Review of "And God Created Cricket"

In this blog, we are reviewing the book “And God Created Cricket” by Simon Hughes

Simon Hughes guides the readers through all the great tales of the Cricket game, from its earliest origins in the sixteenth century, through the formation of the MCC and the opening of Lord's cricket ground in 1787, to the spread of county cricket in the next century, when the Wisden Cricketers' "Almanack" was first published and the Ashes series was born to the present day.

 Throughout its 500-year history, cricket has been a mirror for society as a whole, reflecting the changes that have brought the people from the quintessential village green to Freddie Flintoff's pedalo, from W G Grace to Monty Panesar, via a fair number of eccentrics, heroes and downright villains. The outline of his story is how the English had invented the game and how other countries have learned the game swiftly and have become better at this game, even to the level of beating England.  It is the story of the mad characters who inhabit the game, the extraordinary lengths people will go to watch and play it, the tale of a national obsession. It debunks the myth of cricket sportsmanship, showing the origins of sledging and match-fixing in centuries of subterfuge, corruption and violence.

The culture and history of the game are amusingly brought out in an enormously jolly book. Overall the book provides plenty of fun, good stories, research from the analyst and history of cricket for the readers.

The Cricket Fun Roundup

§  5 Key Element of Cricket.

“Keeping it simple. Talking only about the main aspects of the game.”

§  6 Tips to become an Aggressive Batsman

“Oh come on! Who doesn’t like Aggressive Batsmen ?? They make cricket fun and provide the fans the entertainment needed for the time and money spent.”

§  Pace or Spin, Which is better?

“Can you pitch it hard and quick – You may belong in the Brett Lee, Shohib Akthar, Zakeer Khan’s team.  Do you put a spin on everything you throw: Car keys, crushed paper.  You may belong in Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralitharan’s team.”

§  Recommended products to get started with cricket

“Have a group of friends? What do you need to have a great time in your backyard?”

§  Take a look at another great cricket blog

“Cricinfo provides the most comprehensive live cricket available as well as unparalleled statistics, quality editorial comment and analysis.”

§  Cricket for Dummies

“Everything you need to know about the sport of Cricket.”

§  The A-Z of Cricket

“Information on cricket’s history and complexities in an entertaining and informative way.”

§  Cricket Explained

“From the game’s fundamentals- basic rules, terminology, equipment - to the finer points of strategy individual playing styles, and cricket lore.”

Pace or Spin, Which is better?

Bowling has since being the most skillful and difficult of cricket skills to acquire. It is a technique by which a person (bowler) runs up to the wickets and throws the ball to the batsman, with a full arm, trying to hit the wicket to get the batsman out. 

There are two distinct styles of bowling: fast and spin. Individual bowlers generally specialize in one style or the other. Occasionally a player may be adept enough at both styles to be able to switch between them, but this is rare. To learn various bowling styles, click here.http://www.dangermouse.net/cricket/bowling.html

How you hold the ball is important for bowling. Each type of bowling delivery requires a different style of grip on the ball. Various techniques for holding the ball is well explained in this article. http://www.liveindia.com/cricket/Bowling.html

If pace bowling is your style, check out what tips that Ian Pont offers to improve your skill by discovering what movement and feelings work best for you. http://www.pitchvision.com/fast-bowling-tips-with-ian-pont/

“Googly, Leg-spin, Flipper, Top-spin, Off-break, Left-arm” Are you wondering what are all these terms? These are the different types of spin bowling.  Visit the spin bowling page to find out more on these.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/static/in_depth/cricket/2001/spin_bowling/default.stm

The main aim of fast bowling is to bowl the hard cricket ball at high speed and to induce it to bounce off the pitch in an erratic fashion or move sideways through the air, factors which make it difficult for the batsman to hit the ball cleanly. A typical fast delivery has a speed in the range of 136 to 150 km/h (85 to 95 mph). Mavericks Cricket Institute offers you tips on how to bowl faster and straighter. http://www.maverickscricket.com/fast-bowling-tips.html

5 key elements of cricket.

Cricket is played between two teams with only 11 players a side.First team, Team A, will bat first and try to score many runs as  possible. While the second team, Team B, will bowl and make it hard for Team A to score runs. Teams bowl in overs. When Team A's innings is over, Team B will come to bat and try to beat the score of Team A, while Team A is bowling and fielding.

Let us look at the main aspects of playing the game.

1. Batting - The aim of batting is to score runs.The batter also has to stop the ball hitting the wickets, in order to avoid getting himself out.
2. Bowling - Bowlers bowl the ball towards the batter, trying to hit the wickets inorder to get the batter out.The bolwer is also trying it make it difficult for the batter to score runs.
3. Fielding - Fielding is the job of the bowlers teammates. Fielders try to stop the ball as quickly as possible when the ball is hit and prevent the batsman from taking runs by throwing the ball back to the bowler or the wicket-keeper.
4. Catching - Fielders also get the batsman by catching a ball. When the batsman hits the ball and if the fielder catches it before the ball hits the ground, the batsman is out.
5. Wicket-Keeping. - Wicket-Keeper is the specialist fielder who stands behind the wickets. He is there to stop the ball which the batsman misses. He also can get the batsman out by catching the ball.

Here is a cool 4 minute video explaining the game....

Recommended Products to get started with Cricket

International Cricket 2010 (Ps3) 

 For a cricket fans who want to have some cricket fun at home with PS3, this game is a huge relief. The graphics used is very decent. Stadiums and player avatars look nice. Great Job in audio commentary. You  get to hear commentary in several former players voices. Game Play - Easy Mode is really easy to play without any difficulties. The difficulty gradually increase with every higher mode. In the hard mode, batting and bowling gets little challenging. Overall, the game is great. Have some fun with your friends.

                                       Ozefox Runmaker Cricket Bat Set

The Ozefox Runmaker cricket bat set is an inexpensive cricket set for boys & girls. Use it to play cricket in the backyard or in the local park. It comes with 3 batting stumps & bails to make a wicket for the batting end , a single bowling stump, the bat & hard tennis ball. Sets up quickly & easily can be used for 2 players or as many as 20 people in the one game. Fun for the whole family. Great starter set for most ages.

 

Hot Shot Cricket Set

Hot Shot Cricket is a fun safe way for boys & girls to play a modified version of Cricket, regarded by many as the worlds 2nd most popular sport. Both safe and fun This cricket set is suitable for the whole family. Hot Shot Cricket was originally designed for schools and other organizations like boy & girls scouts, church youth groups etc, to use when learning and playing the great game of cricket. This Hot Shot Cricket set is very durable it's the set most school PE departments choose when looking for cricket equipment.

Take a look at another great cricket blog…

From time to time I will be analyzing and posting about good blog sites out there in the web that provides great information about Cricket.

Here is a good one…http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/

Some highlights of espncricinfo blog:

The blog provides interesting information about things in international cricket arena that doesn’t get main stream media attention. There are special sections that cover about first class cricket games, the prospective future international players, the struggles and challenges facing these prospective players, things happening around Pakistani cricket world, post match analysis, important things going in player’s life that aids or affects their performance, how is cricket helping communities and transforming lives etc.

Blogs are posted almost every day by many authors. The language is plain and simple, easy for even cricket novices to follow. Their posts are targeted to provide information, news, latest cricket buzz to fans at all levels.

There are many active followers for these blogs. The site provides RSS feeds for which readers can subscribe to let them know when new blogs are available and alerts readers when new comments are posted.

The site has introduced mobile apps and face book pages for the fans to catch the latest and greatest happening the cricket world.

The blog does not provide information on how to play cricket or how to improve or how to understand the game. These blogs are for readers who have some basic knowledge about the game.

Watch out for more analysis on other cricket blogs in the future. If you like us to review any blog sites in particular, let us know…

6 Tips for becoming an agressive batsman

Aggressive batsman can quickly score runs and easily put pressure on the bowler in any situation of the game.  Batting aggressively can be very fascinating for the batsman as well as very entertaining for the spectators. But batting is not an easy thing to do in a cricket field, be it any condition. Putting the ball away to the boundary consistently can come with lots of practice. Here are some tips to become good at this skill:

1.  Ideal Grip: A batsman must have the ideal grip to be able to play all the strokes properly. The ideal grip on the bat must be both the hands together at the handle of the bat. Make sure that your grip is neither too loose nor too tight. The correct grip allows you to bat with flair and also does not restrict you in playing any of the shots. Hold the bat the way you get a full powered swing: Hold the handle of the bat in the right place so that you comfortably get a full outstretched swing of the bat. Some great batsmen hold the bottom of the handle or some hold the top of the handle.  Hold it in a place that is very comfortable for you.

2. Strong Batting Stance: For aggressive batting, your stance should be strong and composed. A high back lift stance helps in improving your batting reflexes and gives extra power to the shots played.

3. Proper Footwork: Footwork is the most crucial aspect of batting and a batsman must have excellent footwork to play different kinds of shot. Get your feet moving while playing hard shots. If you move your feet towards the pitch of the ball you'll be able to transfer the weight of your back leg to the shot you'll play. This adds on as some extra power to your shots and also increases your chances of hitting the ball from the middle of the bat.

4. Position your head:  Head should be in the right position while playing shots. With a steady head you'll have more control on your shots and you'll improve your shot selection and placement.

5. Watch the ball: One way of perfecting your batting is through playing each ball according to its merit. It is not possible every time for a bowler to ball six good balls in an over and also it is very rare that you will receive six bad balls in an over. Remember it takes only one good ball to get you out. So watch each and every ball very carefully and watch out for the bad balls. Keep watching the ball in the bowlers hand till the ball is delivered. If you follow this meticulously you can very easily find out what type of ball the bowler is going to deliver. You can be prepared in advance to face the type of ball being bowled to you and then adjust your footwork and shots accordingly.

6. Follow Through: Finish your shot with a clean follow through. A good shot follow through gives perfect lift to the ball and prevents you from injuries.

Cricket for Dummies

Cricket For Dummies book provides you with everything you need to know about the sport of Cricket. All the information you need to get started as a player or become a fan is in this book. But the good news is that, you don’t have to read this book from cover to cover. Perhaps you’ll be watching a game of cricket on television or listening to radio coverage and you’d like to know more about a particular aspect of the game and its history then just turn to the chapter which does the job. If you’re keen to get playing cricket, there is this book for you. There is a section dedicated battling, bowling and fielding techniques as well as explaining the tactical nuances of cricket captaincy. In addition, there is a chapter on training which is essential reading for anymore looking to develop their playing technique and all round physical conditioning.

 If playing the game isn’t for you and you’d rather be a fan, Cricket For Dummies book has an enormous amount to offer. The domestic and international cricket scene is laid out in full for you and there is a whole chapter dedicated to showing you how to get watch big match cricket.

The A-Z of Cricket

The A-Z of Cricket by Ralph Dellor and Stephen Lamb is packed full of cricket highlights and stories which are certain to appeal to lovers of the game. This unique A-Z profiles cricket’s history and complexities in an entertaining and informative way, includes fascinating mixture of opinions and anecdotes.

What is extraordinary story behind the conception of the Ashes? What is the captain’s role? How has the Leg Before Wicket law evolved? What is a Jaffa? Answers to these and many other questions make this  an ideal book for cricket  fans, who will be able to savor both the ancient and the modern in a game that is as satisfying as vintage wine in its complexity.

Cricket Explained

Cricket Explained offers the sports enthusiastic a user-friendly introduction to base-ball’s British Cousin, a game that shares with America’s national pastime the common ancestor "rounders".

This is the definitive beginner’s guide to the game of cricket, written by a world authority on the sport, the co-inventor of the Coopers & Lybrand world Cricket Ratings System. Cricket Explained takes the reader from the game’s fundamentals- basic rules, terminology, equipment - to the finer points of strategy individual playing styles, and cricket lore.

This book is best suited to somebody who has witnessed some cricket without having a clue what was going on. The book is filled with answers to questions typical of the ones a novice might ask (Why do they all wear white? Don't they all get bored? Who's winning???).

The book includes a combined glossary / index for easy reference and is illustrated throughout with the light hearted drawings of British cartoonist Mark Stevens. Fun cartoons throughout. So even if you don’t know “short leg” from “silly mid off” or a bowler from a batsman, you’ll come away from Cricket Explained with an understanding for this truly international sport which, like, baseball, is loved both for its elegant simplicity and its vexing complexity.

Among the topics covered in the Cricket Explained’s concise, user- friendly entries are:

·         Cricket’s history

·         Making sense of the action on the field

·         Batsman and the batting order

·         Fielders and fielding positions

·         Scoring and statistics

·         Bowling strategy

·         How many players are required?

·         How runs are scored, outs are made, and the game is won

·         Umpires and the rules

·         Bowlers and their individual styles

·         Different types of cricket throughout the world

What is Cricket?

Cricket is a bat-and-ball team sport. This sport originated in England in the 16^th century. This sport is mostly played on an oval-shaped outdoor arena known as a cricket field at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch that is the focus of the game. At each end of the pitch are three stumps and two bails called wickets.

The game is played between two competing teams of eleven players on each side. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible, while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the runs scored by the batting team. Batsmen play in pairs, each equipped with a bat, one at each end of the wicket. A run is scored by the striking batsman hitting the ball with his bat, running to the opposite end of the pitch and touching the crease there without being dismissed. The teams switch between batting and fielding at the end of an innings.

The length of games can vary in duration of time, and number of balls bowled. Most popular versions of professional cricket games are Twenty20 (20 overs per side),One-day games (50 overs per side) and Test cricket (played over 5 days, with 2 innings per team).