is ranked number 1 in test cricket, and number 2 in one day international cricket. Test cricket is played over the course of 5 days, and goes at a much slower pace than one day cricket. One day cricket (or ODI's) last about one day. Each batting side gets 50 overs to bat (each over being 6 balls in length). I prefer watching ODI's because they are quicker paced, and can be extremely exciting.
I love cricket because of how amazing a game can be. A team can look like there is no way that they can lose, then lose two wickets in rapid succession and get thrown onto the back foot. The games can be completely dominated by the bowling side, or dominated by the batting side. Either way it is a great game to watch.
My dad bought a package where we get to watch every single world cup match on T.V.. Currently, India is leading their group in points, and have clinched a spot in the quarter finals. If you want to keep up with the cricket world cup, this is a good website. Cricket will always be one of my favorite sports, and I hope that one day, it will become popular in the U.S.
haha. cricket seems like a really cool sport. I remember that one time when we played at your house and we were the worst. its too bad the US doesnt have a good team though :(. good post.
ReplyDeleteI doubt it will become popular in the US baseball dominates that niche. For anyone who was wondering the national sport of India is field hockey (no I did not know this off the top of my head).
ReplyDeleteBeing a part of the Americans that are almost entirely ignorant of cricket, I really enjoyed this post. I wish you had explained exactly what happened in a full game in detail, but it was really engrossing to be exposed to a topic I knew nothing about.
ReplyDeleteCricket does not seem very popular in the United States, however the way you describe it, it is quite interesting. Good post.
ReplyDeleteI know nothing about cricket, but whenever I see a group of international students playing in C-U (as they sometimes do over near the Seibel ctr, or in the parking lot of the Central Illinois Mosque), I enjoy watching. It seems like a cool sport.
ReplyDeleteThere's a great scene in the movie Becoming Jane where you get to watch Jane Austen playing cricket. Pretty cool.
(P.S. Good advice about energy drinks. I like water, or black tea when I need some caffeine.)
I remember when I used to play cricket as a kid. I was never really good at it, and stopped playing at the age of 11, but the four years for which I played it were a lot of fun. Maybe I still have my set hidden somewhere... I'll have to find it and maybe I'll try playing it again this summer. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
I also enjoy cricket. I think that it wouldn't be very popular with Americans because matches can be very long. The other thing holding it back is baseball. People will give it a pass because they think it's too similar to basketball or they will have the misconception that it is a slow game. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI've never watched cricket, and when you tried to explain to me how it was played I was hopelessly lost, but it is neat to hear about your love of the sport; especially because it is a unique interest (at least in this country). Nice post!
ReplyDelete