I’ve played with expat Indians and Pakistanis before (never in the same team unsurprisingly …). They love the game. My advice to the curious is that if you get within 100 yards of the batter please keep your eye on the ball. I once nearly killed a promenading Frenchman with a well-timed lofted on-drive to deep midwicket. He didn’t even realise how close the ball came to his head. An amusing police inquiry and coroner’s report averted.
I can back the Danger of being in the crowd up with video evidence. Adam Gilchrist in a form slump, slamming a hundred runs off 57 deliveries..... in a test match no less. If you went to see a cricket game and Gilchrist, Viv Richards, Ian Botham and many others were playing, you don't want to turn away from the action when they start batting like this... danger Will Robinson.....
I just finished watching this & I have several questions. First, how fast does the bowler usually throw the ball? I know in baseball it's usually 70-100 mph for a pitcher. Also, does the ball always hit the ground before the batsman hits it? Finally, is there any foul portion to the field and stand as in baseball or does any ball hit to the stands score runs?
@DISKOJOE : The bowler bowls the ball at up to 150 kmph (93 mph) - some bowlers go for speed, others bowl slower and go for spin to confuse the batsmen. The fast ones like to aim for the batsmen's chest and heads occasionally. The ball doesn't have to hit the ground, but if it doesn't it's a 'full toss' and is usually easier for the batter to hit. The batter can hit the ball anywhere on the field, including behind them.
The bowlers don’t have to hit the pitch with the ball but there is a big advantage in them doing so because: (1) the ball has a raised six stitch seam which allows faster bowlers to change the trajectory of the ball either through the air (swing) or off the pitch (seam); and (2) the bounce of the ball adds another element of uncertainty for the batter. Tall fast bowlers can get the ball to bounce higher from hitting the same area of the pitch as shorter bowlers. And as Mark explained, in the long form of the game the pitch deteriorates over time - which sometimes results in variable bounce and deviations on the last day of a match. And, by definition spin bowlers need to land the ball on the wicket to get it to spin. Take a look on YouTube at “Shane Warne ball of the century” and imagine how you would deal with that delivery.
Thank you, Avid Croquetlawns. So it's like baseball w/a pitcher using either a fastball to blow by the batter or using a knuckleball to confuse the batter. What happens when the bowler hits the batsman? In baseball, it's called a hit by pitch & the runner goes to 1st base. Oftentimes, the batter doesn't like being hit & fights between the teams breaks out.
When the bowler hits the batsman, they are usually congratulated by their teammates! Occasionally, batsmen have to retire hurt after being hit - there have been broken arms, fingers, ribs etc. So it's not always the 'gentleman's game' as depicted in the song.
Indeed, up until the 1980s batters (I’m going with the new terminology) didn’t have helmets and there were few restrictions on “bouncers” - deliveries by fast bowlers aimed at the chest-to-head area. These were a form of intimidation-aimed at unsettling batters - or forcing them into a rash shot . Some would get out trying to fend away bouncers with their bat or by mistiming an aggressive shot (hook). Others would fail to get out of the way (duck) in time and be hit in the chest or head. It took a lot of guts to face really fast bowlers who employed those tactics like Jeff Thompson (Australia) or Michael Holding (West Indies). Here’s a good example- fortunately the batter wasn’t seriously hurt: Some batters have been killed by bouncers- including in the helmet era. The very best batters used to duck, weave and occasional hit fast bouncers for six runs.
So there is no benefit to the batting team at all, unlike in baseball when the hit batter takes first base. Do teams get into fights in this situation like this:
Haha. That doesn’t even happen in rugby (either code) these days because players would be ejected from the rest of the game. The closest to a physical fight I’ve seen in test cricket was Javed Miandad (Pakistan batter) vs Dennis Lillee (Australian bowler). Very tame by baseball standards and something I’ve never seen repeated. “Hello. My goodness….” https://youtu.be/4sfg3CK4PN8
What? You lost the opportunity of looking back fondly at those days when you were happy, a long time ago, playing cricket with your best friend in the thunder and the rain.
Mark i will mercifully exempt you from explaining in full the Duckworth-Lewis Method and it's entire history as it will take a seperate 600 Page thread as very few living humans fully understand it especially the Ex-South African Captain Shaun Pollock who messed up his sums by 1 run and caused his country to miss a shot at a much longed for World Cup Trophy whilst on home soil! I will say that in the earliest days of Duckworth- Lewis a rain delay resulting in a shortened over game virtually handed the result to the team batting second so the powers at be tinkered with it to be more even. In a 1992 MCG World Cup Semi-Final between England & Sth African the latter required 22 runs of 7 balls to make the final when a brief shower intervened. On resumption of play Duckworth-Lewis was employed and Sth Africa were now required to score 22 runs of 1 ball! *YES you read that correctly.
You have the basic idea so long as the team with lesser runs has lost all 20 available wickets. In fact every form of limited over cricket also gives the win to any team with most runs at the completion of a match excepting for......... the infamous 2019 World Cup Final whereby England failed to score more runs than New Zealand, lost more wickets also and were adjudged the winners!
What was George's famous quote? "I spent most of my money on women, alcohol and gambling, the rest of it i squandered!" ....Or something like that.
Not sure about Cricket & Baseball comparisons but legends from both sports Sir Donald Bradman & Babe Ruth met and had a go at their opposite numbers sports. My understanding is that Don had no trouble finding the centre of the bat (No surprises there as in his youth he used a stick to repeatedly hit a golf ball against a wall or watertank) and Babe had a mighty fine net session with the willow!
Thank you I had forgotten about that and i was wondering if somebody could post the Goodies scene from the end of one episode whereby the English M.C.C. (Marylebone Cricket Club) took on Rollerball at Lords?
Mentioning Dulwich reminded me that whilst holidaying in the UK in 1993 I played 1 match for Dulwich on a real village green square alongside my one time West Indian fast bowling brother in law. N.b. The late David Hooker played for Dulwich and once hit 6 sixes in an over in one match!
I can believe it and noted that in lower divisions of County teams you can have guys in their 50's playing amongst teenagers!
I think that in honour of the game itself we should spend another four days discussing "Cricket", and then come to no conclusion at all.
I've always viewed this as merely being a good natured novelty tune in the same vein as The Monkees' "Ladie's Aid Society."
