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Are there any other Cricket Fans here?


Terpsichore

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I hate to admit it, but I've never been a fan of sports where one side just clocks up a score and then the other side does the same afterwards.  I prefer the ones where it can chop and change all the time (and does - I'm no great fan of football, either, because it usually doesn't)

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At the beginning of this season several of us lamented the untimely death of Richie Benaud.

 

Now as the season comes to an end we have lost another of my cricketing heroes - the great Yorkshireman Brian Close

 

Close played his first test match at age 18 the year I was born and his last first class match at age 55 in 1986.

 

A very sad day indeed for sport and also for Yorkshire. 

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I played a couple of rounds of golf with Brian Close, along with Johnny Wardle, another fine Yorkshire cricketer. Brian was at times a bit grumpy, but  it was his will to win, and if he wasn't winning that's when it would show. It is sad of course, but 84 is a grand age, so maybe we should celebrate his life.

Edited by Vonrothbart
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Great that the Olympics are under way and even better that out swimmers have won some medals but for me and I suspect many other cricket fans there is nothing quite like a test match - particularly when we have just won it. So well done our chaps for yesterday's famous victory over the Pakistanis http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/37003208

 

However, a thought occurred to me. As tennis and golf have recently become Olympic sports why not cricket?   According to Wikipedia cricket was once included in the Olympics the last match being played in Vincennes in Aug 1900 .According to the Sydney Morning Herald the restoration of our noble sport to Olympic competition was canvassed for Rio (and the Italians have promised that they will include it in 2024 if Rome wins the opportunity to host the games (http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/story/1031283.html).

 

That would be appropriate for I was told by my Latin master at prep school (who also taught games) that Julius Caesar brought cricitus to our shores. I understand that there is irrefutable archaeological proof at Caerleon near Newport for one of the tiles in the bath bears the imprint of the impact of a hard ball on one of the tiles.   The tegula was recycled for use in the garrison baths as nobody wanted a defective tile in their patios and you can still see it if you visit the baths which I strongly recommend.

 

Vale

Edited by terpsichore
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  • 1 year later...

My ears pricked up when I heard the sports news on the Today programme just now about a joint venture between MCC and the Royal Academy of Dance to encourage more children of both genders to take up cricket and ballet. There was an interview with Alexander Campbell who has agreed to act as "ambassador" for the project. I Googled the search terms "RAD", "MCC", "cricket" and "ballet" and discovered this page on the RAD website.

As I have said several times on this thread, cricket and ballet are two lifelong passions and I developed a love of both at about the same time. To me, they are very similar and although there are not many persons who claim to be aficionados of both the followers of each activity have much in common. It does not surprise me in the least that Alexander Campbell was an outstanding cricketer (see Alexander Campbell interview: 'Giving up cricket was a sacrifice' The Daily Telegraph) as was Xander Parish. Happy a family like the Husseins where Nasser captained his country on the field and Benazir danced at Covent Garden.

There are of course links between ballet and other sports. One of my favourite young dancers with the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company who is now in Houston told me that she learned that she had been accepted for La Scala ballet school when she was about to plunge into the baths to compete in the Italian ladies' swimming championship. My companion at a lot of performances and a collaborator in Terpsichore represented England in volleyball at youth level while also studying several styles of Indian classical dance, contemporary dance and ballet.  However, I think the parallels between ballet and cricket are particularly close and I am sure that the children who participate in the MCC-RAD programme will be rewarded with a lifetime of pleasure in the two activities.

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On 18/10/2017 at 01:03, Nicola H said:

i'm surprised you hadn't picked up on #project B before , it;s been around  for a good few months now  and  fairly heavily promotded on  social media  both  by it;s official  ambassadors and by  others including myself and @sophie_rebecca

 

I must have filtered it out as I tend to do with all sorts of information that I don't actually need for the moment. It is hard enough to fit in the occasional class or performance nowadays.

"Not to mention on here." Alison said

 

Not been here much lately, Alison.   Hard enough to keep up with my own blog.  Will try to catch up around Christmas time as I have the Dutch National Ballet's The Sleeping Beauty in Amsterdam on 17 Dec,  the Paris Opera Ballet's Don Quixote at the Bastille on Christmas day and our own Royal Ballet's The Nutcracker on New Year's day to look forward to.

 

Good news about our women's cricket team (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2017/nov/21/australia-v-england-australia-v-england-womens-ashes-third-t20-live) and looking forward to the  winter tour of Australia ( https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/nov/21/england-memories-2015-joe-root-australia-ashes-history)

 

If I don't make it back for a few weeks, Merry Christmas and happy New Year everybody.

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I am delighted to see that Ireland has become a first class cricketing nation.   Although its batsmen have struggled at the crease today, the fact that they are playing Pakistan at all in an official test is a considerable achievement.   

It is encouraging that Cricket Ireland represents Northern Ireland as well as the Irish Republic.   Several of Ireland's matches this year will be played in Northern Ireland.  I understand that is also the case with rugby football though not association football.   Any all Ireland institution must be a good thing if a soft border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland cannot be agreed.   

 

I see no reason why Scotland should not follow Ireland soon. Over the years many Scots have played at the highest level in England and other countries.   Cricket was played to a high standard at St Andrews when I was there.

As for Wales Glamorgan already plays first class county cricket.  

Looking to the Continent, several of Ireland's fixtures are against the Netherlands which is yet another emerging cricketing nation.  Its great rival on the Continent is Denmark.  

 

And of course the national ballet companies of both those countries are highly regarded.   That may be a coincidence but I have always seen parallels between my two passions.

 

Edited by Terpsichore
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Although the match was won by Pakistan Ireland seems to have played very gallantly (see Ireland v Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq prevents an Irish win on Test debut on the BBC website).  After being forced to follow on the Irish added 339 runs to their score in their second innings largely thanks to O'Brien who scored a century before he was caught by Sohail.  Ireland's bowlers also did well dismissing Shafiq for 1, Azhar for 2, Sohail for 7 and Safraz for 8.  It was only some solid batting from Imam and Babar that saved the match for Pakistan.
 

By all accounts it seems to have been an entertaining and hard fought match for which both sides deserve congratulations.

One day Ireland may face England in a test for which I think our players will need all their resources of skill, experience and determination.

Edited by Terpsichore
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  • 2 months later...
14 hours ago, Vonrothbart said:

I played for a few years at a reasonable standard, but I find it hard work watching it.

 

which forms of the game do you find hard work to  watch ? 

i'm suprised  we haven't sold 20twenty to the US Americans  given a T20 match  lasts aobut as long a   a baseball game or  gridiron  ( with all the stops for  swapping players over , wandering back o the the other end of the field and so on - 80 inutes of play packed into 4  and a half hours  ) 

 

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I just find it a little boring watching, instead of being out there. It's not only cricket, I played RL too at a good standard, but find most games a little boring too, it might be the smell and atmosphere of the dressing rooms I miss, in fact it definitely is.

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I watched a little bit of the test match v India, and it was unreal the advantage India got with the weather. It was almost full cloud when England batted, and then shortly after India went in, it cleared to full sun. The weather men say it will be cloudy tomorrow, so it looks odds on it will be 2-1. It was interesting to see Cook take a great catch in India's first innings, then drop a sitter in their second, I suppose that's sport for you. I don't know how they gave Root out, it looked as though the ball had hit the ground to me, and most other people seemed to agree.

Edited by Vonrothbart
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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/09/2018 at 13:48, JohnS said:

 

 

And still in!

 

A great end to a great career.

Congratulations also to Root on his innings in the 5th test.

This has been a vintage season for all sorts of reasons not the least of which has been the success of Surrey.   As my father came from Southport in Lancashire and my mother from Bramhope near Leeds I am always conflicted in a roses contest.  A conflict that is perpetuated by being born in Manchester and living in Yorkshire.  So I support Surrey in the county championship.   That is after all the county in which I learned to love and play the game and it has won the county championship no less than 19 times, second only to Yorkshire.

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Well Done Ireland!

Although I have to support the land of my birth and heritage I am delighted that Ireland has been admitted to the top table of test playing nations and that it appeared to have command of the match several times.

I am sure cricket will grow from strength to strength in the Emerald Isle and I shall cheer for Ireland against anyone but Englnd.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/26/england-beat-ireland-lords-test-match-cricket 

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5 hours ago, Terpsichore said:

Well Done Ireland!

Although I have to support the land of my birth and heritage I am delighted that Ireland has been admitted to the top table of test playing nations and that it appeared to have command of the match several times.

I am sure cricket will grow from strength to strength in the Emerald Isle and I shall cheer for Ireland against anyone but Englnd.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jul/26/england-beat-ireland-lords-test-match-cricket 

 

Well I'm not sure Ireland did well in their second innings... (nor England in their first!). What a bizarre match. I can't quite see how it's possible to only score 38 - that's impressively terrible. But I'm English by birth and Irish (and South African) by heritage, so I also hope Ireland has great success (though preferably not against England).

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