Just when my blog has the most potential for viewers I disappear completely. I haven't been posting much lately and I'm about to turn that around. February was a hard month. I never managed to get my head around writing as I was too busy looking for a job. Sadly writing should be my job but I can't seem to make much money at it. Today I'm going to write one more cricket post and then follow it up with some proper travel articles.
If I'm talking about cricket there is only one event in the world drawing the attention of every fan and that is the Cricket World Cup. Already under way for over a week the tournament is my first full event as a fan of the sport. The tournament is taking place in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which is making it very hard to follow. Huge time zone difference means matches happen during sleeping hours. It's not a big problem since most of the matches aren't over by the time I wake up so the second innings is usually still happening. I get to watch the chase each morning which tends to be the exciting part of the matches anyway.
I was spurred to write this article by a huge upset that happened just today, Ireland beat England. Ireland is not a test playing nation and should not be on the same level as England. Yet today they managed to come from 5/120ish at 25 overs to end up 7/329 and complete a huge upset. Kevin O'Brien hit a century that set this win in motion. I was following on Test Match Sofa and Cricinfo and decided to call it quits halfway through the Irish batting. I'm a fool. From what I saw it didn't seem like Ireland was going to overcome the huge score set up by England. Then I guess O'Brien stepped up and went crazy with the runs and England completely bombed in the fielding. I'm sure I wasn't the only one surprised by this result.
Events like this are apparently not going to occur in the near future because the Cricket World Cup is shrinking. After the next cup it will only be test playing nations allowed in the tournament. It's a shame because when these sorts of upsets happen it is exciting and creates an atmosphere that anything can happen. To me this is exciting but I can understand how the organizers wouldn't care. The minnows don't bring the money like the big teams. In 2007 it seems that India and Pakistan, two of the larger audiences, were ousted from the tournament early by lesser teams. Two former championship nations providing a potential viewing audience in the billions disappearing in the opening stages mean a drop in ad revenue and viewership. I'm certain that Ireland doesn't have quite the passion for cricket that India holds. So it makes sense to protect these stronger teams for monetary and viewership purposes, especially when cricket is at war with itself over the various forms. That's an entirely different issue though, and one I don't quite understand yet.
Despite the future all I can comment on is the present, and I must say I'm enjoying the Cricket World Cup. I think I had more fun following The Ashes thanks to it being in a more convenient time zone. I am getting behind the events of the World Cup though. There are so many teams and so many match-ups that I'm getting a crash course in the world of cricket. I get a small taste of each of the major teams, from West Indies to India. The schedule is a busy one with at least one match ever day from the likes of Canada vs Kenya to England vs India. I can't say that every match is a thriller but there are quite a few exciting games. All of the strongest teams are there and it's my first time seeing many of them, only being a fan for a few months now. I have first hand experience with the Australian and English teams. As for the rest I hadn't seen anything out of them and this tournament is great exposure to the sport.
Imagine yourself, a cricket fan, if you got to see everything for the first time with no prior knowledge. What if your first time seeing Sachin Tendulkar play was him batting a century against England? If the first game you saw Ireland play was a huge victory over England would you feel like they were minnows? Just imagine viewing cricket through the eyes of a complete neophyte.
I'm watching a stream most mornings and listening to the crazy TestMatchSofa commentary and learning a lot. I still have a long way to go. I've had dozens of people tell me it would take a decade to truly appreciate cricket. I owe it to the world to become a fan and learn the game. How many people can be taught the nuances of the game by Steve Waugh while watching The Ashes at the SCG? Not many. I'm reading articles on Cricinfo and match reports on BBC Cricket. I'm doing everything I can to understand everything I'm seeing. Extras, fours, sixes, wickets, powerplays, ODIs, and centuries are a few of the terms that I've picked up. The World Cup is providing a great learning experience since there are such a variety of different teams playing at a wide range of grounds. It's primarily a learning experience, but I will admit the sport has me hooked.
I've witnessed test cricket with The Ashes, watched T20 with the Caribbean and Big Bash and now covered ODIs with the World Cup. What form is my favorite? I'm not sure, though I'm partial to test because that was my first experience. Not the answer you'd expect from an American I would think. After the Cricket World Cup I'll summarize my thoughts and write an analysis. All that can be said right now is that I really, really like cricket.
