that is a real pimp picture.

the minions of sauron felled by papa smurf in the great game while gollum (evil abhi) wrings his hands in despair from a safe distance:)

People who diss cricket are known to have multiple personality disorder.

Cricket is like disease. Game for unemployed people to watch. And in India cricket is now considered as betting game. No difference between gambling/horse racing and cricket. So called cricket stars are very happy with their advertisement contract money and chain of restaurant business. We support Hockey, Kabaddi games instead of "hyped" useless game cricket.

hobbittesses?

fixed, thanks coach.

Cricket is like disease. Game for unemployed people to watch.

sri lanka is sick, NZ got owned, and they almost beat south africa...i love that group of dark whippersnappers

Jayasuriya is da man, an amazing batsman to watch when he's on a roll. He's no spring chicken either. Is an excellent example of technique and skill rather than sheer power or athleticism in cricket.

And Abhi, I do believe that's "a game beloved by more than a billion," not just "millions" - this isn't chump change American sport we're talking about here :p

chump change American sport we're talking about here :p

chump change?? I hope you dont mean that in terms of money. Amount of money spent in the half time of a Superbowl is more than an entire year's budget of Ranjee trophy (Indian domestic cricket league).

I guess only mad dogs (and kiwis?) would design a sporting uniform - often to be donned in hot, sunny climes - that is black from head to toe.

That said, I love the NZ uniform, the contrast of the silver fern on the black background, though I much prefer it on the rugby team...hubba hubba

baseball ruled my childhood, so i grew up in total ignorance of cricket. it wasn't until the mid-80's, in fishguard, wales, that i witnessed a match (well, part of a match. we were only visiting for the weekend). the nerve of the defenders in playing so close to the batter was quite impressive.
trying to determine who won or lost after 4 or 5 days of play (it seemed) remains shrouded in mystery...

c.e.koop,
Atleast one cricket athlete died while playing very close to the batsman (or hitter in Baseball term). Raman Lamba died after getting hit by a cricket ball. He was not wearing a helmet while fielding (defending) close to the batsman.

Don't make me go all Samwise Gamgee on your ass ... in the meantime the Black Caps (yes that's what we call them) have beaten South Africa

the nerve of the defenders in playing so close to the batter was quite impressive.

They're called fielders, just like in baseball! And it's batsman (or batswoman)..

I found this BBC site really good for explaining fielding positions - to tell gully from point, and point from the slips! And when fielders move closer to the batsman along the axis from their usual position, then it's silly, as in silly point or silly mid-on. Heartily recommend the site to anyone - beginner or near-expert :)

Chachaji,

If you haven't seen it yet, please check out this hilarious narration and illustration of cricket by chef-author Anthony Bourdain from a recent visit to Calcutta. Priceless!

New Zealand just whupped south africa and reached the semi finals of world cup 2007, joining Australia and Sri Lanka who've already made it. The fourth spot is up for grabs, whoever wins the england vs south africa game, will take it. Things aren't looking tood good for south africa, england may come out to be the eventual winner.

(the batsman in baseball is called the batter - not the hitter. hence the umpire's call of "batter up!").
the injury i witnessed involved a stocky anglo fielder standing about 10 paces away, ready to take one for all england. he hardly had time to change his facial expression, much less reposition his hands, before the ball crushed his nose and face. i thought he was dead on the spot. in baseball, he'd have been taken to a hospital for neuro tests, but after some stitching, taping his nose roughly back to original position, and putting on a clean shirt, this guy attended the tea break and returned to the game when it resumed. from his chipper demeanor and willingness to stand too close again, only the tape indicated something happened. this part was quite dramatic...

what is the term for a 5 day cricket match in which there is no clear winner? (and don't tell me "stultification").

"The fourth spot is up for grabs, whoever wins the england vs south africa game, will take it."

actually if south africa (what is it with them and fading in world cups?) win they will take the spot, but if england win, then england, west indies and even bangladesh (an outside chance) could be semi-finalists depending on the outcome of their remaining matches and net run rates. india and pakistan must be kicking themselves - other than australia (as usual) the other spots ended up being more up for grabs. tomorrow would have been the big india-pakistan clash in barbados. but kudos to ireland and bangladesh - they will both be playing for pride tomorrow (and bangladesh for those vital two points).

Chachaji,

If you haven't seen it yet, please check out this hilarious narration and illustration of cricket by chef-author Anthony Bourdain from a recent visit to Calcutta. Priceless!

Thanks Filmiholic! Now fielding positions in baseball, on the other hand, are simple as all heck... :0)

"what is the term for a 5 day cricket match in which there is no clear winner?"

a drawn match. and a draw can sometimes be just as exciting as a result.

man sri lanka is gonna win this thing, lol.

The truest hobbit in SL cricket history is the legendary PA de Silva (Pinnaduwage Aravinda de Silva)who stood a mere 5 feet and 3.5 inches in flats. I think he'll live forever in Aussie memory as he almost singlehandedly turned the 96 world cup final over to Sri-Lanka.

As for examples of exciting draws, to those incredulous at the concept of an exciting tie, one need only look to SL's magical tour of Pommie land.

OMG Sanath Jayasuriya is still playing. I am wayyyy out of touch :(

I'm just depressed because the Aussies are going to win. Please, anyone but the Aussies, please.

Bopara has been good for England, a tough streetwise cricketer. Monty did OK, Mahmood too, but nothing spectacular. It's the opening batsmen that have let England down. But the future of England is increasingly brown.

Snapper! You're back! We've missed you.

I'm just depressed because the Aussies are going to win

Don't give up yet. On a slow wicket, Sri Lanka might be able to choke the Aussies. We'll get a preview on Monday.

Damn, didnt know Jayasuriya was so small. So are Tendulkar and Gavaskar, and so was Bradman. Shorties seem to have an advantage as batsmen.

South Africa will most likely beat England, and that will put three white anglo teams from the southern hemisphere in the semifinals. And these guys play other sports as well and win tons of olympic gold medals, unlike the 1.3 billion cricket-obsessed subcontinentals who haven't won a single olympic gold in ages.

Rawr, Evil Abhi, rawr.

Cheers Siddhartha!

South Africa will most likely beat England, and that will put three white anglo teams from the southern hemisphere in the semifinals. And these guys play other sports as well and win tons of olympic gold medals, unlike the 1.3 billion cricket-obsessed subcontinentals who haven't won a single olympic gold in ages.

Boo hoo hoo it's so unfair.

Anyway, I remember watching the Commonwealth Games and some female Indian weightlifters won loads of medals. They are a credit to the subcontinentals, very stout thighs, impressive ladies of strength indeed. They could be role models for Indian women everywhere.

Support England to beat South Africa ---- one third of the team is desi.

Go SL GO !!

I've always loved Srilankan cricket just because their attitude is always awesome.. they're all down to earth gentlemen.. i fkin luv srilankans.. india's best neighbour.

cricket is funny. and i don't know the rules.

Wooohoo! Go SL go! Jayasurya --- he rocks our world :) Best put by aussie's mcgrath: ""There is no doubt he is a great player and we'd like to get on top of him early and knock him over. We are just concentrating on this," he said." -- should make for a great game.

i was actually rooting for SL to not make it to the last 4......that way we could have had 4 white teams in the semis........and the attendant bikini-fest.....just need to get the max mileage out of the franklins directv got from me...

between SA and England,I am all for England......not only because of Anna's latest BF or Madhusudan but also because the Safricans appear jaded and I sorta hate Andrew Nel

Support England to beat South Africa ---- one third of the team is desi.

support bangladesh (who already beat RSA and stood a decent chance of beating ENG) to beat WIN & IRE (with high RR's), three thrids of the team is desi!

c.e. koop, you can also have a tie as well as a draw in cricket. A draw is when time merely runs out, whereas a tie occurs when both teams have been bowled out for the same total score. There have been only two tied tests in cricket; Australia v West Indies in Brisbane (1960) and India v Australia (1986). There have, however, been two dozen tied one day internationals (although some have then been decided on least wickets lost).

Also, I'd like to send a shout out to the less represented desi brigade in the World Cup:

It should be noted that, in Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Ramdin, the West Indies have as big a brown contingent as England. They also have a very, very slim chance of going through if England beat SA (and they then beat the English).

Mr Jeetan Patel of New Zealand acts as back up spinner to Daniel Vettori.

Saleem Mukkudem (of the sadly departed Bermuda) was his country's leading wicket taker. He also has an awesome name.

Thank you for allowing me to wallow in that creamy cricket statistical mush.

Evil Abhi: I know you do not care much for "Cricket", but belittling little folks is no cricket. I grew up in India with cricket was "da game". Waaay back it was a Gujarati Prince of Jamnagar called Ranjitsinh who stayed in England during 1889 thru 1904, and smashed all ego of folks in England, who were amazed how a little "INDIAN" can play such great cricket. He was not "tall" in modern day terms. Gujaratis like Vinu Mankad, Jasu Patel, Karsan Ghavri, Salim Durani, Nari Contractor (Parsi), Ajay Jadeja, etc. were great cricketers. It is not the size of the player that matters. Likes of all time great Don Bradman, our own Sunil Gavasker, Sachin Tendulkar, etc. are not tall, yet they can whoop any fast ballers with just a slight twist of the wrist. Cricket first was played in Surry in England back in 1560 (compare that with your baseball. In India first cricket match was played between Gujarati Fishermen and Britishers in 1719. Parsi cricket club was established in Bombay in 1848. As an ABD I can ubderstand you loathe cricket, but as someone said at least a "Billion" people in this world live and breathe cricket. So here's to little Giants !!!

I don't usually watch the Set Max pre-game, but tonight I had nothing else to do, so I did. Apparently it's Mandira Bedi's birthday. They brought out a cake onto the set, sang her happy birthday, and she ended up with frosting all over her face.

She was completely astounded, and I don't think in a good way. She completely froze, expressionless. I thought from her reaction that she felt she's not being taken seriously (if this was the case, I agree with her, and for the first time feel for her instead of thinking she's a total tool).

It's becoming increasingly apparent that she's there for the eye-candy and the frills, and she seems to be getting less and less comfortable with it.

On to cricket: Ireland won the toss and elected to bat, and the ball is bouncing all over the pitch. First over maiden.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BANGLADESH!!!

I love watching Muttiah Muralitharan play. He's ALWAYS got a big smile on his face, even when things are going awfully for Sri Lanka. And did you see his celebration after catching Sourav Ganguly (4 min. mark) in the India match? Priceless.

A Pakistani supporter in the audience is holding up the following sign:

"Bring on the 3 spinners: Razzak, Rafique, and the other guy!"

CLASSIC!

vivek,

not only is he a joy to watch, no less than mark waugh said he's more difficult to face than Warnie

i take back anything i had to say about bangladesh. even if they win, after the sort of fielding they are doing, they are going to be best known for their yo-yo performance.

glad to see i am not the only one who thinks mb is a tool, i always enjoy the look of bewilderment on her face when real cricket is discussed.

her saris are creative though...

"not only is he a joy to watch, no less than mark waugh said he's more difficult to face than Warnie"

i wonder if this is part of some sort of reverse psychology campaign ahead of the australia-lanka clash tomorrow. now we also have justin langer, of all people, writing a newspaper column in which he says he was uncomfortable with the excesses to which australian sledging were carried! at least the lankans can give as good as they get in the sledging dept (esp. sangakkara).

I hope any team other than Australia wins this for the sake of Cricket. I mean how many times can we see Aussies destroy other teams. Sri Lanka have a real good chance of toppling them. SA cant seem to get away from the tag of chokers and this WC is no different.
Go Surya!!!

muralimannered,

that goes without saying!

sri lanka is going to own australia tonight, bitches!

Evil Abhi: I know you do not care much for "Cricket", but belittling little folks is no cricket.

Methinks evil Abhi would rather watch the little hobbit Aamir Khan play a cricketer in a bollywood flick than watch the little hobbitses Jayasuriya or Tendulkar play actual cricket.

I thought it was revealing how most of the posters here were rooting for England in its match against Sri Lanka. Sepia "mutineers" indeed...

With the humiliating loss to bottom-ranked Ireland, Bangladesh has squandered the bragging rights it earned with its victory against top-ranked South Africa.

Australia vs Sri Lanka should be very interesting.

what is the term for a 5 day cricket match in which there is no clear winner? (and don't tell me "stultification").

The name for a 5 day cricket match is called a "Test" match, because it is the ultimate "test" of strength (in cricket parlance). If there is no clear winner, then the Test match is a draw.

Anyway, Hopefully SL win tonight, but I really hope its a thrilling contest.

The name for a 5 day cricket match is called a "Test" match, because it is the ultimate "test" of strength (in cricket parlance). If there is no clear winner, then the Test match is a draw.

How were these things (5 day matches!) funded in the era before big business got involved? And even nowadays, are non-desi cricketers very famous in their respective countries? Would the best England players be household names in England? Do they get huge endorsements, as the Indian guys get in India?

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can comment - I heard that at some point in the past (long before one-dayers) the 5-day limit was actually introduced to SHORTEN the game. Before that, both teams just played till everyone was out twice!!

Tangent - the day after an India - West Indies tied one-day match (just 126 runs each side), the Hindu article in the sports page started with "Although the mathematical probability of getting a tie is one-third, in practice it's extremely rare...." Ha! Win/loss/tie right? One-in-three. Beautiful! Blame math now.

I heard that at some point in the past (long before one-dayers) the 5-day limit was actually introduced to SHORTEN the game. Before that, both teams just played till everyone was out twice!!

From the wikipedia entry on 'timeless' test matches (link):

Although the format guarantees a result, it was ultimately abandoned as it was impossible to predict with any certainty when a match would be finished, making scheduling and commercial aspects difficult...The last ever timeless Test was the 5th Test between England and South Africa at Durban in 1939, which was abandoned as a draw after 9 days of play spread over 11 days because otherwise the England team would have missed the boat for home.

With the humiliating loss to bottom-ranked Ireland, Bangladesh has squandered the bragging rights it earned with its victory against top-ranked South Africa.

Nevertheless, they still have some bragging rights for getting into the super 8s.

How were these things (5 day matches!) funded in the era before big business got involved? And even nowadays, are non-desi cricketers very famous in their respective countries? Would the best England players be household names in England? Do they get huge endorsements, as the Indian guys get in India?

Before the big business got involved, Test matches were mainly privately funded. From what I remember when the Ashes trophy came to Adelaide (South Australia), was that in the days of old, matches were funded by rich Lords and Dukes of England. It was more of a "joy ride", with matches being a sidebar.

AFAIK, atleast here in Australia, non-desi cricketers are very famous. Ofcourse that is what you get if the team is the current World Champion in both forms of the game. And from what I read in 2005, the Ashes victory turned guys like Flintoff, Pietersen, Simon Jones into household names as well. Compared to cricketers in India, they do lead a relatively private life. For example, Ricky Ponting, could walk down the streets of Tasmania without being hassled too much.

AFAIK, atleast here in Australia, non-desi cricketers are very famous.

Same goes for New Zealand, cricket is commonly referred to as "the summer game" our winter game, rugby is virtually a national religion and the Black Caps (cricket) certainly aren't worshipped like the All Blacks (rugby).

NZ cricketer also have individual endorsements etc. Stephen Fleming, for example, endorses ... er ... air conditioners and heat pumps; Martin Crowe - hair implants.

Speaking of the financial affairs of cricket, it might be apt to mention that (for much of its history) the first-class county system was populated by amateur and professional players. However, the labels used were "gentlemen" for the amateurs and "players" for the professionals (both terms that were heavily laden with class significance; some of the hypocrisies of this system are best highlighted by the celebrated "gentleman" Dr WG Grace, who championed the Corinthian spirit and playing without reward whilst collecting massive appearance fees himself).
However, county cricket in England and Wales is now largely populated by professional cricketers. Some of these are well-known to the British public; for a while in the early 80s, Ian Botham was the most recognised sportsman in the UK. However, once you go beyond that top tier (the realm occupied by Freddie Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen and Monty Panesar), name recognition, financial reward and ground attendence levels cannot match the popularity of soccer.
There is, however, a strong participatory aspect to cricket in the UK. Most counties have a large membership and, below the first-class system, you get many people involved in semi-professional and amateur clubs. Cricket also has a strong literary history around it (perhaps equivalent to baseball in the US) with writers such as Neville Cardus and CLR James having written seminal works about the sport. This has helped, perhaps, to create a very defined cognoscenti around cricket; basically, it attracts highly-devoted nerds.

CLR James having written seminal works about the sport.

Wow! I was aware of his other interests but oblivious to the cricket connection. Thanks Taj.

Same goes for New Zealand, cricket is commonly referred to as "the summer game" our winter game, rugby is virtually a national religion and the Black Caps (cricket) certainly aren't worshipped like the All Blacks (rugby).

NZ cricketer also have individual endorsements etc. Stephen Fleming, for example, endorses ... er ... air conditioners and heat pumps; Martin Crowe - hair implants.

Ditto for Australia. Here, AFL (Australian Football League) is the winter game, and the summer game is cricket. However, things have been changing, with the presence of cricket spreading to the winter season as well. Last year's tour of South Africa, and the Ashes tour being cases in point.

Coming to individual endorsements Ricky Ponting endorses Kookaburra, Gilly endorses Puma. Non-sporting endorsements include, but aren't limited to Warnie endorsing Hair Removal/Regrowth, Steve Waugh endorsing Health Insurance

wiki on CLR James:

CLR James is most widely known as a writer on cricket, especially for his autobiographical 1963 book, Beyond a Boundary. This is considered a seminal work of cricket writing, and is often named as the best single book on cricket (or even the best book on any sport) ever written.

The book's key question, which is frequently quoted by modern journalists and essayists, is inspired by Rudyard Kipling and asks: What do they know of cricket who only cricket know? James uses this challenge as the basis for describing cricket in an historical and social context, the strong influence cricket had on his life, and how it meshed with his role in politics and his understanding of issues of class and race. The literary quality of the writing attracts cricketers of all political views.

Has anybody read Beyond a Boundary?

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat and they're underway... No Murali and no Vaas!

No Murali and no Vaas

I can't believe some of you guys didnt know about CLR James and his writings on cricket. He is the gold standard of cricket writing.

hmm. interesting ploy by sri lanka, "resting" vaas and murali, against australia no less. great partnership between silva and jayawardene - oops, partnership over.

i've been reading reports re the death of bob woolmer recently, and am astounded at the number of cricketers who've received lifetime bans for "tanking" (accepting bribes) since 2000.
as mentioned previously i know next to nothing about the game* but - if the articles i've been reading are correct - it sounds more of a crisis than mere scandal.

is it overblown - why no discussion here?

(*the exception being vague awareness of ian botham due to product endorsements in london, c. 1984 - 88)

Before the big business got involved, Test matches were mainly privately funded. From what I remember when the Ashes trophy came to Adelaide (South Australia), was that in the days of old, matches were funded by rich Lords and Dukes of England. It was more of a "joy ride", with matches being a sidebar.

I think there is evidence that before it became a gentleman's game, cricket matches in England were funded by gambling and betting rackets. This is really way back, during the 17th and 18th century.
One might say that cricket is returning to its roots ;) .

I think match-fixing had been dragged into the light a little following the banning of significant players such as Azharuddin, Malik and Cronje. The Woolmer affair (even if it's about something else entirely) has brought it back to the forefront of people's attention. However, most authorities reckon that it is nearly impossible to police given the explosion of internet gambling and the "underground" nature of most betting on the sub-continent.
You could argue that the relatively smaller wage-packets of cricketers compared to other sports stars make them more vulnerable to the temptations of match-fixing; it's hard to imagine David Beckham playing poorly just for the sake of a few thousand pounds. Others would disagree, and argue that greater financial reward in the game has resulted in greater great; a point that has some validity if you consider the avaricious way the ICC has run the World Cup (but it also falls down when you realise that betting scandals have existed in cricket since the 19th century).
What makes cricket so interesting - the wealth of statistical data it involves - also makes it highly attractive to gambling; there are so many aspects of the game that you can bet on.

legalized gambling may be a cultural/political non-starter in pakistan, and certainly the gangsters who run illicit betting would not give up the franchise easily, but the lack of open betting parlors seems to me the nut of the problem...

Ok! The Sri Lanka-New Zealand semifinal is underway and Sri Lanka are off to a flying start. According to one of the Set Max commentators, however, New Zealand's James Anderson "is a bowler who can swing his balls, if the conditions are right..."

Turn on your sets, folks, this should be interesting!

oops! James Franklin. And as soon as I hit "Post" Franklin rattled Jayasuriya's stumps. Damnit.

jayasuria gone. i hope sri lanka doesn't fold under pressure. this is nerve wracking!

Great batting by Sri Lanka (especially Jayawardene - 115 runs from 109 balls for his first World Cup century, YOWZA!); now we get to see Malinga for the first time in a few matches. Come on Malinga, shake off that rust and shake loose that ankle!

GOOOOOOOOOOO SRI LANKA!!!

*whimper* go kiwi *sob*

Creditable performance by the Lone Brown Hope. Jawardene tore it up the last ten overs. On to Malinga, Murali and Co.

OMG Malinga picked up Fleming already! Jeez Malinga, give a guy a chance to shower!

Malinga's got EVERYONE in a tizzy - even poor Sangakkara doesn't know what's going on... watch out, New Zealand!

Malinga the Slinga! What a delivery. Boy whips that shit!

Whoa, Taylor actually got bat to ball without an edge on Malinga's last delivery!

To be fair, Vaas is looking great from his end too, but it's easy to be overshadowed by is-there-a-hole-in-my-bat Malinga...

looks like some hope for you, Sonal, now that Malinga's out and Fernando's gotten himself into all kinds of trouble in his first over...

hmm, the umpires seem to be equal opportunity in their bad decisions - two awful lbw calls against Sri Lanka and a questionable one there against Taylor...

115-6

!!!

YOWZA! I'm glad I stayed up for a few more overs... what a turn! Do you think Murali took that first catch? I couldn't tell at all from the replay, but if he did, what a fantastic way to get his 50th World Cup wicket!

g'night

Yay. I hope Oz wins the other semi.
This, you realise is just a lame swing at jinxing them.

sri lanka steamroll new zealand and are into the world cup final! on current form, it should be a re-run of the 96 final (with hopefully sri lanka coming out on top). but south africa may yet pull off a surprise.

Brilliant news! Well done Sri Lanka --- I want Malinga to blow the Aussies away (because let's face it, they will get there)

I say Sri Lanka beats South Africa in the final.