The player auctions and trades for the Indian Premier League are underway, with some players signing contracts for record sums. This is the first year that ECB-registered players can play in the IPL, and the ECB and county cricket clubs are watching the auctions closely. Tensions between players on the England team and county clubs with IPL players have been noted. With the growth of Twenty20 and concerns about its impact on playing style, the injection of so much money and spectacle, it might be fair to ask is this cricket?
posted by Grrlscout on Feb 6, 2009 - 31 comments

The Guardian is knocked for six by American sport references in British media Creeping cultural imperialism? The effect of internet media from foreign news outlets? Or just Guardian handwringing about something no one else notices? Is British media alone in this trend?
posted by Grrlscout on Jan 20, 2009 - 111 comments

"Far more is known about...the activities of the secret service in Moscow...than what the England selectors said and did that night": Basil D'Oliveira was a Coloured South African all-round cricketer who moved to the UK to avoid the colour bar that prevented him representing South Africa; representing England with considerable credit, he created a crises for English and South African cricket, with Nazi sympathiser and South African Prime Minister Vorster ordering the British not to select him to tour South Africa. [more inside]
posted by rodgerd on Jan 11, 2009 - 8 comments

Savita Bhabhi is India's First Virtual Pornstar (NSFW). A sexy, buxom, and lusty almond-eyed femme fatale, Savita, bearing the title 'bhabhi' which means 'sister-in-law' indicating that she's married, is the quintessential Indian male porn fantasy 'toon. Launched in March this year, the web site has proven to be a hit, incorporating South Asian themes such as sleeping with the servant boy; with a cousin; and, of course, the boys playing cricket next door.
posted by Azaadistani on Oct 6, 2008 - 33 comments

Two slimes. One circle. Infinite addiction. Welcome to the world of Slimeball. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Aug 8, 2008 - 16 comments

First, a bit of an introduction to the game of Cricket (youtube) for those of us who may not be familiar with the sport. Next, a few clips (1, 2, 3, 4) on how awesome the Gentleman's Game can be (and you thought we didn't do anything but roam around in our white pants and cotton shirts...). But, if that wasn't enough for you, then here's a taste of Twenty20 Cricket (the fast, fast paced version of the game), and the new DLF Indian (pdf) Premier League. (This is in addition to the One Day Matches, which were instituted to bring in a bit more excitement into the game during the 1970's, prior to which the match only consisted of Tests. However, some purists still maintain that the game would've been better served had it not been commercalized to the extent that it has, and still prefer the leisurely pace of the original format to its current incarnation.) [more inside]
posted by hadjiboy on Mar 20, 2008 - 56 comments

The ultimate in fantasy sport: Each of the eight cricket franchises in the new Indian Premier League had a total of $5 million (£2.57 million) to bid at auction in Mumbai for the players who would represent them. The players receive the winning bid as their annual salary.
posted by patricio on Feb 20, 2008 - 16 comments

Team India to lodge protest against umpiring Gone are the days when the words(actions and decisions) of the umpire were taken as final. Even the RULE BOOK states that the word of the umpire is final. Would Team India still complain if the bad umpiring decision had gone in their favor ?
posted by chrisranjana.com on Jan 4, 2008 - 33 comments

Do you like baseball? Or do you prefer cricket? Luke Whittaker has designed a browser-game for each.
posted by Kattullus on Jul 13, 2007 - 22 comments

Cooking with Vincent Price! Delicious mushrooms & stuffed eggs! Roast pork sirloin with prunes, onions & red wine! Small boys in a spectacular curry! Cooking not your thing? Well, would you prefer learning about cricket? Or perhaps Florentine art? Voilà, my friends!
posted by miss lynnster on Apr 13, 2007 - 35 comments

Murder at the Cricket World Cup. The world's most civilised game just took a turn for the sinister. Less than 24 hours after Pakistan (rated fourth in the world) was roundly trounced by Ireland (first appearance at the Cricket World Cup), the almost universally-liked Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room and died in hospital. Jamaican police have just announced that based on the autopsy results they're treating the death as murder by manual asphyxiation.

This isn't the first time in recent history that Pakistan has been embroiled in scandal, nor the first time that Metafilter has discussed it, but this is in a whole new league. Is it a match-fixing scandal connected to far-Eastern betting syndicates, or something else?
posted by Hogshead on Mar 22, 2007 - 40 comments

The 2007 cricket world cup has just started , meet the mascot, take place in the official fantasy league, follow the beebs coverage and watch the live scorecard updates. New to cricket? - read up on the history and learn the rules
posted by scodger on Mar 12, 2007 - 26 comments

Less than 16 months after England claimed the Ashes, Australia reclaim them in three straight test matches. With England's main opening batsman pulling out of the contest due to "stress", and their captain refusing to delay a knee operation so that he would be available, it never really appeared to many that they wanted to face a rematch. Questions must now be raised about what happened to their astounding reverse swing. Chin up lads - at least you and your world-touring Barmy Army can all play with your trumpets again.
posted by DirtyCreature on Dec 17, 2006 - 61 comments

Stoolball is the medieval ancestor of cricket and baseball. First mentioned in print in 1671, it was reputedly played by milkmaids, who used their bare hands as bats. The game is still played today in some parts of south-east England, but luckily with frying pan-shaped contraptions instead. An important rule is that not following the spirit of the game will get you sent off the pitch. Here are some pictures of games in progress, along with other medieval bat-and-ball games such as Nipsy and Knur & Spell. Or, if you don't like ball games, try another medieval sport, dwile flonking (play online in flash).
posted by randomination on Dec 6, 2006 - 21 comments

Umpire offers to quit for cash payment. Cricket has been gripped by a scandal that started at The Oval cricket ground last Sunday. It started with an accusation of ball tampering by one of the match umpires, Darryl Hair, during a match between Pakistan and England. Hair awarded England 5 runs and changed the ball, which is the sanction in the laws. Pakistan then refused to play, forfeiting the match. Ball tampering is an emotive issue for Pakistan, as is Darryl Hair who has previously been accused of bias against teams from the Indian subcontinent (i.e. racism). In a bizarre twist, Hair has now offered to resign as an umpire, in return for a massive cash payment. It shows the regard in which he is held, that his bosses decided to publicise this. It seems unlikely he will ever stand in a test match again.
posted by winjer on Aug 25, 2006 - 21 comments

"If that's what's on, then that's what they watch. It's either that, or a cricket match between Scotland and Bermuda. Now, I am an educated man, Charlie, but when someone tries to explain cricket to me, all I want to do is hit him in the head with a teapot." Cricket Explained (An American Viewpoint) for those, following a recent cricket thread, that want to get it, but don't quite yet.
posted by nthdegx on Aug 3, 2006 - 41 comments

Why we love Monty. Just a few months ago, Monty Panesar was the struggling underdog of the England cricket team to some ("from what I've read of his fielding and batting, I think there's potential for him to outdo Phil Tufnell for sheer comedic value"), and downright butt-of-the-joke to others (Ponty turns around and appeals madly. The umpire isn't amused. "What the f*** are you appealing for?" he asks. "The ball," says Ponty, imploringly. "Can I have the ball please?"). After continued improval culminating in a ten-wicket haul (including the key batsmen) against Pakistan last weekend, now the bookies have the turbanator at 10-1 to be BBC Sports Personality of the year. ("Monty is a left-arm finger spinner for crying out loud. What is he doing spinning it a foot? Not even Danish Kaneria, the second best leg spinner in world cricket, could turn it that much"). Quite the turn-around!
posted by nthdegx on Jul 31, 2006 - 21 comments

Cricinfo. The most extraordinary database and news site of the game of cricket, with records going back over 200 years. [much more inside]
posted by athenian on Jul 14, 2006 - 17 comments

The Googly blog has been launched by Shiny Shiny. With the entry of China into the arena, cricket is poised to become the number one international sport.
posted by tellurian on Mar 4, 2006 - 15 comments

The Ashes. Five days have given England it's first Ashes victory in 18 years. Both England and Australia have been strong this year. Both Mick Jagger and John Major should be happy. More history and A poem (initial post here). Congrats to the small isle on a great game.
posted by edgeways on Sep 12, 2005 - 53 comments

You say bodyline, I say leg theory. Either way, the origins of one of sport's most enduring rivalries (leading to a near diplomatic crisis) make for a fascinating read to the budding cricket enthusiast. No wonder people turned out in their thousands to queue in the early hours for the final day of another nail-biting test. It's turning into a hell of an ashes series.
posted by nthdegx on Aug 15, 2005 - 44 comments

The Ashes Starts Today
You can listen live online and get more background here, and in case all you folks in the US are feeling a little left out, here's an interesting article about how, until the late 19th century, you used to play as much cricket as baseball!
posted by johnny novak on Jul 21, 2005 - 68 comments

Biggest Hair in Sports. Ever. Australia and New Zealand recently played a Twenty20 cricket match in Auckland - the first time this shortened version of the game (it only take four hours to play) has been played in New Zealand. To celebrate the occasion, the New Zealand team (for some unknown reason) spent the weeks before the game going retro: growing 70s style moustaches and sideburns, and wore their much-maligned beige uniforms that the one day team used to wear in the 80s. When the team took to the pitch in front of a capacity stadium, the crowd was suitably rapturous in their appreciation of the efforts made. Has a bigger mop of hair ever taken to a field or court in a professional sport, anywhere, ever?
posted by noizyboy on Feb 24, 2005 - 55 comments

It's just not cricket. The second in my series of defiled English sporting occasions. [Flash]
posted by Pretty_Generic on Mar 15, 2003 - 12 comments

It's just not cricket - it would appear that the Cricket commentator at The Guardian is having a bad day.
posted by chill on Mar 14, 2003 - 24 comments

The Cricket World Cup is turning into a political mess as England boycott Zimbabwe and New Zealand's players refuse to play in Kenya. Meanwhile, Cricket legend, and Pakistani politician, Imran Khan wonders if UK involvement in a war on Iraq should lead to a sporting boycott of England. We've had sporting sanctions on South Africa, Olympic boycotts in 1980 and 1984 - should we ever mix politics and sport?
posted by brettski on Feb 10, 2003 - 14 comments

W.G. Grace Kong [Flash]
posted by Pretty_Generic on Jan 24, 2003 - 6 comments

So that's how cricket is played!
posted by talos on Sep 6, 2001 - 16 comments

The Don is dead. I'm just in shock. While most Americans probably don't know he is, he can only be described as the greatest living Australian and best cricketer of all time.
posted by jay on Feb 26, 2001 - 22 comments