Just a few tips......

How to Understand Cricket?

If you are used to only American football, soccer, or baseball, Test cricket might not be your cup of tea. In any case, you can learn the basic rules and terms in the game (as usual there are good books on cricket both in the British Libraries and in Harold Washington Public Library). Then you can now watch several of the Test and One day internationals on the TV (buying tickets may be expensive), and learn to appreciate the finer points.

If you are already an initiated, you might appreciate cricket the way I do. As you watch the bowlings of Harbhajan or Sewhag, you might be amused how they pitch the ball around the same line and length, and get the same type of 'action' on the ball. You might also be amused to notice the pattern of batsmen ---- many repeatedly score runs by similar kind of shots (you might wonder why better fielding can not be done with nine options over the entire field!). Can you change your patterns? If you can, then you become very famous --- imagine if Harbhajan were to spin one ball at 80 kmph, and send a yorker at 130+kmph in the next delivery! Why were BS Chandrashekhar, BS Bedi and EAS Prasanna (the steady trio of Indian spinners) so famous?

If you are a bit more curious about team selection, you might wonder the difference between one day and the Test cricket. If your goal were to win, what kind of pitch would you make? Would you take more specialist bowlers or specialist batsmen?

Now do a simple homework --- read the coverages of batsmen in the popular press (TOI for example) during the Indo-Pak Test series, that had become the batmen's paradise, and check the scoring patterns. You would see the differences among Dravid, Sehwag, Inzy, Afridi, and all other century makers, as regards their favourite (or most successful) strokes.

Why should you listen to me? Please do not. Be happy with your American Football.

SG,
Bangalore,
Jan 23, 2006.