OJBs Web Site: Sport

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Comments on Sport

I quite enjoy watching any sport but the most enjoyable is the sport which is subtle, full of personality, and just a little bit quirky. I refer, of course, to cricket! Because cricket isn't played in some other countries I will briefly explain some of the fascination below.

Anyone who doesn't know the game would naturally be tempted to think it was boring and without any action. This is not true. Its necessary to understand the history and background, as well as know a bit about the players. It also helps if you enjoy listening to the commentators talking for long periods about seemingly unrelated topics, such as seagulls, during quiet periods in play!

Circket is a team game, but the competition is essentially between individuals - the bowler and the batsman. The different personalities make the game interesting - one player doing something is totally different than another doing the same thing. There can also be very subtle traps set based on a players weaknesses that everyone can see except the poor sucker being enticed into doing something stupid!

Because in most forms of cricket a game takes a significant time (up to 6 days for a test match, and a whole day for the short one day version) there is plenty of strategy, discussion, and implementation of clever schemes to change the way the game is going. This doesn't happen as much in faster paced games such as baseball or football. So its the slowness of the game which actually gives it its intrigue and personality.

The terminology is quite intesting too. You have to know what a googly (or wrong 'n') is. You need to know where silly mid on and backward short leg are. You might need to know who the bunnies are with the bat - they might need to be softened up with a bouncer or two.

The only problem with watching cricket is that you can sometimes feel a bit guilty about using up so much time. The "short" game is known as a "one day game", the longer test matches can last up to five days, so you need to be fairly dedicated to watch a whole game.

Other Sports

Other sports I think are worth watching are rugby (its our national sport, so I suppose I've got to really) and motor racing, especially rallying. Its just unbelievable how fast the best rally drivers can go over rough roads and the shots from inside the cars they take now are amazing!