**Official Cricket World Cup Thread**

[aditya]

I know a lot of Europeans here so I figured I'd start this thread. Australia is showing a piss poor performance right now, losing to ENGLAND (!!!) horribly and to NZ today. But I'm sure they'll get back at it in the world cup.

I really like South Africa this year as they have sooooo much talent and their batting order is ridiculously good. India is also good, but their bowling lineup might eventually lead to their demise. NZ looks strong as well, especially behind Bond's bowling.

Discuss.

[midwestkc]

Could someone give me the "for dummies" version of how this game works? I see it on Sky Sports through FSC every once in a while, but I really have no clue what this game is about. Anyone care to share?

[jstnrgrs]

Is the cricket world cup one day cricket?

[aditya]

[ QUOTE ]
Is the cricket world cup one day cricket?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, obv. Otherwise it would extend for a long time. It's a really fun sport. As for the short version, I'll give it later, gotta run.

[CopTHIS]

I still pick Oz if they get their top players back. I'm also hoping they give Tait a run - that guy is faster than anyone else at the moment and can be devastating.

Loads of teams have a decent chance, even the WI. SA may be no 1 in the ratings but have plenty of bad experiences against the Aussies. I hope India do well, their batting line-up can be awesome.

[THEOSU]

i'm not gonna lie. i have no idea what the hell is going on in cricket. i've tried to see clips of it on youtube and the like, i've tried reading the guardian's over by over coverage, i've even tried reading the rules on wiki. i have no f idea what is going on. none.

all i know is that england is apparently pretty bad.

[MediaPA]

Quick Dummy Version - One Day international.

The playing field in an oval. There are two wickets (The three poles with bales on top) in the middle of the oval spread out by some distance (let's say 20 m - I really don't know this). There is a boundry (rope) around the perimeter of the field that a ball can roll over.

Each team consists of 11 players. One team bats, while the other team fields. An innings in ODI matches consists of 50 overs (300 legitimate bowls/pitches - 6/over) or 10 wickets/outs. Whichever happens first. There are a few ways to get out - hit ball caught in the air by a fielder, your wicket gets knocked down by the pitch (also it you block a ball with your pads that would have hit the wicket - leg before wicket), or your wicket gets knocked down while your are trying to score a run or out of the crease - run out.

East End Wicket --------- West End Wicket.

The first over will be bowled by one player from the East End. Then by a different player from West End, then from the East, etc. The maximum overs a single player can bowl in a ODI is 10 overs.

For the batting team, two players start. This is the opening partnership. Every combination of two batters is called a partnership. When one batter gets out a new partnership is formed until 50 overs or the 10th wicket is taken - no more batters left on batting team. There is no pinch hitting, etc. After one team bats their 50 overs/10 wickets, it's the other team's turn to try and beat their score.

Runs are scored by hitting the ball and the batters exchanging ends. So if the batter is at the east end and hits the ball, he and his partner can choose to exchange ends if they think they can make it. Each exchange of ends is worth a run. If a player hits the ball over the boundry on the ground, it is worth 4 runs. If it goes over on the fly, it's worth 6 runs.

There are some fielding restrictions at the start of a ODI, but I'm not really well versed in those. There are also no balls and wides, I forget exactly what these mean to scoring. They don't count towards the six pitches/over.

Anyway, that's probably all confusing, but I tried.

Edited thanks to sixfour and my disregard for details.

[CopTHIS]

[ QUOTE ]
i'm not gonna lie. i have no idea what the hell is going on in cricket. i've tried to see clips of it on youtube and the like, i've tried reading the guardian's over by over coverage, i've even tried reading the rules on wiki. i have no f idea what is going on. none.

all i know is that england is apparently pretty bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

It takes some getting used to. One thing I can say is that if a 7 hour day is recorded then you can watch it in 1-2 hours without missing anything by using fast forward between balls. Doesn't make it sound very intersting I know but it can be!

[MediaPA]

The thing that I liked about cricket when I lived in South Africa was that if I could sit and watch a day's worth of play in real time, my stress levels were generally at an all time low.

The chase batting is generally more interesting than the opening batting since there is a target that must be achieved to win.

[sixfour]

[ QUOTE ]
If a player hits the ball over the boundry on the ground, it is worth 4 runs. If it goes over on the fly, it's worth 6 runs.

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP