12/03/24
December 17, 2014
Served up on a platter for SportsFilter: the question of which is the superior sport, cricket or baseball?
I wish I understood cricket well enough to have a strong opinion on why it's inferior to baseball.
posted by rcade at 02:37 PM on December 17, 2014
Played slopitch one year with a cricket player. Guy played 2nd base - without a glove. Caught with both hands and covered more ground than any 2nd baseman I've played with.
posted by cixelsyd at 03:33 PM on December 17, 2014
Played slopitch one year with a cricket player.
I had the same experience when I lived in Egypt. The guy was from Turks and Caicos, had a good arm, used a glove and was sure-handed, mostly played outfield and had range. Batting was quite another story. It took nearly a full season to get him to stand still and not shift his feet around as in cricket. Even then the guy had some power. Once he got the hang of a batting stance and approach, he turned into a pretty good hitter.
posted by Howard_T at 03:48 PM on December 17, 2014
That's funny. Here in cosmopolitan Dover, New Hampshire there's a constant cricket game going on next to the dog park and my one observation while ignoring the dogs is that the fielding is atrocious. That and the fact there's a giant German Shepard who appears to understand the rules and barks at anyone who runs outside the boundary.
posted by yerfatma at 04:29 PM on December 17, 2014
my one observation while ignoring the dogs is that the fielding is atrocious
If it's anything like park cricket in Australia, the fielding is usually atrocious because you are only able to move slowly and throw with one hand, because you don't want to spill your beer.
posted by owlhouse at 08:07 PM on December 17, 2014
Which one is more philosophical?
Today's Over by Over of Australia v India and the leisurely pace of a five day Test match allows for the inclusion of references to Dinosaurs Having Sex, Fish Having Sex, indie pop tunes, dating advice and the pitfalls of modern life.
posted by owlhouse at 11:02 PM on December 17, 2014
That is some wonderful writing, owly. Thanks for sharing. My favorite:
Smith and Marsh tuck their bats under their armpits and stride off the ground like they've just been excused from a trigonometry test.
This right here gives cricket the edge over a sport I grew up loving.
posted by NoMich at 08:17 AM on December 18, 2014
the fielding is usually atrocious because you are only able to move slowly and throw with one hand, because you don't want to spill your beer.
Without wanting to stereotype, they're all nerdy programmer/ engineer types working for Local Insurance Conglomerate. And they use a tennis ball. So I'm not sure how that affects things but I do have dreams of one day one-handing a blast beyond the boundary and taking Dover Cricket into the IPL.
posted by yerfatma at 08:30 AM on December 18, 2014
Rounders