Stunned And Amazed!!!: Cricket

Stunned And Amazed!!!

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Cricket

i am a typical desi guy...cricket is the only sport I care about. Though it is only one sport , it comes in various flavors. There is of course the international and ranji trophy cricket but i am not talking about that. I am talking about the cricket indians play for fun all around the world.

1. There is the cricket i now play in AZ every weekend...with a tennis ball and wooden plank for a stump (or wickets if u dont know what stumps mean).
2. There is also the QT cricket that I used to play in BITS.
3. There is cricket that is played on the indian roads incurring the wraths of people living nearby for the fear that we might shatter their windows with a six or a stupid throw.
4. There is cricket that u can see being played any time u walk onto Marina beach with so many different groups playing all at once that not only the spectators but also the people playing get confused as to who else is in their game.
5. Then there is underarms cricket. ( my favorite)

Then there is the different flavors of the rules...i assure you no two groups will have exactly the same rules.

1. only offside /leg side has runs.
2. no back runs
3. if it crosses that line over there then u can take only 1 run but if it crosses the other line way over there then u can run as many runs as u want... go figure!!!

I can just keep going but I think you get the hang of it. And it is even possible that during the course of a game the above rules cld be effective for a brief period of time. : ) ...aint that sthg huh!!!

The rules also keep changing on a need basis. If there are more people playing then more the rules try to conform with international standards ( becoz the thinking is more ppl we have the more we r now of international standard so more compliant we have to be of those standards).

Then there is the different kinds of cricket balls u can use...there is of course the real cricket ball but who can afford to get hurt by it or afford it...so we have to resort to other types. The most common types are tennis balls and rubber balls ( not common in US tho). But you guessed it right there are variations in this too. You could manufacture a taped tennis ball. Typically this is tape wrapped around a tennis ball.

Then how can I forget the umpires ( the most hated and scary job on the planet). Games are won and lost by umpires. Who is talking abt international umpires ...those guys have all sorts of help action replays, leg umpires, third umpires etc etc. I am as usual talking abt the umpires who "try" to officiate for the game we r playing. More often than not the umpire is someone from the batting side and there begins the trouble. "Ideally" this guy has to be neutral. Yeah right!!! I can be really neutral when I umpire and have to give a decision where is an element of doubt in favor of the fielding side!!! No way man!!! Itz cricket - you have to win!!!
Typically if u play for a couple of hours the two teams are bound to get into atleast one brawl becoz of an umpiring decision. Then the umpire is questioned abt how neutral he is blah blah blah and then the umpire is changed to a "more " neutral guy until the next debate.

Well...i got to finish now...i guess some of u r confused and others who already play cricket are going "yes u r right, i know what u mean!!"... but at the end of the day there is nthg like a game of cricket.

posted by BUS @ 11:11 AM

2 Comments:

At 7:23 AM, March 17, 2005, RS said…

There is nthg like a game of cricket and am sure every Indian house-wife agrees with you when she holds the ladle threateningly in front of her demanding that the Indian head-of-the-house switch off the idiot box or dare to incur her wrath and go dinner-less that night!
At 5:15 PM, March 20, 2005, Freeyavedu said…

SOme other variations :
1. One pitch catch
2. You are out if u hit the ball into the neighbour's compound.