Cricket question

[patrickq]

To all my UK friends, and cricket fans everywhere: this question is not a joke. When someone writes a poem or song about cricket, do they usually rhyme “wicket” with “cricket?”

[Ash Armstrong]

To all my UK friends, and cricket fans everywhere: this question is not a joke. When someone writes a poem or song about cricket, do they usually rhyme “wicket” with “cricket?”

It would be hard not to. It's complicated by the 'wicket' referring to different things in a match depending on the context: it can mean the three stumps with the two bails, the 22 yards of pitch between the two sets of stumps (as in batting on a sticky wicket, or a slightly wet pitch), and as that which is taken by the bowler when a batsman is dismissed. In baseball it's called an out I believe, or the number of outs, but in cricket it's wickets.

Check out the Roy Harper song on YouTube, When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Pitch, easily my favourite cricket song.

Glossary:
'Geoff' is Geoffrey Boycott, a celebrated England and Yorkshire batsman. 'John' is John Snow, a celebrated bowler.

'Silly mid-on' is a fielding position relative to the batsman currently facing the bowler. You can find a plan of cricket fielding positions on the interweb.

[Ash Armstrong]

[Ash Armstrong]

There's a band called Duckworth Lewis Method who've made a while album of cricket songs....

[patrickq]

It would be hard not to. It's complicated by the 'wicket' referring to different things in a match depending on the context: it can mean the three stumps with the two bails, the 22 yards of pitch between the two sets of stumps (as in batting on a sticky wicket, or a slightly wet pitch), and as that which is taken by the bowler when a batsman is dismissed. [snip]

I always thought it was a bail. Anyway, cricket sounds complicated! You know, you’re always welcome to play baseball instead,

[Ash Armstrong]

I always thought it was a bail. Anyway, cricket sounds complicated! You know, you’re always welcome to play baseball instead,

I got into watching baseball in the 90s when Channel 5 here showed two live games late at night. I worked a lot of night shifts back then so I saw it quite a lot. I became a Cubs fan.

[Gilly Goodness]

I always thought it was a bail. Anyway, cricket sounds complicated! You know, you’re always welcome to play baseball instead,

In 18something or other, Australia beat the English in a test match and a bail (the 2 bits of small wood that balance astride 3 vertical stumps, comprisin' the wickets) and a stump were burnt and given to the travellin' English captain in a small urn. The size of a salt shaker. He returned to England but later returned to marry the woman responsible. She burnt the articles as a Newspaper had written a satirical obituary for English cricket after the defeat. Quite a story and the reason both teams play for the "Ashes" every 2 years. Hope I've remembered correctly. The urn is kept in England despite mainly bein' held by us. But we're good sports about it! 😉

[patrickq]

The urn is kept in England despite mainly bein' held by us. But we're good sports about it! 😉

England held on to something that wasn’t theirs? Why have I never heard of this?? ; )

[Gilly Goodness]

England held on to something that wasn’t theirs? Why have I never heard of this?? ; )

hhheheheheeee so true. Even the Pope has promised that the Vatican's Elgin Marbles will be returned to Greece. Soon.

This series is worth a look. Intelligent. Balanced. Fair. Love the title, " Stuff the British Stole" by the Australian Broadcast Commission and the Canadian Broadcast Commission. Narrated by Marc Fennel.

trailer: https://youtu.be/4nvNMNiTXa0

The Koh-I-Noor

https://youtu.be/TQHCaM98ZzA

The whole 27 minute episode 1 series 1

https://youtu.be/kA2dDIMI0b4

[michelforest]

I became a Cubs fan.

My heartfelt sympathies...

[michelforest]

I had no idea what cricket was all about until I watched a documentary on Netflix that explained the rules.

I had a mild shock when it was mentioned that matches could last *days*!!!

[Gilly Goodness]

I had no idea what cricket was all about until I watched a documentary on Netflix that explained the rules.

I had a mild shock when it was mentioned that matches could last *days*!!!

It's meant to. We just beat South Africa in under 2 days. On a bowler friendly green top at The Gabba in Brisbane. Was lookin' forward to 5 hard, competitive days. 😫

[patrickq]

I got into watching baseball in the 90s when Channel 5 here showed two live games late at night. I worked a lot of night shifts back then so I saw it quite a lot. I became a Cubs fan.

My heartfelt sympathies...

My wife’s favorite team. Though often not the best team… sometimes not even the best in their city lol. But lovable.

[Ash Armstrong]

My wife’s favorite team. Though often not the best team… sometimes not even the best in their city lol. But lovable.

The first baseball game I saw was Toronto Blue Jays v Baltimore Orioles. It was the season when Mark Maguire hit all his home runs. 1997?

I picked the Cubs because of Sara Paretsky and her fictional detective V.I. Warshawski being a fan, books I started reading in the early 90s.

[michelforest]

My wife’s favorite team. Though often not the best team… sometimes not even the best in their city lol. But lovable.

At least, they won the world series after more than a century!

Anyway, I'm hardly in a position to make fun of a baseball team: I used to be an Expos fan, until they moved to Washington...