Try to convince me that test cricket is worth watching.
I don't get the attraction.
The only thing worse than test cricket is test cricket commentary on the radio.
Hit me up with a reason to watch test cricket.
I've Tried. I Don't Get It. What's The Attraction of Test Cricket?
Muzeeb on 27/12/2021 - 16:04
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I used to play it as a teenager. Imagine 40-80 overs standing and fielding lol. God I hated that part.
And then going out for a duck when your slot comes up.
Yep haha, ultimate tragedy.
CRIKET
There is only one thing in criket and that is the STRATE BAT. Keep yore bat strate boy and all will be all right in life as in criket. So headmasters sa, but when my bat is strate i still get bowled is that an omen chiz. Aktually i usually prefer to hav a slosh: i get bowled just the same but it is more satisfactory.
For the reason that it is extremely dificult to hit the ball with a STRATE BAT or not criket matches are a bit of a strane. When you are a new bug or a junior in the 3rd game it is all right becos then you can sit around the boundary and keep the score in a notebook. When you get tired with that which is about 3 minits you can begin to tuough up your frendes and neighbours who look so sweet and angelic in their clean white criket shirts hem-hem. This is super. You look up long enuff to sa Good shot, grabber or Couldn't hit a squashed tomato and then back to the fray.
But it is a funy thing when you grow biger you always get into a criket team you canot avoid it chiz. Tremble tremble you arive and see the pitch which is 2388 miles approx from the pavilion. Captain win toss and choose to bat chiz chiz chiz chiz. Moan drone tremble tremble you sit with white face and with everybode's knees knoking together it sound like a coconut shy. Wot is the pleasure of it eh i would like to kno. Give me a thumbscrew or slo fire every time.
When your turn come the folowing things can hapen
(a) You loose your bat.
(b) You fante dead away.
(c) Your trousis fall down.
(d) You trip over your shoe laces.
Captain then come up to you and sa BLOCK EVERYTHING molesworth and do not slosh we need 6 to win.
PLAY!
Fast blower retreat with the ball mutering and cursing. He stamp on the grass with his grate hary feet he beat his chest and give grate cry. Then with a trumpet of rage he charge towards you. Quake quake ground tremble birdseed fly in all directions if only you can run away but it is not done. Grit teeth close eyes. Ball hit your pads and everyone go mad.
OWSATSIR OW WASIT EHOUT!
Umpire look for a long time he is bent double at last he lift one finger.
Distance back to pavilion is now 120000 miles
Out. No arguments. Get cracking. Take that xpresion off your face. On course at 20000 feet return to base. Out.
Distance back to pavilion is now 120000 miles and all the juniors sa yar boo sucks couldn't hit a squashed tomato. It is no use saing you were not out by a mile team give you the treatment behind tlie pav just the same. There is only one consolation you can give it up when you grow up. Then you rustle the paper and sa Wot a shocking show by m.c.c. most deplorable a lot of rabits ect. act. Well, you kno how they go on. Enuff.
if you don't have a freshly painted wall to stare at while its drying, cricket will do as the second best choice.
People like different things
Fair enough. I don’t like baseball. Each to their own.
Wouldn't say I'm a big fan but I have been watching a bit of late. As Gimli says above it's more like a background activity. Have it on the tele while cooking, gift wrapping, during chores, during breaks in holiday projects.
When there's a period of interesting play and momentum (like this morning) I tend to sit and watch a bit more.I think some of the critics have the wrong the idea about [/most/] of the fans in the first place. Even those who pay to go see the match in person do other stuff. Whether it's the beach ball, themed costume days, the mexican wave. Why people jump to conclusions that you either watch and enjoy all 5 days or not a fan at all beats me …
I wouldn't be interested in playing it though :P.I've tried listening to cricket commentary on the radio though. Like most sports I can't stand vision-less commentary, just doesn't work for me.
Agree. Boring AF.
Cricket is mostly played in Commonwealth countries and its not that popular in other countries.
The people of occupied countries started playing cricket as a way to copy(/gain favour of) British officials who were perceived as masters/high class.
Psychologically, cricket matches are just a way to say “See, You shouldn’t have invaded us”.
Baseball is so similar to cricket but those cricket fans couldn’t care less.I, personally don’t even consider cricket a real sport.
Professional players obviously do exercise routines but if you are playing socially, sometimes you just stand on the field for hours, doing nothing. Your heart rate doesn’t go up, you are not running. That’s not exercise.
Children should be playing some other sport like tennis, badminton, soccer, martial arts, or even running.As for commentary, it deserves my salute. Those commentators are capable of selling rattlesnake skin boots to rattlesnakes.
(Note: rattlesnakes don’t have legs.)you know scoring is called a run because you quite literally run between wickets right. fast bowlers aside an outfielder would get a lot of ground coverage and the slips cordon would pull off many physics defying catches. same as any sport you can argue that the goalie in a one sided soccer match doesn't do much physical exercise
The28yearoldmale
Only cricket worth watching….
I like watching paint dry too
Test cricket is the ultimate king of sport. It’s a game that flows back & forth (unless England are playing of course). It relies on immense mental strength, physical stamina, individual skill, tactical nous & team coherence.
Over 5 days a full range of emotions are exhibited, careers made & ended, there’s always something going on even in those quiet moments.
The only thing that ruins it are Ads, TV coverage & mind-numbing dumbness from just about every commentator.
It’s all oger now. Cricket is love, cricket is life.
I have always thought people enjoyed it more because they get to sit out in the sun with their friends and socialise, drink beer, eat etc.. not solely for the sport itself.
I prefer watching Squid Game.
Shhh
don't tell the misso it's boring
i'll lose my 5 day do not deserve pass.Any game that you can play for five whole days and sometimes not work out who won and who lost is a bit crap.
Not everything needs to be instantaneous.
I looked forward to every Aus Vs Ind test match during my childhood. It used to be like a war where you are in an unknown territory and trying to learn, survive, sustain and win. Or, not lose. It was fun watching Warne, Waughs, Hayden, Dravid, VVS, Kumble and many other legends emerge victorious in known and unknown territories.
But I guess you would have to be born in an era of only test cricket / ODI or played some cricket to enjoy it.
Used to watch some 1 Day Internationals and never interested in Test Cricket.
Why some people love it? Well, 5 lazy days with a slab of beer each day. Who wouldn’t?
5 days allows for plenty of to and fro and some of the most exciting matches in the last 10 years have been test matches. It a game of attrition in a world of instant gratification. Its still the purest form of the game while ODI and 20/20s are for shits and giggles.
There is no attraction. It is for blokes who want to get away from their wives and kids and spend the day drinking beer to hide their unfortunate lives.
nothing…. absolutely nothing….
Most people these days tend to have very short attention spans which is why sports that take hours rather than days to decide a winner keep people engaged otherwise people get board and go do something else. Personally I find cricket lacks excitement and intensity but each to their own.
I've Tried. I Don't Get It. What's The Attraction of beating children with a stick?
amazing how some people enjoy things and other people don't.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYBO8buPp7-/?utm_medium=share_sh…
Better action in the crowd…than on the field
Only way you can get into it is to playing as a kid or is dosnt work.
Or sit down with an engaged parent and have them explain the intricacies of the game
You know, good parenting and all.
But I agree playing helps immensely
You need to fully understand the skill and endurance to play. Strategy, matchups and grit.
Perhaps test cricket attraction to the masses is being lost as the above attributes are being lost in the general public as a whole.
Eg it is pretty hard to appreciate test cricket if you have the attention span of a goldfish (tiktok, YouTube, mobile gaming) or the work ethic of the majority of Australians ( who would expect to score 30 runs and other Australians to score the other 20 for them)
It was fun watching when young - just have it in the background while sorting through comics or bubble gum cards…Then listening to the 12th man on cassette on a hot summer night…
It may be best avoided…. Douglas Adams felt that the game of cricket was the embodiment of pure, self absorbed evil. (Read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). He was a sage and correct in almost everything so worth taking as seriously as he did.
I love test cricket, but watch with caution. 🤔
It gives you plenty of time to drink beer.
Just like a lot of fishing, test cricket is an excuse to sit somewhere nice, talk to your mates, have a drink, and occasionally have something happen. It's not to my taste, but I can see why some people enjoy it.
I honestly cannot think of anything more boring.
Paint drying and grass growing is far more fascinating to me.
I agree. Plus you can sniff the paint or smoke the grass if you get bored
Back when there were no cell phones or internet we use to play cricket in our backyards or on the street. That's probably why Australia had such a strong team in the mid to late 90s with Steve Waugh's Team.
Just about every kid was into it. I guess it's not an appealing sport to watch for this new generation.
I'm the one weirdo that likes Test and ODI, but T20 screams just go watch baseball which I like more than Cricket.
Perth's WACA used to have one day cricket spread over 2 days.
Since it was usually very dry their pants lasted a full 2 days of being scratched.
Then again since the Olympic comittee prescribes shooting as being healthy and good for wheight loss I do remain puzzled.I used to think only baseball was boring, cricket's definitely on another level of boring.
5 day event that often ends in a draw and has a wealth of tedium.
I don't get it either.
It's a Chess match.
The fielding side is targeting weaknesses they believe each batsman has by placing a field to encourage/block a certain shot.
The batsman is trying to not fall for the trap, but at the same time score runs which will put pressure on the fielding team to change the fielding positions to dry up the runs.The first test series I've ever watched (I'm in my late 20s btw) was last year's Australia vs India series and I was hooked. Even the drawn match was nail biting. Not every series is as interesting but I get the appeal now.
Test cricket, particularly the ashes is my favorite sport to watch.
I've been watching since I was a youngster.
My dad loves watching cricket, and I remember him getting me up to watch Australia touring the West Indies back in 95 when I was 8 years old. The Windies still had a great side back then with Ambrose/Walsh/Lara/Richardson and I remember it was a famous test series victory.As to the appeal - theres no sport like it.
I get why people find it boring. If you don't like something and its on for 5 days, that would be immensely boring. But if you love watching something, and it goes for 5 days, then its awesome.
Things I love about it:
-Its the ultimate test of cricket, requiring skill, tactics, mental strength and grit over a very long period of time
-For the above reasons, I dislike the short form, particularly t20 - whilst skill is involved, it doesnt have the same sense of theatre and doesnt combine the other features of test cricket. Theres also too much luck in the short form, not enough of a contest between bat and ball. That and the fact that so many games are played with seemingly little consequence if you win/lose - makes it seem pretty pointless.
-You dont have to watch it intensely. I have it on in the background whilst doing other things.I personally find soccer and basketball incredibly boring - and they only go for a few hours. Each to their own. You dont have to like test cricket.
You could say the same about Tour de France. Riding a bike for week or so.
Every now and then there's a crash and something exciting happens.
(Caveat, I love Tour De France)
Grand Tour = 3 weeks
Cant stand it, never watch it. find it boring BUT …. I'm a huge fan of pro cycling (Tour De France etc) which many people also find boring. I have a bit of sympathy for the cricket fans, not enough to join them but I admire their commitment.
Tour de France is popular over the world, not just colonised monarchies. Pretty exciting with all those drug enhanced athletes tbh
There's been about 3 exciting test series in the last 25 years. It's mainly very boring and salivated over only by "purists". Usually nobody there at matches after the first two days.
Only close to being a number one sport in the sub continent and Australia. Posh boys game that most don't care about in England, despite what the media here would have you believe.
I'm not really a sports person at all, but my dad and brother always have the cricket on. From what I can gather, for sports fans it's like a story that you don't need to pay too much attention to. You can put it on and then just wander around and do other things, dropping in and out of the game as you please. I think very few will sit down and watch all 5 days, rather for most it's just a bit of a comforting summer soundtrack that's always in the background.
it's just a bit of a comforting summer soundtrack that's always in the background
I think you nailed it. Makes me think it’s kind of like The Bold and the Beautiful, except with exposed balls
If you have to ask then you will never know
Test cricket is all about stamina and endurance. Similar to running a 42km marathon vs 100m. It is what it is. If you don’t like it, don’t worry too much about it.
Same way that I don’t get why some people keep watching this mega dramas that run for 2000 episodes where a drop of an orange from table to floor can span over 4 episodes 😆.
I've Tried. I Don't Get It. What's The Attraction of Test Cricket?
I've tried. I don't get It. What's the attraction of
testcricket? ;-pI can't think of many things more boring than watching other people play sport. I guess it's slightly better than paying for tickets to watch someone else play sport, but not by much.
The drinking & the sleeping
They're always testing cricket. When are they going to play the real match?
Test match cricket is the only form of cricket I can watch. Can't stand t20s or one dayers, there's no excitement there
Unless you play the game and feel the reward of a Run, the reward of a wicket, the banter, the Mateship, the beers . it would be hard to enjoy besides T20 cricket. its very hard to watch i agree. but i always keep my eye on the scores. The 2019 ashes and Ben stokes beating the aussies (im an aussie) was the greatest game of cricket ive seen in all formats .
It's kinda like soccer - designed by the poms as a game that doesn't necessarily produce a winner (and like soccer, often the result is a draw).
Except that a lot more happens in a test match than in soccer, and it attracts a much less violent crowd.
Other than the analogy regarding the chance of a draw, totally disagree with everything else you said. A game of association football (Soccer) goes for 90 mins plus injury time, there's rarely the time to spend 10 mins watching the seagulls during a broadcast and they dont stop playing if it rains. I understand some people dont like Soccer but its not much of a comparison to test cricket. I personally fall asleep watching NBA Basketball, for me one of the 2-3 most boring games on the planet and I've been to the Staples Ctr in LA to see games live (yes I know they changes sponsors and naming rights). I can see how people like NBA but does nothing for me I still wouldnt compare it to cricket though.
It's my favourite form of cricket. It's soothing and relaxing. It's like a dinner party that goes on for 5 days where the food is delicious and everyone is super interesting.
It's an acquired taste developed over many years. Might help that I played for 15 years, but yeah. It's the definition of summer for me (cricket), window blinds down, ice in the glass, ABC grandstand on the radio 👌
It might help to think of it as two games in one match played over 5 days? Each side gets two innings, the second being a chance to catch up or increase your lead… Towards the end, if both teams are on, it can be absolutely thrilling
The technical skill of each player who knows their role, plus the patience and discipline required to maintain play whilst minimising mistakes in 35 degree weather. Insane!
I like to put Test cricket on in the background while doing other stuff like working, chores or playing video games as the sport has alot of downtime and nuances (which is why I enjoy it).
You're not expected to watch every ball for 5 days with 100% attention (unless you are proper diehard), but there'll be occasional special moments where you will get glued to the screen (e.g. the Boland 6/7 in the last match, or more generally a batsman in the 90's trying to get his century or a bowler on a hattrick).
Test cricket is not for the masses. Just like James Bond movies are for the masses while art movies are for a select few. Most people would find art movies boring because they aren't habituated to involving their brains during entertainment. Test cricket is the same, it involves nuances and strategies that most people just can't see as they are used to seeing simplified sports which can be enjoyed even while being drunk out of their senses.
Did you play cricket at school or at home?
Forced to play it at school but played it in the street as a young tacker (in the 80's)
When you see them slapping and caressing each others’ arses, it’s just so very, very, very… gay. We really need more of this diversity on the telly
Great to see Bangladesh Cricket Team win over the kiwis in opening Test at Bay Oval on Wednesday.
given that I can get any rapid tests gotta stick with the slow tests
As Warnie loves to put it "It's the drama that unfolds during those 5 days".
Imagine you are on top of every session for all 3 days followed by 1 bad session and you lose the game. It's pure magic mate.
Perfect excuse to sit your butt on the couch for 5days.
Bathurst 1000 is another opportunity, but it only goes for one whole day plus some lead up for a couple of days.
Maybe that's my problem. Best I can sit on the couch is for about 2-3 hours max. Then I start thinking there is something more productive to do than this.
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Back to the wall innings that can eke out a draw, while the opposition bowlers are coming at you all the time - they're pretty amazing. Check out India-Australia Sydney 2021 or NZ-India Kanpur 2021. The tailenders holding out for a draw was a show of mental and physical toughness.
Yes, the unpredictability with rains is a dampener (pun intended), but then that is taken as part and parcel of the game's uncertainties.