James Endersby's Blog
Posted by James Endersby
In the second of my Quick-Quick Cricket Lessons I thought I'd try and clear up some of the basics. Last week I covered the three different formats of the modern game and introduced some pretty confusing terms. Over the next few Quick-Quick Cricket Lessons I hope to clear up some of your confusions...
I've decided to take the most popular form of the game, the One Day match and use this to show you just how this crazy game works. This is the format used at the World Cups.
Last week we learnt that most one day matches are made up of 50 overs per innings.
So here's how a typical one day match works:
The toss
Ten minutes before the start of play the two captains will meet out in the middle. We call this area where all the action takes place the wicket or the pitch. The cricket pitch is the central strip of the cricket field and measures 22 yards long. On either side of the pitch are three wooden stumps called wickets. Two bails sit on top of each set of wickets and these must be dislodged for a batsman to be given out. (More on that later).
So the two captains meet in the middle with the two umpires. A coin is tossed and the visiting skipper makes the call. If he wins the toss, he gets to choose whether his side will bat first or bowl first. This is a science and a subjective topic that would bore the brains out of most mortals, yet often crucial to the outcome of matches. For instance, if the match is being played at night under lights, the dew factor plays a major role in changing the playing surface. We won't get ourselves in to deep here.
Who's in the team?
So the team that has chosen, or been put into the field then emerges from the dressing rooms after the umpires have taken up their positions. They are followed by the two opening batsmen. A cricket team consists of 11 players. Now the composition of the team is pretty much a free for all and will depend on the opposition and each team's player pool. Generally though - the first six or seven are batsmen and the next four or five are bowlers. One of the batsmen must be a wicket keeper (he's the guy in pads that stands behind the batsmen to take balls that are missed - just like in baseball). Anyway - you also get player called 'all rounder's' who contribute well with both the bat and the ball. That's a brief summary of the composition of a cricket team.
Let the game begin
So the first two batsmen come out to bat. The number one batsmen goes to the end where the opening bowler has decided to bowl towards, the other batsman ends up on the opposite side of the pitch, the side where the bowler will run up to, to bowl the ball.
Bowling
The opening bowlers are know to be lightening quick, and in today's international circuit these speed demons can bowl a ball in excess of 90 miles per hour.
So a bowler is limited to 10 overs in a match. An over is made up of six balls. The bowler has to make sure he bowls the ball fairly straight, otherwise the umpire calls a 'wide' and the batting side gets a free run and the bowler has to re-bowl that delivery. He must also make sure his foot doesn't cross the 'crease' line in front of him, otherwise a 'no-ball' is called and again, the batting side gets one extra run and the bowler must re-bowl.
You get different types of bowlers too. I've mentioned the fast bowlers who bowl fast and generally straight, but you also get bowlers that can bowl fairly quickly and deceptively swing the ball too. Then you get the spin bowlers. These guys are crazy and incredibly devious as they pitch the ball at the batsmen and then depending on how the ball has left the bowlers hand, it will career off the ground in incredible and unpredictable direction. The batsman has only split seconds to work out/guess what's going to happen next.
Fielding
So in short, the fielding side has to bowl 50 overs at the batting side. The fielding side is spread out over the field in a pattern that best suits the current bowler and that they think will limit the number of gaps in the field that the batsmen will be able to exploit.
Batting and run scoring
The side batting first must obviously hit as many runs as possible in this time. If they lose all their wickets before the allotted overs - then tough!
Runs are scored in a handful of ways. Generally one run is scored when the batsman hits the ball into the field and then both batsmen set off running in opposite directions towards each other, and the other side of the wicket. When each batsman makes it to the other side one run is awarded. If the fielders take their time to fetch the ball and get it back to the wicket, the batsmen may run more than one run.
The cricket field is circular and the outer limit is called the boundary. If the batsman hits the ball along the ground and over this boundary he is awarded 4-runs. If he hits the ball over this boundary without a bounce he is awarded 6-runs. These are called boundaries and are extremely exciting to watch as they generally involve some considerable effort and skill from the batsmen.
That's a serious amount to digest... if you're enjoying finding out more about this crazy game, come back next week for Quick-Quick Cricket Lesson Three.
Till then
Posted by James Endersby
The game is so confusing because there are so many crazy terms, methods and ways to play the game...try first to simply understand the three forms of the sport - we'll get into the nuts and bolts later on...
There are now three popular forms of the game of cricket in which all the general rules are applied yet slightly altered according to the type of match being played.
The Test Match
The oldest, far more traditional, and hardest for most sane people to comprehend, is the 'Test Match'. This takes place over five whole days. Each side gets two chances, or innings, to make as many runs as possible. If a result is not reached in five days the match is a draw. Believe it or not, some of the most exciting Test Matches in history have been draws.
The One Day Match
As the name suggests this form of the game takes place over the course of one day and is generally regarded as the more entertaining and exciting form of the game. Each team gets one innings to make as many runs as possible, whilst the other team must field and try and either get their opponents all out, or restrict them to as few runs as possible in the allotted overs. An over is made up of six balls that the bowler (pitcher) must bowl (pitch) at the batsmen. One Day matches are usually 50 overs per innings, but can also be 45 overs or even 40 overs depending on the organizers.
20-20 Cricket
The traditionalists hate it almost as much as the new age cricketers hate Test Match cricket, yet one cannot deny that this form of the game has become increasingly popular, resulting in increased attendances and an increased over all interest in the other two forms of the game.
20-20 cricket is fast and explosive. In today's fast-food, fast-cars, fast-kicks culture, it has been a revelation in cricketing circles. Each team has only 20 overs, each over made up of six balls, to score as many runs as possible. The result is some very, very, very entertaining batting with some massive shots and plenty of lost balls. Fast paced and full of action, 20-20 cricket is certainly the rock concert form of the game.
Posted by James Endersby
This Saturday at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenberg two juggernauts of the rugby world, the South African Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks, take each other on in rugby's greatest rivalry. For two players it will be a momentous occasion indeed. Cousins Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu will become the first Fijian-born wing pairing in All Black history.
A quick apology for over-shadowing this immense occasion for the two: I've no doubt that they will be very proud, as will their family and every Fijian rugby fan.
The sad part I'm afraid is that unfortunately while these two immensely talented athletes run onto the field dressed in All Black kit, their home country, Fiji, is still languishing at the bottom end of the rugby world.
A collection of relatively small islands, Fijians are an extremely proud race and take their heritage and rugby extremely seriously indeed. Sadly in this professional era most of their talent (and there has been bucket loads) is lured away to nations where succeeding in the sport pays handsomely. The Fijian rugby budget is significantly dwarfed by their neighbors Australia and New Zealand and they face a constant battle to secure quality players.
It's not just Fijian rugby that is pillaged by the open market, but the fiercely proud rugby playing countries of Manu Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands. For years these simple Islanders have been lured to the cash flushed rugby fields of Australia and more notably New Zealand, where many of them have turned out at the International level.
It's a tough predicament!
I've spoken for ages about the "Old Boys Club" that exists in rugby. Last years decision to award the 2011 Rugby World cup to New Zealand denied the rugby world of a perfect opportunity to grow rugby in Asia. Not allowing Japan the right to host the event proved that the International Rugby Board is not fully committed to growing the game in the 'minnow' regions, where if nurtured correctly, the game could grow significantly.
Argentina is another tragedy. Blessed with phenomenal talent pools, yet they find themselves isolated from the rest and not welcomed into any major annual rugby tournaments - where they would benefit from constant top flight competition, not to mention the revenues to keep their talent pools from becoming mere puddles. As a result they hardly scrape revenues and their players play for French clubs and are rarely available due to contractual obligations for national duty.
I'm afraid it's a case of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
How nice would it be to have Argentina, Fiji, Japan, Canada and the USA as heavy weight contenders at future Rugby World Cups? Imagine if another African nation became a top 10 team?
The Olympic Movement laughs at Rugby claiming that they are "a truly international sport" and should be represented at the Olympics. I happen to think rugby should be at the Olympics - but it's hard to argue when they bring up the divisions I've spoken about above.
To be fair, there are three tiers in world rugby today:
• Tier One - New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, England and France.
• Tier Two - Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Fiji, Argentina
• Tier Three - The Rest
Players, businessmen and mosquitoes will always move towards the bright lights and the rich pickings!
It's a simple economic and survival instinct.
The IRB needs to find someway to break down the significant barriers-to-entry that these Tier Two and Three Nations face as they struggle to grow the sport in their countries.
Until then, it's going to be the same old situation of the poor (Fiji) feeding the rich (New Zealand), and the rich (New Zealand) taking the credit!
Posted by James Endersby
The South African Springboks meet the Champions on Saturday the 26th and aren't going to make it easy for the men in black!
The Tri-Nations is over - but there are piles of pride on the table and up for grabs! No one likes to come last, and so Australia and South Africa will be fighting it out for the spot as first loser.
The Springboks certainly have a crack at it. Traditionally stronger at home and at altitude, the Bok's still have three matches to regain and restore much of their lost pride. If Jake White's team can win all three games with bonus points, they will finish second and one point behind the mighty All Blacks. Not a bad place to be when you consider the carnage they've endured this season thus far!
Their first match, as mentioned against the Kiwi's, is at the much revered Loftus Versveld. Not one touring team in the history of rugby union has ever had anything good to say about this venue. South African's love it, of course, but the cold, thin highveld air and the aggressive partisan crowd make playing the home team an absolute nightmare. Of course the All Blacks will be up for it, they always are, but I have a feeling the Springboks are going to stun the rugby world with a solid and somewhat sensationalized victory.
The next match, one week later, is between the Springboks and the All Blacks once again. This time at the unknown Royal Bafokeng Stadium. Teeth will be bared and it won't matter that the venue is not exactly what these teams will be used to, the traditionally explosive and thunderous atmosphere of an All Black Springbok Test match, that is undoubtedly the biggest rivalry in World Rugby, will make this an unbelievable occasion.
Win or lose, the Springboks will then have the Wallabies at Ellis Park a week later. Ellis Park is the ground where the Springboks won the World Cup in 1995 and the memories of that monumental day are still fresh in the hearts of every New-South-African. The Wallabies will be at a serious disadvantage, again because of the altitude and the passionate crown, yet the Bok's, having just played the All Blacks two weeks in a row could be seriously battered and bruised.
As usual we'll just have to wait and see, as the epic three weeks enfold. Catch all the results and opinions exclusively in Suite101's Rugby & Cricket section.
Posted by James Endersby
In this first Suite101.com blog entry I've decided to take the bull by the horns and launch my readers head on into the raging debate that peaks around about this time every four years.
Who will lift the William Web Ellis Trophy in Paris next year?
France are the hosts of the sixth Rugby World cup, won once by New Zealand in 1987, South Africa in 1995, England in 2003 and twice by the Australian Wallabies in 1991 and 1999, but will the French be able to convert home advantage and a recent flurry of stability and form into World Cup glory?
England are the current Rugby World Champions, yet have failed to impress since Johnny Wilkinson kicked them into immortality in 2003. The New Zealand All Blacks, led by the colossal Richie McCaw, again find themselves number one on the world rankings, yet have they peaked too early? The French are devastating on home soil, yet disappointingly temperamental when it really counts. Australia seem to be making a comeback, but do they have the forward pack to secure the possession necessary for their world class backline to put points on the board and the South African Springboks - continuously plagued with internal politics, injuries and rotten luck, can Jake White and his men recreate the magic that we know they have at their finger tips? What about Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Argentina, Fiji, Samoa, Canada and the smaller Unions, many of which still need to qualify at the time of writing? Will they upset the old boys club? (Will they ever?)
Who has the metal to win the ultimate prize in world rugby?
Current form dictates that the only team ready for a World Cup are the New Zealanders, also fondly known as the All Blacks or the Kiwi's. They trounced the best of Britain and Ireland last year as the British Lions felt the muscle of possibly the strongest All Black team in history. Then the rugby world was made to look on in awe as Graham Henry's team proved they could field a literal fourth team on their end of year tour to Britain. They are currently leading the 2006 Tri-Nations and are unbeaten in four out of six of their matches. Their depth is certainly impressive, yet since the inaugural tournament in 1987, which they won, the World Cup has evaded them, despite continuously being touted as outright favorites. "Surely this will be their season?" cry the pundits, as they do every World Cup. Only a fool would bet against them, yet for the past four World Cups, the English, South Africans, French and Australians have spoilt their party...who will it be this time?
In my opinion, France are the only team that stand a chance at beating the All Blacks. Largely because the French are almost unbeatable at home and more importantly, because Bernarde Laporte has developed an extremely useful side that after years of foolish tinkering, seems to have settled for a brand of rugby that can pull off the results.
So to quickly sum up and conclude:
My prediction is that South Africa will top pool A, Australia top pool B, New Zealand top pool C and France top pool D.
After the quarter finals have played out, these four teams will still be in with a shout having survived significant threats from England, Fiji, Scotland and Ireland.
New Zealand will win semi-final one against South Africa and France will dominate the Australians, both booking themselves a place in the final.
It's then all up to BMT on the day I'm afraid...
But if I'd have to back a horse - I'd say the World Cup bogey, French flair and home advantage will see the very best French Champaign being drunk by French lips - for a change!
