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Thread: Game of CRICKET!!!...

  1. #1

    Exclamation Game of CRICKET!!!...

    Okay: it's Friday afternoon... TGIF! Yaaa! :D
    and truth be said: I also tried looking up the old threads on cricket that I could piggy back on and continue further this discussion I wanted to have here (and even found one that Deswalji had started that touches on the same; unfortunately it's locked now!)... and so starting this one about one of the sports that i like and feel has been thrashed around on this site by many a lot!

    Okay: here's what I am trying to do - gauge a good discussion on the merits of sports in general and the game of cricket in particular!

    • Does Cricket make for a bad sport (physical element of it)?
    • What about the skills involved? (Are they easily acquired, easy to stay with... maintain over time, and consistency!)
    • Is it a sport that needs too much infrastructure (or even kit etc.) for it not be a poor-man's sport?
    • It's status as a national sport (not the official one, of course) but as the most popular one!
    • On the same lines; it's popularity in the world (do only the commonwealth nations recognize and follow it?)
    • Lastly; the new format of the game; T-20 in particular... does it have the power and possibility to bring the game to a more recognized international status?
    • What are the things that attract us to the game? (For cricket lovers)
    • What are the things that make us hate it? (For Cricket haters)

    I must have proabably missed a few other angles of (positive) discussion... so please feel free to add that input...
    ...Wouldn't follow the trodden path, but shall leave a blazing trail!!!...

  2. #2

    The Ground Conditions!

    ...Hmmm, no one taking a sporty bait here, eh mate? (don't everyone post at the same time! LOL!)

    Okay to keep the thread alive (as the initiator, gotta do it! ) here I am going to start sharing my two cents on individual aspects of the game, and to maybe try and quell the anti-emotions for the sport maybe (at least will try)!
    Okay then first up today:

    1. Ground Conditions

    Has one realized (I am sure one has) that this is probably the only sport that is so heavily impacted by the external, the unknown (not the sportman's individual skills, his kit, or physical condition) BUT the ground conditions that it can easily change the whole outcome of the game!?! [I mean yeah, one talks about the type of court in tennis like clay, grass etc... but you train accordingly and are either a specialist on one or not. Similiarly, soccer in the rain can end up with slightly difficult conditions, but then one has closed/covered soccer stadiums now pretty much....and even if not, at least everyone is playing, at the same time, on the same level conditons... and then, you have the artificial turfs in hockey, dew on the ground etc. etc, but again it is a level pitch for everyone...)

    BUT man! Remember Cricket is the only sport where the bowlers do things, make stuff happen, and take advantage out of the pitch and even the best established batsmen can look like rookies on their first day out, if they can't read the pitch properly (and/or simply unable to cope, even if they do).

    Moral of the point: How do you talk about consistency when external conditions play so heavily on the performance (be it a person or the whole team)??? (Note: this not meant to be confused as an excuse, of course, but just a valid point in a neutral way)... How can one condemn a player for bad performance or lack of consistency when you can be at your best and still gotta fall back on the lady luck for making thru at even the best of times? How can a sportsman train or hone his skill for every eventuality when the ball can still end up doing something new?...

    Do the Basketballers have to deal with that? Baseballers? American Footballers? The Hockey players? Tennis, Badminton, table-tennis, swimming, archery, shooting, athletics... etc. etc. I mean the list can go on. But the answer is only one: NONE of the other sports except Cricket!
    ...Wouldn't follow the trodden path, but shall leave a blazing trail!!!...

  3. #3
    5 din safed pant aur BU-shirt pahen ke dheere dheere gentlemen ki tarah aram se khelte raho. kisi ko befaltu me bhagne ki jarorat nahi :D

    koi kisi ko touch nahi karta , koi dhakka mukki nahi, jisiki bari ho vo bolwling ar batting kar le..issa badhiya pyar mohaabat wala game Ghandiwaad non-violence wala kitt milega.

    India ka har admi is game ko khelta hai ya khel sakta hai.. ..resources ki koi jaroorat konya ..jeb mai pissse ho tai bhai english willow aala bat kharred lo ar na ho tai lakdi ki thappi pai kapda lapet kai bana lo apna bat. ar 'gindu' rassi ar kaatar ka aram tai ban ja sai..gaama mai

    Ar fitness tai Rantunga , inzmam ul haq, pawar (naya spinner india ka) jissi sab ae le rhe sai...

    pad, guard , helmet ki tai kiise nai india mai jarorat padti ae konya,,, chahe cork ki ball se khele chae bhari aale 'ande' se concrete pe.

    Bhaisaab aapne jo sawal puche the wo tai mai bhool gya:D baad mai likhaaange
    Last edited by gaganjat; July 11th, 2009 at 08:17 PM.
    My way or my way ?

  4. #4
    Vaise kooraukk ki bol se kirkeet kirkeet khelne ka maja ae kuch aur sai. jo ''pataaak' ki awaz ati hai shot marne ke baad maja aajata hai,, ar cork ki baal nai tai koi pakadta bhi konya tej tora mar do tai:D

    ik synthetic/plastic ki solid ball ayi thi bera nai kitne kilo ki thi (not hollow at all) , guarantee thi koisa ae bat le ao , bat ka hatha pakkam pakka tootna hota tha ya bat mai crack ana hota tha. ,, chae bat pai vo kahl (ik khal hoya kare thi log chadwaya kare the bat pai) bhi chadwa rakhi ho

    will be back once something comes to my mind...its a seriousssss topic....
    My way or my way ?

  5. #5
    .

    HAHAHAHA, Gunny ka Gyaan ... Bhai kati gyaan sa aa gaya, tune to purane din yaad dua diye jab mein bhi kade Fast Bowler hua karta.:rolleyes:

    No offense to nyone but I find Cricket arguably the second most boring game after Golf. Bhaiyo, aajkal to 20-20 bhi tolerate na hota ... kati jhialooo game hai yo susra !!

    There is nothing like Soccer, Rugbi, Athletics and Boxing. Soccer is the king of sport, without a doubt!

    Cheers!
    .. " Until Lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter! " ..



  6. #6

    Cricket???

    A little detour, sorry .....
    Stolen from a Blog, definition of Cricket:
    "You have two sides, one out on the field and one in .Each man that’s in the side that’s in, goes out and when he’s out, he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out. When they are all out, the side that’s out comesin and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When both sides have been in and out including the not outs, that’s the end of the game!”

    In context of Indian Team, Cricket appears to be more a game of instinct, with prayers/blessings doing more work (when successful) than skills and strategy.

  7. #7
    Bhai nothing can stand against football(soccer in american).All in physical strength and skills and committment and knoweledge.
    The word "EQUAL" has no meaning in human life

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by anjoo View Post
    In context of Indian Team, Cricket appears to be more a game of instinct, with prayers/blessings doing more work (when successful) than skills and strategy.
    That is a statement atleast a decade past its expiry date. Indian team has done really well in this decade. It is no one's claim that they are the best, but at this moment no one is. Quite a bit of credit for unseating Aussies from their unchallenged numero uno position goes to the Indian team. Of course, when you add the expectations of a cricket crazy country with a population of 1 billion and atleast one gully cricketer in every household, then no achievement would ever be sufficient. But if you look at it from a reasonable point of view, there is quite a bit to be proud of and lots of good moments to savour.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by kapil.dalal View Post
    That is a statement atleast a decade past its expiry date. Indian team has done really well in this decade. It is no one's claim that they are the best, but at this moment no one is. Quite a bit of credit for unseating Aussies from their unchallenged numero uno position goes to the Indian team. Of course, when you add the expectations of a cricket crazy country with a population of 1 billion and atleast one gully cricketer in every household, then no achievement would ever be sufficient. But if you look at it from a reasonable point of view, there is quite a bit to be proud of and lots of good moments to savour.

    Kind of agreed , earlier it was Indians and Pakistani's on their day can beat india , these days I guess its pretty much 50-50 with India and Australia , infact for that matter anyone against India.

    Surely Indian team has done a lot of good over this decade and credit goes to the team for the same.

  10. #10
    ...alrighty then; some inputs! (and more importantly I see mostly the kinds that I started this thread to change the mindset of in the first place; which is good... )

    Ok, First off: Google anytime you get a chance for "the most popular sport in the world" and thee cricket-haters would probably not like what they shall see (cause depending on which search-engine etc.) Cricket comes up as the 2nd or 3rd most popular sport in the world!

    As to giving value to a sport based on their 'popularity' in the WORLD isn't that mighty kinda silly??? (as some of you quite often tend to quote that whole 'some measly 8 nations play it' etc. etc.).... because look at American sports for example; Basketball or even Football (the American version- not soccer) and even baseball are sports hardly followed in any other place much as compared to how CRAZY people here get when these games are on.... SO, why cannot that 'it' sport be Cricket for Indians???...

    Do we really need a world certificate to be 'crazy' about a certain sport?...

    [On that note you realize that the Americans call their baseball and football games as 'world-cups' and there is no other country competeing except themselves... THAT's cause they don't really care if others follow it, like it or not.... they themselves go head over heels with their love for these sports and the whole tail-gating Sunday/Friday night euphoria is to be seen that would put fan follwing of most sports to shame!]

    There are still some more (quite a few actually) areas to talk about when it comes to Cricket.... but let's say consider this post as simply about 'popularity' of sports (Cricket to be specific)
    ...Wouldn't follow the trodden path, but shall leave a blazing trail!!!...

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by anjoo View Post
    A little detour, sorry .....
    Stolen from a Blog, definition of Cricket:
    "You have two sides, one out on the field and one in .Each man that’s in the side that’s in, goes out and when he’s out, he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out. When they are all out, the side that’s out comesin and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When both sides have been in and out including the not outs, that’s the end of the game!”
    ...Hmmm; I would say try attempting something similar for "baseball" for example... you would be even more delightfully surprised with the subtle twist of terms and equations there... and OH wait, :D better still one for "Soccer" (the most popolar sport in the world BTW).... hmmm, "football" anyone?....

    That easily happens when you try to put that pure joy of playing, being involved in, watching and/or enjoying the thrill (and specific nuances) of a sport (any sport) into some sit-down-and-define-it, desktop-warrior, gibberishly layman, non-sportsmanlike terms and definitions!

    Tsk! Tsk! (but ok hey, thankfully you just stole it form a blog, Watson!)... :D

    ps. Though truth be told it could quite be a fun excercise (and great blogging delight for some) to come up with such definitions for each of the team-sports that one can think of giving a shot! What say folks!?! :rolleyes:
    ...Wouldn't follow the trodden path, but shall leave a blazing trail!!!...

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by shailendra View Post
    Okay: it's Friday afternoon... TGIF! Yaaa! :D
    and truth be said: I also tried looking up the old threads on cricket that I could piggy back on and continue further this discussion I wanted to have here (and even found one that Deswalji had started that touches on the same; unfortunately it's locked now!)... and so starting this one about one of the sports that i like and feel has been thrashed around on this site by many a lot!

    Okay: here's what I am trying to do - gauge a good discussion on the merits of sports in general and the game of cricket in particular!

    • Does Cricket make for a bad sport (physical element of it)?
    • What about the skills involved? (Are they easily acquired, easy to stay with... maintain over time, and consistency!)
    • Is it a sport that needs too much infrastructure (or even kit etc.) for it not be a poor-man's sport?
    • It's status as a national sport (not the official one, of course) but as the most popular one!
    • On the same lines; it's popularity in the world (do only the commonwealth nations recognize and follow it?)
    • Lastly; the new format of the game; T-20 in particular... does it have the power and possibility to bring the game to a more recognized international status?
    • What are the things that attract us to the game? (For cricket lovers)
    • What are the things that make us hate it? (For Cricket haters)

    I must have proabably missed a few other angles of (positive) discussion... so please feel free to add that input...
    Shail Bhai, Being the honest man in the town ,Usually I found myelf medicaly unfit to comprehand what you write is most of your posts. I happen to loose the meaning of what I understood in first few words at the end of sentence.:tamatar:thappad . Please don't mind, I am daring to write for the first time with quoting your blue words.

    I shall try to answer few of your points:-

    1. Criket doesnt makes a bad sport rather very bad.[Physical element]. Literialy its reputation among other sports is like of a tondu Baniya in Jats.

    2. Gaining a skill set isn't the easy part. Being a Fast Bowler I practised my heart out for a In swinger cum off cutter at reasonable pace. But after two seasons I lost my genuine action and guys sent me out of boundary, even the new comers. It was frustating. Having a skill set is not enough , maintaining it over the seasons is the real challange.

    3. I tend to disagree here with infrastructure. Usually 10-15 guys from a groups can easily arrange a moderate kit. Good thing is that when you had it initially it goes for long. Nowadays almost every average Joe can afford it.[However, tennis still is out of reach for most]. I still remember getting our first bat [Rs 180] saved out of pocket money. It was good with a cork ball.

    4. You can make it a case atleast in sub-continent not in west anyway for next few decades.

    5. Popularity in world : Same way as Baba Sehgal in the Billboard chart.

    6. Newest baby is pregnant again with a concept of Two Innings in T20. Proposal is on to make it under a test format. ICCI is in hurry to destory it too early.

    7. My Attraction: When Genius Like Sachin and Brian Lara[rt.] plays their shots with full natural talent. Criket for me is orgasmic when Sachin or Lara plays the hook shot to boundary. Thats called beauty which is seductive as well as innocent.

    8. Its overhyped.

    Criket could be a small but growing economy in subcontinent. My take.
    "All I am trying to do is bridge the gap between Jats and Rest of World"

    As I shall imagine, so shall I become.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by shailendra View Post
    • Does Cricket make for a bad sport (physical element of it)?

    Not at all , I was always the captain ( the most important reason was that I wa s the one who was putting all the money in :D ) , so I had plenty of workout even when there were 11 in a team! Also if you want to be involved you can doa lot of workout!

    Even when I used to play on the roof , two of us , me and my elder bro , it was all action , either I was bowling or batting


    • What about the skills involved? (Are they easily acquired, easy to stay with... maintain over time, and consistency!)

    Okie , this depends on the bar you set for yourself! If you want to take it easy , probably not a lot of skill is required , you can have fun! But I was pretty serious about stuff , used to follow Dravid trying to get his front shoulder always parallel to the pitch I remember my most memorable inning was the 253 not out , spread over 3 days , on my roof , with restrictions like out of roof is out , out of the 30 yard circle without a bounce is out , anything travelling 10 yards behind the wicket is out and many similar restrictions! I declared myself when my friends started literally crying! :D
    Those days were really great in terms of adding on the skills , after that I really had no problem in playing whatever , tennis ball , hard flash , leather etc !

    • Is it a sport that needs too much infrastructure (or even kit etc.) for it not be a poor-man's sport?

    As someone already said , if you can buy a willow , great , else a "lakdi ki phatti" can do the job if playing on roof , gali etc! :D

    • Lastly; the new format of the game; T-20 in particular... does it have the power and possibility to bring the game to a more recognized international status?


    Am not a fan of this 20-20 stuff , more of a t raditional sort of guy ! One dayers , test matches are better!
    Comments inline!

  14. #14
    Yeah, you may be right....my patience to watch the game also went kaput when our teams' luck ran out...10 years agoooooo!!...moments and not matches to savor???

    Quote Originally Posted by kapil.dalal View Post
    That is a statement atleast a decade past its expiry date. Indian team has done really well in this decade. It is no one's claim that they are the best, but at this moment no one is. Quite a bit of credit for unseating Aussies from their unchallenged numero uno position goes to the Indian team. Of course, when you add the expectations of a cricket crazy country with a population of 1 billion and atleast one gully cricketer in every household, then no achievement would ever be sufficient. But if you look at it from a reasonable point of view, there is quite a bit to be proud of and lots of good moments to savour.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by anjoo View Post
    Yeah, you may be right....my patience to watch the game also went kaput when our teams' luck ran out...10 years agoooooo!!...moments and not matches to savor???
    The moments when matches were being won. And the moments post the matches that were won. Boond boond se ghada bharta hai....

    Maybe the team started its forward march, when the weight of your expectations was off its shoulders :p

    But seriously, the records in 2000s speaks for itself. Lots of overseas victories. One WC victory and once in finals. Lots of series victories. Not saying they have achieved the pinnacle of success, but just requesting to savor and appreciate whatever has been achieved without any inherent bias.

  16. #16
    Weight of my expectations!!!! phewwwww........jab ghada bhar jaye toh bataa denaa...
    Moments win matches!!!! Right?
    Quote Originally Posted by kapil.dalal View Post
    The moments when matches were being won. And the moments post the matches that were won. Boond boond se ghada bharta hai....

    Maybe the team started its forward march, when the weight of your expectations was off its shoulders :p

    But seriously, the records in 2000s speaks for itself. Lots of overseas victories. One WC victory and once in finals. Lots of series victories. Not saying they have achieved the pinnacle of success, but just requesting to savor and appreciate whatever has been achieved without any inherent bias.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Samarkadian View Post
    Shail Bhai, Being the honest man in the town ,Usually I found myelf medicaly unfit to comprehand what you write is most of your posts. I happen to loose the meaning of what I understood in first few words at the end of sentence.:tamatar:thappad .

    My take.
    Okay Samar, fair enough; my apologies... maybe I was being too sarcastic about the mostly expected comments from folks on the merits of the game that I might have (not at all difficult :D) made the whole bloody post highly confusing:

    In short: Here the thread was started by me in support of the sport of CRICKET basically; the questions are meant to be teasers and/or just 'food-for-thought' comments to jump start the discussion in a particular direction... and as you can see from a couple of my subsequent posts; also the topic headlines for each of the sub-posts!

    You mentoned 'physical element' is the worst required for this sport; with the new formats (especially T-20) that is a highly naive view... I beg to differ by pointing at Baseball (the second-cousin to the sport) for example and the (drugged-up) dudes/sluggers in there trying to stay in the game all the etime!... [not a to-be-followed model, mind you... but just as a proof of the level of peak fitness any such sports demnands, that may well look like it is meant for 'baniyas'] You look at most cricket teams nowadays and some of the most successful sportmen ones are anything but not brawny, and still have to struggle to stay fit in this dive, stop, bowl 5-10 overs, field, bat, wicket-keep of a game...

    You said having the skill set is not enough, but maintaing it is the challange! Hullo... can you think of any sport where that is not a fact?

    The 'infrastructure' (or the lack of the need for it) element was simply to point out that one can play, train, and aquire skills without having to go train in some exotic country at the expense of million of dollars!

    In any case each of these hopefully I plan to add to over time and/or expand on... but for now let me just suffice by stopping here!
    Thanks for the inputs though....
    ...Wouldn't follow the trodden path, but shall leave a blazing trail!!!...

  18. #18

    Talking 'Physiques' of it!!!

    Okay, moving on....

    The Physical Aspect:

    Cricket and good physique have neccessarily not been associated together in the distant past! At least by the layman... add to that the typical Indian model of a portly-spinner dude doing his wily stuff on the pitch ....and well, the last nail is all but set in the game's physical reputation of a coffin! ...

    Enter the 50 overs (and more importantly the recent T-20) format and that equation turns over on its head!... I dare you point out a sportsperson in this game that has been able to survive or hang around (get selected consistently) who was just some portly, weakly or physically not the traditional model of an athlete!?!... Simply not the case anymore! Nada!!!...
    One can argue of certain 'talents' of course; but just take a peak at the track record and you shall see my point... they would simply show-up as some 'flash-in-the-pans' here now, and then gone into the sun the next.... forever!

    If you look at the recent line-ups and/or if you are competeing against the Aussies, S.Africans, Kiwis and/or even the English for that matter and at that highest level you better be ready to boast of a FIT eleven ....or else, nowadays! (as also the recent disaster at the T-20 world cup showed!... among other things! )

    Why do you wonder all those greats hang up their boots (or is it gloves) so early when one can, and has, argued they can still turn a good game of cricket around yet...? well, simply because (and in their own words most times) they knew that the body to keep up with the high physical requirements of the game is simply not there anymore, even if the will might....

    Lastly, (only on the physical aspect) if one has played the game on a proper ground and the full format (50 or T-20), even if it was some local club competetion etc; I doubt you would even try to pass off the game as one that is some non-fitness-required format!
    Because truth be told that is just a lame excuse for the weekend, alleyway warriors, and those desktop critics that have never trudged onto the central strip unless it was from behind the clouded view of a camera lense!
    ...Wouldn't follow the trodden path, but shall leave a blazing trail!!!...

  19. #19
    Ok, lets be creative, Holmes!!!
    May be a layman would catch some stray knowledge on the virtual voyages!!!
    Quote Originally Posted by shailendra View Post
    ...
    ps. Though truth be told it could quite be a fun excercise (and great blogging delight for some) to come up with such definitions for each of the team-sports that one can think of giving a shot! What say folks!?! :rolleyes:

  20. #20
    Could it be that the Aussies played bad????
    Quote Originally Posted by kapil.dalal View Post
    Quite a bit of credit for unseating Aussies from their unchallenged numero uno position goes to the Indian team.

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