I managed to watch a little more cricket this lunchtime, and my education in the laws of cricket and the terms used continued apace.I was instructed in the finer points of cricketing etiquette, (such as walking) and tactics (declaring).
I gather that, if the fielder is touching the boundary when he touches the ball, that counts as a four, because the ball is deemed to have reached the boundary...
Also, (I think) a googly is an off break which looks like a leg break to the batsman... so the batsman thinks the ball will be bouncing out when in fact it bounces in... (I probably got that completely wrong, but I can't quite figure out which is the leg side and which the off side... I guess that's lesson three.)
And I think a Chinaman is the opposite of a googly...
This is actually getting to be quite interesting.
Some things continue to escape my comprehension... apparently, England are in a very good position to win this test match, because the chance of Australia scoring 411 in the five remaining wickets is pretty low... so why bother?
UPDATE: It seems that Australia didn't hear that England's win was a foregone conclusion, and they ended up 313 for 5. This means that they need only a further 208 runs to win... and England need to take 5 wickets. Now, in theory, England should be favourites to win...
Your description of a googly is spot-on. A chinaman is the opposite of a googly in the sense that it's the same delivery bowled by a left-handed bowler, and which looks as though it ought to turn into the right-handed batsman but actually turns away.
ReplyDeleteGee, Mac...I still haven't mastered American baseball. ;)
ReplyDeleteRosemary in Missouri
A cricket is a bug, at least it is for this American. But then, I suppose you crowd over there on the other side of the pond think that one kicks a homerun through the goal posts.
ReplyDeleteFather George bloggingMERCY
Dear Mulier Fortis. Your description of cricket is memorable, indeed. I have never ever read anything as funny. I think I prefer reading your cricketing blog as opposed to listening to the Test on Test Match Special (TMS) (Radio 5 Live Sport, 909 AM, Medium Wave). You might wish to listen, tomorrow, for the last day of the Second Test against the Aussies. You might pick up some more interesting cricketing terms. I would be interested in your comments when a bowler demands a Third Man or a Long Leg or a Silly Mid-On.
ReplyDeleteVery pleased to hear you're continuing your education;) I managed to get through a mountain of ironing this afternoon whilst listening to TMS - the time, & the shirts just whizzed by! Very impressed with your bowling knowledge. How are you getting on with your field placings? Do you know your silly point from your deep extra cover?!
ReplyDeleteI did manage to listen to some of the BBC's coverage via the internet when I returned home... I think it was Test Match Special.
ReplyDeleteAs far as field placings go, the only ones I know about tend to be occupied by sheep, cows or some vegetable or other. Silly points are what I tend to post on my blog, and deep extra cover is what teachers get when there's a lot of Swine Flu affecting staff absence...
Why would a bowler want a third man, particularly, when he's got 10 of them on his team?
There's a useful diagram of fielding positions here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cornwallcricket.co.nz/vula/ClientFiles/f352b8c7-a524-4d83-8753-b9c48a813bc6.jpg
Mac! What's with this cricket thing? - Get a life!!!!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteMark, they forgot the "12th man" also known as "left out."
ReplyDeleteKaren
Actually a "googly" is where one mistypes a search parameter.
ReplyDeleteNever mind "in theory" - we just won!!!
ReplyDeleteNo, a chinaman is a ball bowled by a left-arm wrist spinner which turns in to a right hander, as a conventional off break does. A young man I know well used to bowl them - he just picked the ball up across the seam one day and the rest followed - but he's packed it in more recently. It's very hard to do consistently, especially for young players, and it can be very demoralising to get one or two wrong in an over and go all over the park. He's bowling seam up these days, and doing it quite well, too.
ReplyDeleteChinaman bowlers might also have a googly, which goes the other way - away from the right hander and into the left hander.
Confused? That's the idea.
Simon, that wasn't very nice...
ReplyDelete;-P
By the way, I'm sure that everyone knows that cricket is a French game, the rules for which were written on parchment in a French Castle that was sacked by the English back in... what?... the tenth century.
ReplyDeleteFather George bloggingMERCY