Comments on: Or just play it on ice!

By: Joe Adam

Joe Adam — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 17:02:04 +0000

Well despite having been playing cricket on a fairly regular basis for the last two years, I still suck at nearly all the above mentioned skills. And I would like to point out, that running up, bowling at 90ish miles an hour repeatedly, is not exactly leisurely! Nor is having the control to able to control, not just where you throw the ball, but which way it swings while it is in the air, not exactly trivial.
Finally, I have watched bowlers attempt to hit the stump (note only one when they tried it) and they managed fairly regularly. Its just that bowling straight at the stumps, to good batsmen, tends to result in Mr Batty-Batty dispatching the ball the edge of the ground.

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 11:23:31 +0000

Thats not a rule afaik and only some superstitious folk mark it in anyway. There can be little defence for that really. As for winding people up, I, of course, have no understanding of such a concept
You know, you are right about learning that skill. I forgot how hard it was to select 4 world class bowlers for a national team, what with there being thousands of the buggers out there. The evidence is really against me there. How could I be so stupid.

I think you need to watch more, and in fact listen more. The TV coverage is full of info about bowling strategy and Hawk-Eye is wonderful for showing the different deliveries.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 10:54:15 +0000

As far as I can tell, what you’re saying is “he aimed a bit to the left, then to the right (when he managed to get the ball in the correct area at all) which confused Mr Batty Batty.” Mr Catchy-Catchy always has a fraction of a second to react, which I can see takes a large amount of skill no matter how you practice. Mr Throwy-Throwy has a much more leisurely time, and I would suggest it is a skill that could be learnt…

It’s entirely possible that I write things like this just to wind people up, you know ‘course, I’d like to hear a defence of the ‘everybody has to stand on one leg on multiples of 111′ rule…

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 10:47:24 +0000

Actually the bowler and catcher do tend to meet up after getting a wicket and congratulate each other. Secondly, working a batsman to force a mistake is hard work. Not to mention generating 80-90mph deliveries landing on target with suitable variation, such as controlling seam movement and swing to deceive the batter so as to get an outside edge or nip back in behind his defences to get the stumps or lbw. I should draw your attention to Flintoff’s dismissal of Hayden where Freddie used varying line and swing to cause Hayden all kinds of trouble outside his off-stump forcing him to move across to defend, finally bowling a straight delivery at Hayden’s now exposed leg-stump.

Ofcourse your counter-argument will be that they practice that all the time and they should have it perfect now. But then surely the catcher has practiced equally hard to make such catches which would defeat your assertion that it is a difficult task by your own argument.

Your habit of preaching about stuff without due research or supporting evidence reminds me of something with an almost ironic flavour, but I can’t think what

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 10:30:03 +0000

Messrs Catchy-Catchy and Batty-Batty have difficult jobs! It’s just Mr Throwy-Throwy who’s getting all the glory for doing basically nothing and missing half the time anyway I saw the cricket equivalent of a penalty shoot-out recently where the bowlers just had to hit the stumps with nobody in the way, and they were pants!

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 10:17:13 +0000

Is there a sport you don’t think is too easy? Not that you can replicate any of the feats yourself ofcourse.