It may be one of our oldest past-times and even something that on rare occasions we’re actually good at, but I just don’t understand cricket.
It’s not so much the rules, of which I do actually understand the general basics, as well as variations in test cricket and 20/20, but more to do with the popularity of it. Just why the hell is it so goddamn popular? I am genuinely sick of putting Sky Sports News on and seeing Cricket all the time. You actually see loads of Cricket but no NFL, no MLB, no NBA and very, very little Rugby, all sports which are infinitely superior to cricket and I’m starting to become really annoyed with it all.

I’m not one to criticise someones likes and dislikes, it’s entirely up to them what they want to follow, yes, even if it makes absolutely no sense at all. First of all, it’s not exactly a world game, there are to my admittedly short knowledge, only five actually competitive teams, or at least it seems that way, Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. That actually equates to less competitive teams than you’d get in the opening group stages of a UEFA Cup. There are some big competitions, like a World Cup (again, quite a tenuous name at best considering the lack of quality national sides…) and the Ashes, which if I remember correctly is a series of 5 test matches against Australia to commemorate a game between the countries where the wickets were burned to ashes and kept in a mini cup, which becomes the prize. Nice history, but let’s be honest, it’s not like we’re not playing Australia every couple of weeks anyway, so it’s not like it’s really that special.

This is where my point comes in. There is no table, no knockout competition, nothing, it’s just a case of playing the same short list of teams again and again and again with absolutely nothing to show for it. Why do we do that? It’s the only sport that comes to mind where you don’t actually win anything for winning. In Baseball you have the World Series (again, ridiculously titled seeing as all teams are American), in American Football you have the Superbowl, in Football you have the World Cup and European Championships (or otherwise for countries not in Europe) which feature qualifiers to get in to those competitions. It doesn’t seem very progressive as a sport, which means it lacks competition and therefore entertainment.

Of course, it also doesn’t help that it’s also incredibly boring to watch…

Tweet Buzz Delicious Digg Facebook Reddit Stumble