December 2015 American Way Magazine - page 97

ITISSAID that the two
most important jobs in
Australiaare theprime
ministerand thecaptain
of thenationalcricket
team. Inanationwhere
wintersare fracturedby two typesofrugby
(leagueandunion), soccerandourown
invention:AustralianRulesFootball, the
summerritualofcricket is theonlysport
that trulyunites the landDownUnder.
AsanativeAustralian, Iknowcricket
terminologyhasseeped into thevery
fabricofour language.We talkof“playing
withastraightbat” (answeringquestions
directlyandsuccinctly), “beingonasticky
wicket” (having tonegotiatesomedifficult
metaphoric territory)andhaving“hada
good innings” (fora lifewell lived).Yes,
cricketspeak isevenacceptableat funerals
inAustralia.
Sowhat is itabout thisgame that is
asmuchapartofAustraliansummersas
beachesandbarbies?
Partof itsallure—andsomethingwhich
willcertainlynotbe lostonU.S. visitors
— is thedesire to trounceourEnglish
colonial foundersat theverygame they
invented, a feelingnodoubtsharedby
players inIndia,Pakistan,SouthAfrica,Sri
Lanka,Zimbabwe, theCaribbean…youget
thepicture.
Another factor in its favor is the time
ofyear for thecricketseason. It’sagame
tobeenjoyed in tank topsandsunshine,
akin to thegentlerrhythmsofbaseballand
opposed to the frenetic tempoof, say, ice
hockeyorgridiron.
Thesimilaritiesdon’tend there.Most
everymajorAustraliancityhasacher-
ishedcricketground that inhabitantswill
swearoneverything that’sdear to them is
thenation’sbest.TheMelbourneCricket
Ground, forexample,holds100,000
CricketGood!
Beforeyouplan that long-awaitedgetaway toSydney, read thisprimeron
cricket, themostpopularsportDownUnder
AMERICANWAY
DECEMBER2015
97
SPORTS
ByDavidSmiedt
ILLUSTRATION
GIORDANO POLONI
What is itabout thisgame that isasmuchapartof
Australiansummersasbeachesandbarbies?
GETTINGTHERE
BeginningDec.17,
AmericanAirlines
willoffer
dailyround-tripservicefrom
LosAngeles
(
LAX
)to
Sydney
(
SYD
).
1...,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96 98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,...148
Powered by FlippingBook