FOR THOSE WHO CAME IN LATE
(TM Lee Falk,1911-1999)
The
"Nothing Official About It"
FAQ
for
Rec.Sport.Cricket
and
UK.Sport.Cricket
by
[email protected]
Version v2.77
[1.1] I am new to cricket. Please explain it for me. [N]
[1.2] Are there any good Cricket websites? [N]
[1.3] Cricket Description - Funny. [+]
[1.4] How can I watch cricket in the USA? [+]
[1.5a] Field positions confuse me! [+]
[1.5b] Field position naming is stupid! [+]
[1.6] How much does a player from country [X] make? [N]
[2.1] Is there a good online store to buy cricket equipment? [N]
[2.2] Any tips for buying my bat? [N]
[2.3] How do I "knock in" a bat? [N]
[2.4] I have a problem with water seeping into the bat. [N]
[2.5] The rubber grip on my handle keeps sliding up. [N]
[2.6] How do I put the grip on the bat? [N]
[3.1] Why do batsmen struggle in alien conditions? [?]
[3.2] Why is opening considered a specialized job?
[3.3] Why do batsmen make those marks in the crease?
[3.4] When is a stance 'open'?
[3.5] Who is a pinch-hitter?
[3.6] Naming unorthodox batting shots. [N]
[4.1] What is line and length bowling? [?]
[4.2] When does a bowler go round the wicket?
[4.3] Why do they keep rubbing the ball?
[4.4] What is drift? [?]
[4.5] What's loop? [?]
[5.1] When is a batsman out LBW? [+]
[5.2] Someone told me there are *11* ways of getting out!? [+]
[5.3] Crease marks defined. [N]
[5.4] When is follow-on enforced?
[5.5] Meaning of NEW Umpire Signals. [?]
[6.1] When and where did cricket evolve?
[6.2] Cricket in the Olympics. [N]
[6.3] The Packer circus. [N]
[6.4] The Rebel Tours of the '80s. [?]
[7.1] Advertising your website. [N]
[7.2] WTH is IIRC?! And other acronyms. [+]
[7.3] What's a bonda? [?]
[7.4] Who is Dr Jai Maharaj? [N]
[7.5] Where's Version 1.00? [+]
[7.6] Where's Version 3.00? [N]
[7.7] The faq needs work! [+]
APPENDIX A: Cricket explained from an American Viewpoint
Note: Almost everything written here is purely subjective
opinion of mine and (mostly) Useneters and may in fact be
incorrect. So sue me.
[1.1] I am new to cricket. Please explain it for me.
Since this is an actual, regular faq, I cheerfully include
Jeff Tucker's great primer as Appendix A. Another good
introduction by Ron Knight can be found at www.cricket.org.
Alternatively Deb K Das's explaination at
http://members.tripod.com/~sccwa/index.html
is also very good.
[1.2] Are there any good Cricket websites?
The following 3 sites are your hook-up. Holler if you
hear me.
http://www.cricket.org
The premier cricket 'supersite'. Be sure to check out
'statguru' for interactive statistical queries.
http://www.google.com
The only search engine you will ever need.
http://www.dmoz.org
For handpicked sites on everything including cricket.
[1.3] Cricket Description - Funny.
"Does anyone know where I can find the humorous description
of cricket? Starts something like,'You have 2 teams. One out
and one in ...'
Didds:-
this must be the thgird request for this in three months!!
Jackie C : -
"You have two sides, one out in 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 comes in
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 a man goes out to go in, the men who
are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes
in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two
men called umpires who stay all out the time and they
decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides
have been in and all the men have been given out, and
both sides have been out twice after all the men have
been in, including those who are not out, that is the
end of the game!"
Notice how much better this version is as compared to
the infamous tea-towel version that every-one else uses?
Talk about a faq exclusive! ;-)
[1.4] How can I watch cricket in the USA?
Kurt:-
To receive cricket in the U.S. requires that one install
a satellite receiver which utilizes a small 18 inch dish.
These are fairly cheap ($200 US) and can usually be obtained
at no charge if one signs up to a year of regular cable
TV type programming (around $35/month). However, all cricket
will be on PPV which charges of about $15 per ODI match and
$25 per Test match. Most ODIs are carried but which Tests
matches are offered is usually unknown until a short time
before the series in question starts.
KBS/DISH usually put up their upcoming schedule at
http://www.kbs-tv.com/dev/cricket.html
If you feel like playing instead of merely watching, you
could join one of many clubs listed at the usaca site.
http://www.usaca.org/wlinks.html
[1.5a] Field positions confuse me!
They needn't . When a batsman takes his usual side-on stance,
the side towards his legs is his strong side and is called the
"on" side or leg side of the field. The other side is called
the "off" side.
For a Right Handed Batsman(RHB)
-----
| | | stance of a right-hander
| | | /
offside<----| | | /
| ||| |/
| |--->legside
--' --' or onside
For a Left Handed Batsman(LHB)
-------
| | | stance of a left-hander
| | | /
| | |---/-------->offside
| | || | /
legside<-------| | /
or onside `-- `--
Note that the field positions are named relative to the *stance*
of the batsman at the crease and *not* relative to the ground
itself.
Now the field is sliced up as shown below (assuming a RHB):
Square
/
|/
* * * | * wider<--------.
* \ | * \
* \ cover | * \
* \ p| 3rd* \
* off \ | gully man * |
* \ | * |
* ||-----\---|| * V
*------------------|| \ ||wk---------------* finer
* ||------/--|| *
* / | * finer
* on / mid- | leg * ^
* / wicket | * |
* / | * |
* / | * /
/ * * * | * /
forward<---|--->backward wider<--'
squ|are
p= point
This is our basic field setting. Slips not shown since you know
all about them anyway. Now we use descriptive adjectives or
prefixes to describe exactly where in this sliced up field a
particular fielder is standing.
Short = close bat-pad position. e.g. short mid-wicket.
Silly = very close in. e.g. silly point, silly mid-off, etc
Deep = further out. Near the boundary. e.g. deep fine leg
Fine = nearer line joining stumps (see figure)
Square = nearer 90 degrees to the pitch (see figure)
Wide = further from line joining stumps'(see figure)
Backward = behind batsman's popping crease (see figure)
Forward = 'in front of batsman's popping crease (see figure)
Long = Toward the boundary, e.g. long-on, long-off.
Revision: Here's a slightly modified version of
D.W.Shepherd's diagram to show the most common field settings
GLOSSARY
.---------------------------------------------.
/ "off side" \ 1 1st slip
| | 2 2nd slip
| l- cv cp 3m | 3 3rd slip
| ec p g | 4 4th slip
| 4 | 5 leg slip
| m- 3 | cv cover
| 2 | p point
| s 1 | g gully
| B->> ||-------|| Wk | f forward -
| U||-------|| | short leg
| f 5 | s silly point
| fine | dl deep fine/
| m+ | | square leg
| | | 3m 3rd man
| l+ mw dl | l+ long on
| sl / | l- long off
| U / | mw mid-wicket
| square | sl square leg
| "leg side" | m+ mid on
| | m- mid off
`\ field positions for RHB X /' cp cover-point
`---------------------------------------------' ec extra-cover
[1.5b] Field position naming is stupid!
No it isn't. The conventions used take advantage of the
natural symmetry that exists between right-handedness and
left-handedness. They are named from the *batsman's*
point of view. Therefore we have *his* legside, *his*
off-stump, etc. Furthermore, while the same stroke played
by a lefthander will go to a different part of the ground
but because the stroke is the same, the *field set* for
that stroke must be the same. This fundamental insight
significantly simplifies cricket theory and therefore
maybe cricket can lay claim to being the *only* sport
with a left-hand friendly terminology. Someone inform
the folks at alt.lefthanders!
Interested in the origin of these terms? Then check out
http://www.crickworld.com
Their history section is really good.
[1.6] How much does a player from country [X] make?
"Na baap bada na bhaiya. You see the whole thing is that
Sabse bada rupaiya"
Australia
1) Steve Waugh - $315,000(Australian?) retainer
2) $600,000 if he plays full schedule
3) 25 players contracted
4) lowest retainer $80,000
England
1) 70,000 pounds for the top grade
2) 12 ECB contracted players period of 6 months
3) Based on seniority 4 different grades of 40K, 50K,
60K and 70K (in pounds)
India
1) No contracts as yet. On a per match basis.
2) ODI Rs [[[2.2]5 lakh
3) Test Rs [[[2.4]5 lakh inc. logo money and tour fees.
4) Full schedule of 43 ODIs and 10 tests = 68.2]5 lakhs
South Africa
1) Hershelle Gibbs 750,000 Rands salary
WI
1) Brian Lara got atleast 40,000$ for recent England
tour. Denies 120,000$ fee
Aux. sources of income
1) Winter coaching
2) Steady employment with a company
3) Endorsements
4) Appearances, dinner, playing golf etc
5) Articles, interviews for papers/magazines.
6) Matchfixing.
[2.1] Is there a good online store to buy cricket equipment?
Donald Rose:-
The largest retailer of cricket equipment of all kinds is
the Kingsgrove Sports Centre. They specialise in cricket
equipment from bats, protective equipment, gloves, balls
to more esoteric things like slips fielding cradles, nets,
cricket bags. If Kingsgrove can't provide it, it probably
ain't available.
They can ship anywhere in the world and they have an
on-line e-market site at
http://www.kingsgrovesports.com.au/
They ship a considerable amount of equipment to the USA.
Ron Knight:-
If this newsgroup ever does get a FAQ this question must
be on it. Check out Chico Khan's listing of equipment
vendors at the USA Cricket Association's website
http://www.usaca.org
Click the link marked "Equipment" on the left.
Grahame Giddings:-
There are links to most major UK equipment suppliers'
web sites on the Cricket Links page of my site
http://www.ggiddings.freeserve.co.uk
I haven't got experience of the quality of any of these
companies' mail order services but I have brought a lot
of kit 'over the counter' from Vee-Kay Sports over the
past 20-odd years and have been very satisfied.
Ned lloyd:-
http://www.cricketcollection.bigstep.com
A variety of bats, balls, bags, books, magazines, pads,
bags and almost anything you'd want to do with cricket.
Almost all products can be delivered to your door.
Check the prices out!!!
Troubleshooter:-
The best idea is to go to a sports store, try out the
equipment you want and then buy online. It gets delivered
to your door, and it costs less. I generally take a risk
and just buy the equipment anyway, so it's worth a go.
http://www.cricketcollection.bigstep.com
John Hall:-
Try http://www.morrant.com/
HIGHLY recommended by uk.sport.cricket regulars
ravi krishna:-
try www.sportsline.com.
I believe the best place to buy cricket equipment in USA
is Devon Street, Chicago.
DAN:-
http://www.vks.com
is somewhere where i would fully recommend. there own
brand of ton bats are very good
Anyone else wants to share his experience with us?
[2.2] Any tips for buying my bat?
Idunnowhowrotethis:-
There are very few differences between bats
other than labels and some grooves cut into them for
marketing purposes. County make the best raw clefts
(the chunks of wood the bats are carved from) because
they steam press theirs to a harder state than the others.
Having said all that, I recommend that you completely
ignore the label.
Here is what to do:
1. Go to a reputable cricket store. Kingsgrove is
good and they have a mail order section and an
internet ordering site.
2. Select a bat which is either lacquered or have one
of the new plastic bat sleeve put over the front of
the blade (about another $10 or so).
3. Get the lightest bat available in senior SH models.
A large man can use a light bat as well as a small
one but very few cricketers of any size shape or
standard can effectively use a heavier bat.
4. Buy 3 additional grips (about $3-$5 ea.) and a grip
applicator cone (about $7) and have someone at the
shop or the local cricket club show you how to use it.
5. If you buy a lacquered bat or get the plastic sleeve
your bat will not require much knocking in. However
if the bat is not lacquered, you will either have to
soak the toe in a saucer of linseed oil for an hour
or so, or get some Estapol or Bat Lacquer and
lacquer the toe (and only the toe).
[2.3] How do I "knock in" a bat?
The basic idea is to avoid splinters and bits breaking off
the edges by gently tapping the bat with a mallet. Really
need advice on knocking? Then read on. Otherwise skip the
following excellent advise.
Cameron Fraser :-
When you buy a bat, it is only lightly pressed at the
factory and the fibres are still really soft - if you
press your fingernail into the surface you'll see what
I mean. 'Knocking in' is the process of compressing and
binding these lose fibres together to allow the bat to
withstand the constant impact from the ball. You're
preparing the bat to be HIT.Your aim is to 'bash' the
surface of the blade - not the back or the bottom of
the bat (that can be disastrous!) You can use an OLD,
GOOD QUALITY ball in your hand or put it in a sock or
try different types of 'knocking in' mallets - my
preference is for the solid wood version. Any good shop
or mail order company does them for around a fiver -
buy one, you'll need to make use of it many times.
Start 'knocking in' by gently working on the edges and
gradually knocking them into a rounded, compressed shape
... once you get started you'll soon see the change in
texture. Then keep working on the edges and the area
around the toe of the bat - not the bottom of the bat -
and think of trying to use glancing strokes that resemble
you edging a ball to gully, then 3rd slip, 2nd slip, etc.
while all the time gradually increasing the strength of
the impact.Don't forget to give the middle a good going
over but the priority should be the outside inch or so
of the bat round both edges and the toe.
How long do you have to go through this mind numbingly
boring routine? Slazenger recommend 6 hours - now that
is a long, long time. If you try to do it in good 5
minute blocks it becomes more manageable. Essentially
you don't want to think about using the bat until it's
had at least 2 hours(24 x 5 minute sessions) but ideally
if you can manage double that then all the better. If you
have the time and space and tolerant neighbours then the
process can be done in a week or so - most of us need a bit
longer! But there's no point going to the other extreme -
buying a bat one season and not using it until the next.
Anyway, such self-denial would be way beyond the likes
of me or most cricketers I know! So use the bat but be
sensible.
After the initial 2-4 hours 'knocking in,' try using it
for hitting short catches and then in the nets against
OLD, GOOD QUALITY balls and only against the spinners/
slow mediums first. A new or cheap ball can do a lot of
damage to an under-prepared bat and digging out a fast
yorker in the nets can spell doom and destruction for
even the best prepared bat! So try and middle the ball
and play the bat in - resist the wild slogging for once!
Then do some more 'knocking in' and then some more and
then some more and then some more...
Remember, SOME bats need a LITTLE linseed oil - but no
more than a couple of teaspoonfuls per season! However,
ALL BATS NEED KNOCKING IN. Gunn & Moore now provide this
service for around 10 pounds in their GM NOW range. For
most people that's �10 well spent. But don't forget you'll
still need to keep 'knocking in' throughout the life of
your bat, knocking out indentations, evening out dead
spots in the bat, strengthening area around glued repairs
etc. A cricket dealer I know recommends that the day you
stop 'knocking in' is the day you throw the bat in the
bin.
[2.4] I have a problem with water seeping into the bat.
Matthew van de Werken:-
Probably the most common place for the moisture to seep
in is through the toe. A popular remedy for this is to
cover the toe with "Shoo-Goo", which is a silicon-like
substance that dries hard (like a tennis-shoe sole).
It's designed for replacing holes in soles of shoes,
hence the name, but it works really well on the toe of
a bat. The only caveat I have for its use is that it
makes the toe of the bat a bit grippy, so you can be
running, sliding the bat, and it grips and stops,
which is not desirable!
[2.5] The rubber grip on my handle keeps sliding up.
david lawton:-
Use a second grip. The other thing is to take the grip
off and wind some tape onto the handle, overlapping it
so that the ridges are going up. The only problem is
that it might change the way the bat feels in your hand.
[2.6] How do I put the grip on the bat?
Ian Didds:-
PROPER sports shops to put them on for a small charge
using a sort of cone. You may be lucky similarly.
Other-wise roll the rubber up into a doughnut and then
FORCE the rubber over the end. Once you've actually got
the rubber over the end of the handle you just unroll
the rubber along the length of the handle and smooth
it down. It works well, especially with a twisting
motion with both hands using downward pressure towards
the bottom of the handle.
[3.1] Why do batsmen struggle in alien conditions?
SMG recently gave an excellent explanation complete with
adjustments needed on bouncy tracks/dust bowls. Could someone
please paraphrase and expand on what he said?
[3.2] Why is opening considered a specialized job?
The job of the openers is to provide a good start and take the
shine off the new ball. A brand new ball is hard, bouncy, and
swings due to the shine of the ball. So it is harder to bat
against a new ball. It is also somewhat difficult to begin
batting. A new batsman is more likely to get out than one who
has been on the field and scoring runs for a while.
The mindset of an opener is to play at as few balls as possible
and leave anything outside of off-stump. This mindset is totally
different from that of a talented middle-order batsman who is
constantly looking for bad balls to punish.
To summarize, an opener looks to play out a session while a
middle order batsman looks to dominate the bowling.
[3.3] Why do batsmen make those marks in the crease?
|
|
|
|-----------------------
| |
| |
| |
| |
| o<---- off stump (of RHB)
| |
3 --- o<---- middle stump
---->>ball 2 --- |
1 --- o<---- leg stump
/ | |
/ | |
/ | |
/ | |<----- Bowling crease
/ |-----------------------
Guard chosen |
|<----- Popping crease
|
1 - leg
2 - middle and leg
3 - middle stump
These marks help in the batsman's judgement of which balls
to play at and which to leave alone.
1 finger: Batsman wants to cover leg stump (see fig.). Usually
means that he is looking to take the initiative and play the cut
shot.
2 fingers: Batsman wants to cover middle and leg stump.
(position 2). He is looking to drive the ball on occasion and
rock back and cut if necessary.
3 fingers: Batsman wants to cover middle stump. He is interested
in leaving the balls outside off stump.
[3.4] When is a stance 'open'?
Cricket is a side-on game. You do not directly face the ball
when you bat. Ideally, one bats with one's leading shoulder
pointing to the wicket at the non- striker's end. A batsman
(usually to counter short-pitched bowling) 'opens' his stance
by standing at a slight angle such that his leading shoulder
is pointing more towards mid-on.
|
|--------
/ | | |
/ / | `------ | |
\/ /<---- Open stance `------ -->>ball | |
\/ ^ | |
| |---------
| |
Closed stance
[3.5] Who is a pinch-hitter?
He is a big hitting tail-ender promoted up the order in order to
accelerate the scoring rate in a one-dayer.
As far as I am concerned, he is best employed in the 4th
innings of a low-scoring match in order to relieve pressure.
[3.6] Naming unorthodox batting shots. [N]
Tired (like me) of commentators that refer to many very
common unorthodox shots with the generic "WhatAShot!"?
Want to know what to call them? Then help with this
compilation.
a) The slog sweep or the harsh sweep.
A sweep played in the air to square leg.
Very common shot nowadays.
eg. Wasim Akram, Steve Waugh, Jonty Rhodes.
Veteran Indian cricketers honor Yashpal Sharma
and call it the Badam shot.
b) The swivel hook.
A hook or pull played to a short ball down legside.
eg. Brian Lara, Sanath Jayasuryia, Kapil Dev,
Clive Lloyd.
South Asians often refer to it as the Nataraj shot.
c) The inside-out drive or the cross-batted drive.
The flat-batted shot played on the front foot,
sending the ball to long-off or cover. I think
we should borrow from baseball and call it a
line drive.
eg Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Twose,???
[4.1] What is line and length bowling?
To parapharse Chris, don't ask me, I am an Indian. ;-)
[4.2] When does a bowler go round the wicket?
This is a ploy to change the bowler's line of attack.
Generally done when a Left-handed batsman is at the crease so
that the exact analogical off-stump line can be bowled at him.
In most other cases, it is a case of the bowler getting
frustrated(unless he is a Shane Warne)
[4.3] Why do they keep rubbing the ball?
In order to keep the shine of the ball for as long as possible.
Only one side of the ball is shined up in this way. The other
side gets roughed up during the natural course of the game. The
main thing to realize is that they do not arbitrarily bowl the
ball but instead try to release the ball with the shiny side
either to the left or right of the batsman in order to get
'swing'(movement in the air). If the ball pitches on the seam,
it will move laterally and this is 'seam movement'(movement of
the pitch).
[4.4] What is drift?
To be written
[4.5] What's loop?
To be written
Bowling and lots of other cricket related terms defined
in
http://home.sprynet.com/~hotoff/crickgl.htm
LAWS OF THE GAME
Huge props to Ian T. for his wonderfully thorough hatchet
job on this entire section. Any sins of ommisions and
commisions still remaining are due to my own inepittiatude
and does not reflect upon him or Ron Knight (who gave MANY
valuable suggestions throughout).
Note: The following answers are only meant to be rough guides to
the laws and should not be considered to be complete. You are
encouraged to check the following URL:
http://www.cricket.org/link_to_database/ABOUT_CRICKET/LAWS
to read the actual laws themselves.
[5.1] When is a batsman out LBW?
-----
| | |
| | |
off <-----| | |----> leg stump(for a right-hander)
stump --|--|--|--
|__|__|__|__|
| |
-----|-----------|-------
| | | |
| | | |
|A | B |C |
| | | |
| | | |
A = Outside off stump
B = In-line with the stumps
C = Outside legstump
For arm-chair umpires just look at where it hit. If outside leg
stump(REGION C), it is not out. Outside off-stump(REGION A), did
he play at the ball (not out if he did). Then your judgement on
whether the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps and on
whether it did miss the bat comes into play. In addition,
any ball pitched outside leg stump(REGION C) cannot be given out.
Ask Ron Knight if you are interested in
the gory details of the procedure umpires follow.
[5.2] Someone told me there are *11* ways of getting out!?
This requires a bit of explaination. There are 10 ways
that a batsman can be given out by the umpires in the
middle. And there is an additional way he can be out and
bloat his average.
Note: The explainations have been simplified for the sake
of brevity and should not be taken to be the actual laws
themselves.
The 10 ways to get out in the middle are:
The 5 well-known ones:
1) Caught
2) Bowled
3) Leg Before Wicket
4) Stumped
5) Run Out
And the 5 less-frequent ones.
6) HIT WICKET: In general, when the striker touches and
breaks the wicket in attempting to hit a ball or
taking off for a first run.
7) HANDLED THE BALL: In general, when either batsman willfully
touches the ball with the hand not holding the bat and
without the consent of the opposite side.
8) OBSTRUCTING THE FIELD: In general, when a batsman willfully
obstructs a member of the fielding side by word or action from
gathering the ball or effecting a run out.
9) HIT THE BALL TWICE: In general, when the striker willfully
hits the ball twice unless he is protecting his wicket.
10) TIMED OUT: In general, if a new batsman takes longer than
two minutes, from the time the previous wicket falls, to
appear on the field.
Now the 11th out is pretty ambigious. It is not listed with
the other outs but can be found in the law dealing with
substitions (Law 2)
In general, any batsman who refuses to bat when he is able
to do so or is refused permission to bat by the opposing
captain (he had left the field when he was able to bat on)
is for the purpose of the records deemed to be "retired, out".
Andrew Dunford:-
This makes for the odd interesting situation when a touring
team's batsmen are destroying a sub-standard local bowling
attack and want to give others a turn. When Pakistan toured
NZ in 1994, Saeed Anwar Inzamam and Basit Ali all left the
pitch after they'd had a decent bat. The ruling made was
that as none of them had advised the umpires of an injury,
they were recorded as 'retired out'.
On a related note, Abdul Aziz of Pakistan has the unfortunate
distinction of being the only player to be recorded as
'retired dead'.
[5.3] Crease marks defined.
| |<----- Popping crease
-------| |-------
| | | |
| | | |<---- Bowling crease
| | | |
| | | |
-------| |-------<--- Return crease
| |
[5.4] When is follow-on enforced?
Depends on the type of match. When a team is ahead on 1st innings
basis, the captain can enforce follow-on if:
1) 5-day match: 200 runs lead established
2) 3/4 day match: 150 runs lead established
3) 2-day match: 100 runs lead established
4) 1-day match: 75 runs lead established
[5.5] Meaning of NEW Umpire Signals.
To be written.
[6.1] When and where did cricket evolve?
Cricket originated in medieval England, where its actual origins
are lost in the mists of time. Formal rules were established in
1744, and the game spread to most British colonies either
because of the settlers - as in South Africa, Australia, New
Zealand and Zimbabawe - or by a process of osmosis from the
ruling elite - as in the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
and Bangladesh.
While the exact origins of the game are lost in the mists of
time, creative speculation can allow us to prove almost anything.
For an Indo-centric (but based on excellent research) view about
the origins of the game read what Deb K Das has to say about it.
The URL is http://geocities.com/Colosseum/Park/9343/dkhist.htm
[6.2] Cricket in the Olympics.
Mike Holmans:-
In 1900, the Olympics were nothing like what we have today.
There was a great big festival in Paris that year, of which
originally the 2nd modern Olympics were a part, as well as
some other sports tournaments held over a period of several
months. The Olympic mob saw a great way of expanding their
appeal by declaring that all the sports being played in Paris
that year were part of the Olympics and awarding medals to
the winners. So there were several events which are recorded
as having taken place at the 1900 Olympics which have never
recurred, the cricket match featuring a touring club side
from Devon and some local ex-pat Englishmen opposition, as
"England" and "France" respectively, being one of them.
[6.3] The Packer circus.
Sunil Gavaskar in his Sportstar Column "ON THE WRITE LINE"
(http://www.sportstar.com) writes:
"WAY back in 1977 a gentleman called Kerry Packer, who
owned and still owns Channel 9, was upset that his
channel was not given the rights to telecast cricket in
Australia in spite of his bid being higher than that of
the Government-controlled ABC. He also came to know that
the players were unhappy about the fees that they were
getting and the various restrictions imposed on them by
the authorities who ran the game. He took the opportunity
to not only get cricket on his channel, but also the top
players to participate in his competition by paying them
sums unheard of till then. Thus started World Series
Cricket or the 'Packer Circus' as it was dubbed by the
traditionalists. The establishment awoke from its slumber
and decided to take Packer on. A clear division was
created in cricket with both the establishment and the
'circus' conducting matches. The matches in the 'circus'
were not considered official and till date the runs scored
and wickets and catches taken there are not counted in a
player's statistics in spite of the fact that it was some
of the toughest cricket ever played."
After two years of rival competitions and turmoil, the parties
finally came together. Packer got what he'd always wanted, which
was control of the television rights, and the original owners got
back control of the game.
Major innovations made by the "Circus" include:
1) The very concept of night cricket
2) Colored clothing - hense "Pyjama Cricket"
3) Higher fees for cricketers
4) Major innovations in television coverage
4) TV commentary as a lucrative profession for ex-players
[6.4] The Rebel Tours of the '80s.
To be written
[7.1] Advertising your website.
"Is it okay to put a message in this newsgroup with a
link for a non-commercial, free website?"
Didds:-
If the link etc has NO, or spurious, or extremely limited
(in contrast to the rest of the site) direct correlation
with cricket ie it does not specifically address
that concept, then netiquette (see news.answers etc)
suggests such a post would not be welcome, and could be
construed as spam with potential repercussions from your
ISP if people complain.
Otherwise we are always happy to take a dekho.
[7.2] WTH is IIRC?! And other acronyms.
Well known acronyms like IMHO, ROTFL, LOL, NG etc can be
looked up at http://www.netlingo.com.
Frequently used but not so well known acronyms:
FAO ???
IIRC If I Recall Correctly
RSC rec.sport.cricket
UKSC uk.sport.crikcet
Cricket-related:-
f-c first class
DN Day and Night match
LHB Left-handed batsman
ODI One day International
RHB Right-handed batsman
WC World Cup
Personality related:-
GOC "Good Old" Craig (White).
SRT Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
SRW Steven R?? Waugh
SMG Sunil Manohar Gavaskar
[7.3] What's a bonda?
To be written.
[7.4] Who is Dr Jai Maharaj?
The only genuine net.legend that rsc can boast of. All the
rest of us are mere half-baked net.personalities.
Archives of his posts from 1995 onwards can be read at:
http://www.flex.com/~jai/posts.html
Archives prior to 1995 are available on CD by e-mail
request.
[7.5] Where's Version 1.00?
I feel that the considerable time and effort put in by Ron
Knight and Jeff Tucker in writing the articles "Explaining
Cricket to Novices" and "Cricket explained from an American
Viewpoint" respectively deserves to be recognized by both
RSCers and UKSCers. These two articles were written to
answer the genuine faq "Can you explain cricket for me".
As such I feel it appropriate to call these two articles
the first RSC FAQ and to honor them by starting my faq
numbering at Version 2.00.
[7.6] Where's Version 3.00?
Thanks to an unfortunate 3-way mis-understanding, a certain
rscer started work on his completely different version of
the FAQ. I dare say it would embarass him no end if the NG
ever saw his handiwork. ;-)
[7.7] The faq needs work!
Just mark up corrections **like this**. If you don't
help, be ready to see me change the posting frequency
from "once in a blue moon" to daily. ;-)
This is a dynamic file that will grow and become more
well-written/accurate/complete only if *you* contribute
to it. Give your suggestions for questions, better
answers, additions ,corrections, etc to the current
FAQ-maintainer at [email protected].
Be sure to let me know if you find it useful/worthwhile.
Your feedback is the only thing I get from this.
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