ILLUSTRATIONS
ANTHONY CALVERT
brayingspectatorsand iscomparable
toYankeeStadium.TheSydneyCricket
Ground,on theotherhand, ismoreofa
sentimental favorite.Garlandedby the
ornateMembers’ andLadies’pavilions
—built in1886and1896, respectively—
ithasmoreofaWrigleyField feel to it.
Anddon’teven thinkaboutshowingup
withouta jacketand tie ifyouhappen to
scorean invite toanymembers’ enclo-
sure.Weevenhaveourownversionof
Cooperstown, thehotlydebatedbirthplace
ofbaseball. It’scalledBowral—aquaint
country town twohours fromSydney
—and itwas thestompinggroundofa
youngmannamedDonBradman.The
ground thatbearshisname isagenteel
white-picket-fencesituation,but theman
himselfwasanAntipodeanBabeRuth
whose featscarriedanation through the
Depressionand issuchapartofAustralia’s
psyche that thepost-office-boxnumber
of thegovernment-ownedAustralian
BroadcastingCorporation ineverycapital
city isstillBradman’sbattingaverage.Take
that,SammySosa!
LikeAmerica’snationalpastime,
cricket isastatistician’sdelight,witha
seemingly infinitenumberofnumbers
tobecrunched.At itscore,however, it’sa
verysimplegame. In fact, thereare three
versions, eachdiffering in length.Thebasic
rulesmayseem likeadauntingamountof
information,but there’snothingAustra-
lians lovemore than talkinganAmerican
visitor through theactionofcricket.
So, ifyouhappen tobe inAustraliabe-
tween lateSeptemberandearlyFebruary,
headdown tooneof themanyvaunted
cricketgroundsacross thecountry to
catchagame.Teamsmayrepresentstates,
cities,partsofcitiesorallofAustralia, and
it’sat the last levelwhere thingsgetmost
intense.For itnotonlyprovidesaspectacle
butalsoakeen insight into thepsycheof
thenation itself.Nowplayball!
SPORTS
98
DECEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
DAVIDSMIEDT
isaSydney-basedauthor,
journalistandcomedianwhohaswrittenseven
books.
CRICKETISTHE
ONLYSPORT
THATTRULY
UNITESTHELAND
DOWNUNDER.
3
The trioof sticks at either endof themain
playing area (or pitch) are calledwickets,
and abatter is dismissed if theball strikes the
wickets or if abatter intentionallyplaces his or
her legs in front of thewicketswithout his or
her bat touching theball. Likebaseball, batters
can alsobe caught out or runout. This is
equivalent tobeing taggedbefore reaching a
base, but in cricket it involves thefielding team
dislodging thewicketswith theball before the
batter hasmade their ground. (Mindful of our
convict heritage, stealing runs is not allowed.)
4
Runs are scoredwhen batters scamper
between thewickets on either side of
the pitch. If a ball bounces before crossing
the boundary rope of the field, it counts as
four runs. If it clears the rope— the equiv-
alent of a home run— it counts as six runs,
but the batters keep facing pitches until
they are dismissed. The better a batter,
the earlier he appears in his team’s at-bat
lineup, with the bowlers (pitchers) bringing
up the rear.
2
Unlikebaseball, a cricket inning lasts
until all 10batters havebeendismissed
or theover limit has been reached, at which
point theother teambats.
WHATYOUNEEDTOKNOW
1
It all comes down to thenumber of what
are called “overs.” Sixpitches (or balls, in
cricket speak)makeoneover. There are some
games inwhicheach teamgets 20overs at
bat (lasting around threehours), somegames
with50overs each (lasting about eight hours)
and somegames calledTests (which last up to
fivedays and feature asmanyovers as canbe
accommodated in that time).
