Although you might be forgiven for thinking otherwise, given the pandemonium in my office during the <a href=”http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/4152448.stm”>Old Trafford test</a>.<br />
<br />
But really. There are lots of people who <i>don’t care</i>. As far as I can tell, there are three types:<br />
<br />
<b>Don’t like cricket</b>. Unfathomable, I know, but there are those who actually find it BORING. I am shocked, but there you go. Cricket is fascinating, unpredictable and requires concentration (no!); it can be attritional, dynamic, brutal and unflinching; it’s a sport for thinking about. Which is probably why some people don’t like it. Footie is much easier – look, goal! You only have to count to a maximum of 5, usually. 90 minutes is your lot. None of the fluctuations and of a five-day game.<br />
<br />
<b>Don’t get cricket</b>. Fair enough. It’s complex. If you haven’t been brought up with it, or exposed to it’s intricacies before, it’s hard to convey just how exciting this Ashes has been. If you fall into this category, just smile at whoever is banging on about it and try to learn. It’s worth it. Really.<br />
<br />
<b>Don’t like sport in general</b>. You are hopeless. Forget it. In fact, why are you even reading this?<br />
<br />
For those who claim cricket to be something of a niche sport, consider this: the global audience and players of cricket is vast – at least 1bn, given the participation of India and Pakistan. The players are perhaps not as well known as Pele and Muhammad Ali, but you would be hard pushed to find anyone anywhere who has never heard of Botham, Lara or Warne.<br />
<br />
Actually, a very good summary was written in the <a href=”http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=S%26%29%28%24%2BQA%2F%21%0A”>Economist</a>. Bear in mind that this was written in 1999, before test cricket moved up a level in excitement and intensity. They were assessing the best sport for all sizes, for all ages, and for skill levels:<br />
<br />
“All of which leaves only one sport… still testing the athlete to the limits of both physique and personality. The game is cricket, played to the highest level by all shapes and sizes… So we will choose cricket as our paramount sport. Our only regret is that when America won its war of independence, it foolishly discarded its right to play a sport of such skill and temperament. Baseball is indeed a great sport, but by comparison with cricket it is, well, simple stuff.”
Leave a Reply