So Amanda and I went to see some Cricket... no not little bugs similar to grasshoppers that would scare anyone if they jumped on you while sleeping in a tent... Cricket the sport. We went to Day 1 of the First Test in the 2014 Ashes Series to be exact.
I have selected this expert from In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson to help explain the game to those who know nothing about it...
"After years of patient study (and with cricket there can be no
other kind) I have decided that there is nothing wrong with the game
that the introduction of golf carts wouldn't fix in a hurry. It is not
true that the English invented cricket as a way of making all other
human endeavors look interesting and lively; that was merely an
unintended side effect. I don't wish to denigrate a sport that is
enjoyed by millions, some of them awake and facing the right way, but it
is an odd game. It is the only sport that incorporates meal breaks. It
is the only sport that shares its name with an insect. It is the only
sport in which spectators burn as many calories as players -- more if
they are moderately restless. It is the only competitive activity of any
type, other than perhaps baking, in which you can dress in white from
head to toe and be as clean at the end of the day as you were at the
beginning.
Imagine a form of baseball in which the pitcher, after each delivery,
collects the ball from the catcher and walks slowly with it to center
field; and that there, after a minute's pause to collect himself, he
turns and runs full tilt toward the pitcher's mound before hurling the
ball at the ankles of a man who stands before him wearing a riding hat,
heavy gloves of the sort used to handle radio-active isotopes, and a
mattress strapped to each leg. Imagine moreover that if this batsman
fails to hit the ball in a way that heartens him sufficiently to try to
waddle forty feet with mattress's strapped to his legs, he is under no
formal compunction to run; he may stand there all day, and, as a rule,
does. If by some miracle he is coaxed into making a miss-stroke that
leads to his being put out, all the fielders throw up their arms in
triumph and have a hug. Then tea is called and every one retires happily
to a distant pavilion to fortify for the next siege. Now imagine all
this going on for so long that by the time the match concludes autumn
has crept in and all your library books are overdue. There you have
cricket."
 |
| Photo I got of David Warner; notice the "riding hat,
heavy gloves of the sort used to handle radio-active isotopes, and a
mattress strapped to each leg" |
Okay, at this point you probably have an image in your head of what Cricket is,
now what does Day 1 of the First Test in the 2014 Ashes Series mean? A Test Match is the 5-day form of the game, yes... the game goes for 5 days, and we attended the first day. With me so far? Great! So what is the Ashes Series? Short answer, it is an annual 5-match series between England vs. Australia; I'll turn to Wikipedia to explain "The Ashes"...
The term originated in a
satirical obituary published in a British newspaper,
The Sporting Times, immediately after Australia's
1882 victory at
The Oval, their first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and
the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.
[1] The mythical ashes immediately became associated with the
1882–83 series played in Australia, before which the English captain
Ivo Bligh had vowed to "regain those ashes". The English media therefore dubbed the tour
the quest to regain the Ashes.
It was a good day, Amanda survived all the way to the end... fun all around. Enjoy some of my shots from the day...
 |
| First Ball (Anderson to Rogers): Australia won the coin toss and decided to bat. |
|
 |
| Stuart Broad 'Superman' follow through after a delivery to David Warner (or Chris Rogers) |
 |
| England thinking there was a close call to dismiss the Australian Batsman |
 |
| Australian captain, Michael Clarke, batting... good thing I got this shot as he was out soon after |
|
 |
| Ball going through the legs of the man at back pad. | |
|
|
 |
| Australia Batting |
|
 |
| Chris Tremlett bowling, that can't be good for your arm. |
 |
| Michael Carberry: we were listening to the radio broadcast and the announcers kept calling him Wesley Snipes, they were wondering how you turned a washed up actor into a test cricketer. | |
 |
| Panorama of the Gabba (I need to tweak it a bit, but still cool). |
-Alan
