Stop Having Too Much Fun

Cricket is India's number 1 sport. If there is a number 2 sport, I have not figured out what it is, that is how big cricket is.

For those unfamiliar with cricket it is a little like baseball, but the real main difference is that batters can basically tap off pitches with their big flat bats forever. If the batters focus is only to not get out, or play very safely, then they can take hundreds of pitches to get out. In traditional, or "Test Cricket", each team goes threw its batting order twice, until each player is out, with each player being able to take an unlimited number of balls. Thus test cricket matches normally take around 4 days to conclude.

Some time ago, in 1971, a new form of match was invented that was guaranteed to finish in one day. This allowed there to be tournaments such as the world cup that would take way to long to play if they were done as test matches. This form is called the "One Day International" or ODI. Basically the game is the same, but each side only runs threw the batting order once. Also, and most important, each side is limited to batting 50 overs, an over consisting of 6 balls. Now that there is a limit to how many balls can be taken, there is a motivation for the batting side to take more chances, even if it results in more outs.

Both kinds of cricket are still played, but the ODI became very popular since there is more action and the game only lasts around 8 hours. The thing is however, that it is still imperative for the team not to get out before they have used most of the 50 overs at their disposal. For this reason, especially early in the game, there is still a lot of safe batting, with batters hitting 1s and 2s, which are like singles in baseball.

Enter the Twenty20 match, which is being played at the international level for the first time right now, in a new world cup event. This is basically similar to ODI, but now there are only 20 overs a side. Also, bowlers (aka pitchers) must work faster and players sit on the field in a dugout, as opposed to way up in the box, for less delays when someone gets out. Now games are down to 3 hours, and batters really have to make the most of the balls they see. This means lots of outs, or wickets, and lots of 6s, which is when the ball is hit out of the stadium, like a home run.

For this American viewer, this is finally a type of cricket that I can get into, kind of like watching a baseball game. Based on the number of people watching the games, especially since a surprising India team has made the simi-finals, the general public seems to agree with me.

The funny thing about this is the fierce debates that are raging in the sport columns about weather this is a huge advance towards making cricket more accessible, or the death of this proud game. One one side are the people who feel, as I do, that Twenty20 is much more compatible with the amount of time that people can invest in a sports match, and that since there is more action the game is much more fun to watch. Predictably the other side consists of purists who think that all the risk taking and action ruin the beauty of the game.

One of the best articles by the purists was in the Times of India where the author bemoaned that cricket was supposed to be a "marathon that is to be endured". The fact that a stadium full of fans was cheering and on its feet for a lot of the match was a huge problem, since to paraphrase, cricket was not supposed to be fun. Obviously this guy has not spent too much time watching American sports and has not realized that fans are the reason for the game, and a sport with no fans is not going to last very long.

Anyway, I am quite disappointed I will not be able to watch India's simi-final match tonight because we will be on the train to Goa. But, if they can pull off and upset against mighty Australia, I am very excited for the final on Monday.