[journeyman]

Anyone into county Cricket here, and the various formats and tornaments that are now about, IE T20 blast etc? If so do you follow any particular county. I would love to be a part of the barmy army, but cant afford all that travel. Fair play to them for their loyal support to the country.

[tomtom]

Traditional cricket bores the tits off me personally. Never understood how people can sit through it.

Some of the faster matches are more interesting but it's still so stop start and goes on for ages.

[journeyman]

Yes I suppose to follow cricket might be difficult for some who have always been used to a more active sport that lasts about 80/90 minutes. But I feel that cricket is more of an art than football, inso much as the positioning of the field, IE do you have a close in field, do you have boundrie fielders,do you use fast bowlers, med/fast, spin, how much moisture is in the air how will it affect the balla flight, speed, bounch, do use use bouncers, yorkers, all this plus the pitch state, and who's batting, so many vairables. But I do understand to some it is slow and boring, but far more tactical , more of a thinking mans game really.

I know then you will always get the negative comments forom people like how the h*ll can you play a game for five days and still only end up with a draw, but non the less, there is far more to it thats for sure.

[Yidio Yidio]

journeyman, on 23 February 2018 - 21:35, said:

Yes I suppose to follow cricket might be difficult for some who have always been used to a more active sport that lasts about 80/90 minutes. But I feel that cricket is more of an art than football, inso much as the positioning of the field, IE do you have a close in field, do you have boundrie fielders,do you use fast bowlers, med/fast, spin, how much moisture is in the air how will it affect the balla flight, speed, bounch, do use use bouncers, yorkers, all this plus the pitch state, and who's batting, so many vairables. But I do understand to some it is slow and boring, but far more tactical , more of a thinking mans game really.

I know then you will always get the negative comments forom people like how the h*ll can you play a game for five days and still only end up with a draw, but non the less, there is far more to it thats for sure.

Pretty much agree with all that, Cricket can be boring because of it's long playing time, even at grass roots level the short format can be a problem and it's no secret that it is struggling as a sport.

There is something very endearing about cricket on the village green and for me "The Ashes" is the most enthralling contest within the sport. But socially, a 20twenty evening match on the beers probably is more appealing to a wider audience even if it remains more of a slogging fest than a hard fought 100 in test conditions.

[Yidio Yidio]

Yesterday we witnessed history being made.

Ben Stokes was nothing short of a hero, totally brilliant.

But, big credit to Leach, faced up the Aussie quickies, and believed. It doesn't happen without that man's belief.

My new cult hero, bats at eleven and wears glasses. Brilliant.

[Yidio Yidio]

tomtom, on 23 February 2018 - 19:57, said:

Traditional cricket bores the tits off me personally. Never understood how people can sit through it.

Some of the faster matches are more interesting but it's still so stop start and goes on for ages.

Blasphemy.

[ArmchairSpurs]

Saw my first Ashes test match live at Lords in 1975. We were up against Lille, Thompson, Rod Marsh and the Chappell brothers then. Watched Botham and Willis rescue us in ‘81 and thought that would never be repeated for tenseness. I was wrong- 2005 series was one long nail-biting rollercoaster. Thought that couldn’t happen again... step forward Ben Stokes. Sheer drama. This is when sport IS life.

[journeyman]

Cricket one of the finest games under the sun, I love all formats, am a member of the barmy army.