Dunkirk NY – My youngest son and I have for years bonded over baseball. He loves the sport and follows it closely. Quite often we have discussions (some might say arguments) over many aspects of the game. He is a much better sabermetrician than I am, and he’s really good at analyzing the business aspects of the game. We attended the 2017 World Baseball Classic tournament held in Petco Park in San Diego in 2017. We talk baseball quite a lot.
My oldest daughter was at one time a big baseball fan as well, rooting for the Yankees and idolizing Derek Jeter. But her attention to the sport has drifted off as she has moved to the Olympia WA area, and her partner is more into football, so now she’s a big Seahwak fan. We did enjoy an outing to T-Mobile Park to see the Mariners play while I was out there last year, though.
My middle son has never been into sports all that much. He always enjoyed the atmosphere and the food in a ballpark, but never became a true fan of the game. He knows more about the game than he admits, but I believe he’s always been a little envious of how much my youngest son and I talk and bond over baseball.
Well, we seem to have found a solution to that situation. He has become a fan of cricket, and during a phone conversation he mentioned I could fill a lot of my retirement time with watching cricket, since it’s so close to baseball. I had been looking for a sport to fill up the off-season. I started with soccer but was unable to keep that up. I’ve grown terrifically disenchanted with American football and no longer am truly interested, although I will watch a game here and there. Cricket, however, has begun to fill that space. I find myself more and more watching cricket matches, and I am becoming a fan of the sport. The pace of the game is very much like baseball (leisurely, pastoral), and the sense of throwing and striking a ball is a rhythm I can easily fall into. My son has been teaching me a lot about the game, and we’ve really begun to form a bond over it. It’s added a whole new dimension to our relationship, and I’m pretty happy about that.
Cricket is a game full of tradition and history much like baseball, and there are many fascinating aspects to the game. I really can’t go too much into cricket laws here, since they are involved and complicated, but here are the basic similarities which attract me to the game:
- There is a bowler (pitcher) and a batter (hitter). The bowler throws the ball to the batter from 60′ away, and they are allowed to bounce the ball.
- The objective of the bowling side is to get 10 wickets (outs) for the least amount of runs allowed. The objective of the batting side is to score as many runs as possible before 10 wickets are recorded.
- Singles, doubles, triples and “home runs” (boundaries) exist. Boundaries can be for either four runs, or six runs when the ball clears the boundary on the fly.
- There are always two batters on the pitch (field) at any time, and they score runs by running safely between the wickets. There is a defined “safe ground” much like a base.
- Once a batter is dismissed, they are out for good. You only go through a lineup once. There are 11 players to a side, but you need only 10 wickets (outs) to end an innings (a team’s batting session is called an innings, and it’s always plural).
- Batters are dismissed (out) if a struck ball is caught on the fly, if they are run out, bowled out, or stumped. The latter three involve breaking the wicket before a batter has reached their ground (gotten on base).
- There is no “strike zone.” A batter may choose to strike the ball or not. If they hit the ball, they may choose to run or not. The batter’s most important goal is to defend the wicket from being struck by the bowler. If that happens, the batter is “bowled out,” and dismissed (“He’s/She’s got to go!”).
- Bowlers throw 6 deliveries, and once they’ve done that, another bowler can come in (and usually does) for another 6 deliveries. Each delivery of 6 balls is called an “over.”
- Bowlers generally are categorized in two types: fast bowlers, and spinners. Fast bowlers are known for speed, while spinners throw breaking balls. The top speed of the best fast bowlers is around 90 MPH/145 KPH for men.
- The entire field is shaped like an oval, and there is no foul territory. The batter is free to strike the ball in any direction at any time.
- Only the wicket keeper (catcher) is allowed to wear gloves. All other fielders play barehanded. The cricket ball is somewhat similar in makeup to a baseball. Imagine catching a fly ball in baseball with your bare hands.
- There is no clock in cricket. A test match, the longest form of the game, can take 5 days to play.
- There are three basic forms of the game: test, T20, and ODI.
- Test cricket is the oldest form of the game, the longest form, and most traditional
- Twenty20 (T20) consists of twenty overs per side, with each team getting one “at bat.” This is a popular league format for professional players, and lasts about as long as an average baseball game.
- ODI (One Day Invitational) consists of 50 overs per side, with each side getting one “at bat.” It generally takes a full day to play.
- There are professional leagues for women in cricket, and they are quite popular. Women also do play-by-play and analysis, called commentary.
I could go on, but I think I’ll stop there. It’s really not my purpose to explain the game here, but rather to express my growing affection for the game, and for the new relationship it has engendered with my middle son. Right now I am watching a test match between Australia and New Zealand via an app called Willow. The difference in time zone means I watch a delayed replay of the match, so I can watch almost any time I like. As I watch, my son and I exchange information, comments, and I ask questions when I don’t understand something. It’s actually quite a simple game once you get the hang of it, but learning all the terminology can be daunting. I keep a cheat sheet next to me as I watch.
I recommend the sport. It’s added a new dimension to my baseball off-season, as well as a new dimension between me and my son. I now have one son for baseball, and one for cricket. It’s a nice set-up to carry me forward in retirement. Howzat? -twl