How much do Americans know about cricket?

[East_Stone_Ya]

I know that it is very popular in Pakistan and India

[rufuspaul]

We have no need for cricket when we have real sports like baseball and American football. [COLOR="White"]Does that sound American enough?[/COLOR]

[DukeDelonte13]

We have no need for cricket when we have real sports like baseball and American football. [COLOR="White"]Does that sound American enough?[/COLOR]

Any cricket fan that tells you that cricket takes more athleticism/hand-eye/sporting skill than baseball is full of it. They think baseball is easier because they get to wear gloves while cricketers have to make catches with their bare hands.

[gts]

I mentioned this to a buddy of mine last night while watching the Laker game

He tells me Cricket is alive, well and popular in SO Cal, they have a big following and multiple teams..

So I google and sure enough he's right... may have to check this out when their season starts up

http://sccacricket.org/


Who knew

[Dresta]

Any cricket fan that tells you that cricket takes more athleticism/hand-eye/sporting skill than baseball is full of it. They think baseball is easier because they get to wear gloves while cricketers have to make catches with their bare hands.

Someone who clearly knows nothing about cricket ^^^^

The technical skill and tactical awareness necessary to be a top level cricket player far exceeds that of baseball. And while it is true that you don't need to be a top-notch physical athlete to be a batsman or spin-bowler, fast bowling is one of the most physically demanding activities an athlete can do. And athleticism in the field has become increasingly important in cricket.

[DukeDelonte13]

Someone who clearly knows nothing about cricket ^^^^

The technical skill and tactical awareness necessary to be a top level cricket player far exceeds that of baseball. And while it is true that you don't need to be a top-notch physical athlete to be a batsman or spin-bowler, fast bowling is one of the most physically demanding activities an athlete can do. And athleticism in the field has become increasingly important in cricket.

it takes a lot more athleticism to make a running grab in the outfield and throw the ball on target to where it needs to go than anything in the entire game of cricket. You need to have quicker reflexes in cricket than you do as a major league outfielder, but compared to infielders i'm not so sure there is much of disparity if any. You think fast bowling is more physically demanding than what major league pitchers do? If anything its equal. And that's being generous to cricketers.

Some bowlers will wow you with technique, but that's sh*t's nothing compared to what a major league batter faces every time they step to the plate. You aren't getting 90+ MPH fastballs thrown inches from head at you.

I agree cricket is a game that emphasizes technique more so than baseball.

[DukeDelonte13]

I mentioned this to a buddy of mine last night while watching the Laker game

He tells me Cricket is alive, well and popular in SO Cal, they have a big following and multiple teams..

So I google and sure enough he's right... may have to check this out when their season starts up

http://sccacricket.org/


Who knew

i bet every major city with an indian population has amateur cricket leagues. Cleveland does as least.

[outbreak]

it takes a lot more athleticism to make a running grab in the outfield and throw the ball on target to where it needs to go than anything in the entire game of cricket. You need to have quicker reflexes in cricket than you do as a major league outfielder, but compared to infielders i'm not so sure there is much of disparity if any. You think fast bowling is more physically demanding than what major league pitchers do? If anything its equal. And that's being generous to cricketers.

Some bowlers will wow you with technique, but that's sh*t's nothing compared to what a major league batter faces every time they step to the plate. You aren't getting 90+ MPH fastballs thrown inches from head at you.

I agree cricket is a game that emphasizes technique more so than baseball.

it's stupid comparing any sport and saying one needs more athleticism but you should be aware that fast bowlers are pretty much at the psyichal limits of a human body right now. Bowling 90+ mph with a straight arm puts a lot of stress on the body, most quicks have to actually cut the top section out of their shoes as the pressure on their front foot can dislocate/shatter their toe when they plant their final step. They also routinely suffer stress fractures through out their body due the shock of bowling that fast. Both pitchers and fast bowling are very physically demanding. One other thing to remember is a fast bowling is doing this over and over and over through out a 5 day game while also having to bat and field.

It's also a bit silly saying baseball has 90mph fastballs at peoples head, cricket has the exact same thing in the bouncer but it is even more of a risk as it's bouncing off the pitch first which means it can be highly uneven. So many people just get hit because the ball doesn't bounce as they expected, moves off the pitch and they can't do anything about it. In baseball you generally know what area they are pitching into as well whereas in cricket people will try to hit you.

For example this is some highlights from the first ashes tests (the second was just as brutal) of an australian bowler named mitchell johnson, remember these balls are coming at over 90mph, a cricket ball is harder than a baseball and you have to try to anticipate what kind of bounce the ball will get from the pitch and also these are mixed in with balls bowled up at your feet and on the wickets that you have to protect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1CMFxm5rhk

Some aspects of cricket you can get away with being unfit though, you can be a great batsmen while being overweight or a great spin bowler while being a fat ass, it was more common back in the day though as now they are trying to push fitness more. Both sports require just as much athleticism though and it's a bit silly to argue one over the other and a bit naive to think cricket is a gentle sport.

One of the other things people don't talk about in cricket is just how much pressure is on an international player, there is only 11 spots for your country and you may only get one of two chances to make an impression before you are dropped and never know if you will ever get another chance. The mental pressure is huge as the job security is non existent. Even top players will have people calling for them to be left out of the side after a few poor performances and it isn't like basketball where you can brush it off and get on with the next game as the next time you get a chance to bat or bowl may be weeks away and you may again get out through no fault of your own

[Inactive]

We have no need for cricket when we have real sports like baseball and American football. [COLOR="White"]Does that sound American enough?[/COLOR]

"American football"? There's only 1 kind of football.

All I know about cricket is that it's something those redcoats do when they aren't too busy losing wars to us, having homosexual experiences in boarding school, or getting saved in wars by us. I believe it involves a malformed baseball bat of some sort.

[DCL]

cricket is simply a game for gay ho's.

it just ain't interesting.

there is no debate.

[gigantes]

"American football"? There's only 1 kind of football. ...

ah yes, football. the #1 sport in the world.


but there is another sport, based on rugby, that they play in the states. some people call it handegg. have you heard of it?

[outbreak]

"American football"? There's only 1 kind of football.

All I know about cricket is that it's something those redcoats do when they aren't too busy losing wars to us, having homosexual experiences in boarding school, or getting saved in wars by us. I believe it involves a malformed baseball bat of some sort.

Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington were all cricket lovers, before the civil war cricket was popular in the U.S but during and after the war baseball took off and all the cricket players and grounds were converted over to baseball with a big patriotic marketing movement. This thread wasn't supposed to be an argument or insult thread, was just trying to gauge how much americans were aware of cricket and if it is possible to even follow it there if you wanted to.

[HarryCallahan]

it takes a lot more athleticism to make a running grab in the outfield and throw the ball on target to where it needs to go than anything in the entire game of cricket. You need to have quicker reflexes in cricket than you do as a major league outfielder, but compared to infielders i'm not so sure there is much of disparity if any. You think fast bowling is more physically demanding than what major league pitchers do? If anything its equal. And that's being generous to cricketers.

Some bowlers will wow you with technique, but that's sh*t's nothing compared to what a major league batter faces every time they step to the plate. You aren't getting 90+ MPH fastballs thrown inches from head at you.

I agree cricket is a game that emphasizes technique more so than baseball.

Uhhhhh, yes you are? With a harder ball, shorter distance and having to deal with bounce as well?

For someone who is acting like the American authority on cricket you sure don't seem to know what you are talking about.

[outbreak]

Uhhhhh, yes you are? With a harder ball, shorter distance and having to deal with bounce as well?

For someone who is acting like the American authority on cricket you sure don't seem to know what you are talking about.

another point too is that in cricket your potentially out there batting for 5-6 hours at a time facing balls aimed at you.

[gigantes]

a few months back, a rumanian buddy and i were trying to pick up girls at the squid bar. they had a baseball game on the monitor, we started bullshitting, and i learned about oină for the first time.


so europe invented the basics of cricket and baseball in the 1200 or 1300's or so, apparently.