MetaFilter posts tagged with Cricket

Computer Boy & Abe Forsythe

flex — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:59:26 -0800

Computer Boy! (also available here): Abe Forsythe made the movie Computer Boy when he was just 18. It's a 50 min. spoof of The Matrix that was filmed in less than two weeks at actual Matrix shooting locations in Australia and cost just over $2000 to make.* It became a cult hit when it was released online in 2000 & was one of the first internet films to hit 500,000 views.* (wikipedia, imdb) Forsythe (wikipedia, imdb) went on to make another movie, Ned [1], in 2003 - "... [a] satire of Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, and his iconographical status as a 'hero.'"[2] Full of lowbrow humour, it was released the same year as the movie Ned Kelly, starring Heath Ledger. [3] ("Let's talk instead about the other war... the one between Ned Kelly, the big-budget drama starring Heath Ledger and directed by Gregor Jordan that has made millions, and Ned, Forsythe's iconoclastic low-budget comedy." [4]) The trailer for Ned is available on YouTube, as well as a few short clips from the movie (one - two - three). Forsythe has also made a number of (often darkly-comedic) film shorts, available on YouTube: *Being Carl Williams (2009), which won 2nd prize and Best Comedy at Tropfest that year (references Australian criminal Carl Williams) *The Talk (2010) *Tomorrow (GPS) (2010), Grand Prize Winner for the Pepsi Refresh MOFILM Awards (short film competition) in Barcelona 2010 *Shock (2010), Tropfest 2010 winner (Forsythe's acceptance speech) - a comedic tribute to Australian radio/TV personality Kyle Sandilands *The Hostage (2010) *Prick (2012) (NSFWish) As an actor, Forsythe has starred in the Australian TV series Always Greener (2001-2003, imdb); Fireflies (2004, imdb); Tripping Over (2006); Laid (2011, imdb); and most recently in one of Australia's most popular TV mini-series ever, as John Cornell, in the Australian drama Howzat! Kerry Packer's War which was based on Packer's takeover of cricket in 1977, and the establishment of World Series Cricket.

It's just not cricket

Wordshore — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 00:01:10 -0800

As accreditation to many photographic news agencies is declined by the BCCI (Board of Cricket Control for India), The Telegraph publishes its own images of action from the India vs England first test match, while the Guardian goes retro. Coverage of the dispute in the India, Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand media.

If-

Elizabeth the Thirteenth — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 15:29:03 -0800

Michael Caine plays If- straight. Robert Morley hams If- up. Dennis Hopper misses a line or two, Harvey Keitel misses a whole stanza, and Grampa Simpson misses the point entirely. Joni Mitchell sings sublime. KeyKrusher raps ridiculous. Federer and Nadal go head to head, with commentary. International cricket pundits celebrate the Indian Premier League, Des Lynam toasts World Cup 98, and a failing football manager addresses a press conference. A teenager learns from an angel, and seven year old Humza learns If- for himself. Translations in French, German, Romanian, Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian. Previously and previously.

"To most Americans, there is something inexplicably foreign about cricket"

Wordshore — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:49:48 -0800

Wickets and Wonders: Cricket’s Rich Literary Vein - a meditation on the literary history of cricket, and a few of the more well-known books surrounding gigaioggie.

A tale of (the wage bills of) three English sports

Wordshore — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 13:10:38 -0800

Information on cricket salaries in England is difficult to find, though the amounts are acknowledged to be low; many cricketers take on a second job during the off-season. One of the top flight teams, Durham, is the first county fined for narrowly exceeding the total playing staff salary cap for the year. As a cross-sport comparison, the top flight football (soccer) team wage bills for 2010-11, and the team salary caps for rugby.

The next big cricket tournament in the USA

Wordshore — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 14:44:53 -0800

In another attempt to increase the popularity of cricket in America, a tournament based on T20 (Twenty-twenty), an extremely short form of the game where a match can last as little as three hours, is planned for next year. Though cricket is one of the oldest sports in the country, and the USA is one of the 106 members of the International Cricket Council, speculation still periodically emerges (Slate, BBC) on whether the nation is ready for cricket's big 'breakthrough'. Discuss: can cricket ever become a major sport in terms of play, attendance and media coverage, in the USA?

I hope we will someday live in a society where we are so accepting of each other that we can all laugh at jokes like these and know that there is no malice or diminishment intended.

asnider — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:43:25 -0800

Jason Alexander appeared on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson recently, and told a joke about cricket being "a little bit gay." Shortly afterwards, some of his Twitter followers told him that they were offended by the joke. This prompted Jason to seriously reflect on his joke and offer a thoughtful apology.

Nice catch!

sweetkid — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:44:21 -0800

Ball Boy's Quick Catch steals attention from Nadal-Federer Aussie Open semifinal match. ''I didn't have much time to think about it. I just stuck my hand out and the ball just stayed there. I couldn't believe it myself but then I just had to get straight on with the match." Dylan Colaci's catching skills were compared to those of Australia's master of close fielding Ricky Ponting. Rafael Nadal went on to beat Roger Federer in four sets and will meet Novak Djokovic in tonight's men's final.

One for the country!

nicolas léonard sadi carnot — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:42:43 -0800

Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, 83, holder of the world record for downing a yard glass of beer, shows that he's still got it. SLYT.

SCG gets to 100 before Tendulkar

vidur — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:22:54 -0800

When Australia and India take the field today, the Sydney Cricket Ground will be playing host to a Test Match for the 100th time. Naturally, there have been some memorable games.

A primer on spin bowling

bardophile — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:33:26 -0800

On the perils of imitating Shane Warne

Basil D'Oliveira

marienbad — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 07:16:41 -0800

Cricketer Basil D'Oliveira Has Died. "In 1968 he was named in England's squad to tour South Africa which was then cancelled as the ruling National Party refused to accept his presence." "The headlines made by D'Oliveira in 1968 marked the start of South Africa's sporting isolation. After being added to the England squad as a replacement for the injured Tom Cartwright the South African government made it clear a 'Cape coloured' would not be welcome." BBC Cricket correspondent Jonathan "Aggers" Agnew's Tribute. RIP.

The other two, sure. But Amir? As if

smcg — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:21:26 -0800

Unlike other forms of match fixing, spot fixing does not affect the final result, only specific events within a game. Last year, in a cricket match at Lord's between England and Pakistan, three Pakistani cricketers and one agent 'conspired to cheat'. Following the decision [PDF] at Southwark Crown Court today, all four men will face prison time ranging from six to 32 months. It is the first time this charge, brought in under the Gambling Act 2005, has led to a sportsperson's conviction. The captain Salman Butt and bowler Mohammad Asif were both found guilty following the trial. They have received sentences of two and a half years and one year respectively. The third player, young bowler Mohammad Amir, pled guilty and was sentenced to six months - although as he is 19 that will be served at a Young Offenders Institution. The prosecution's case was based around damning video evidence of the agent, Mazhar Majeed, predicting specific events within the game that later happened, provided by journalist Mazher Mahmood ('the Fake Sheikh') working for the now-defunct News of the World. Majeed also pled guilty, although the judge rejected the basis of his plea, and he has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison. All four will be released on licence half-way through their sentences, pending good behaviour. Earlier this year, the three players were banned by cricket's governing body, the ICC. Amir's ban was for five years, Asif's for seven (with two suspended), and Butt's for ten (with five suspended). Even this verdict will not be the end of the matter, with the ICC's Anti-Corruption in Sport Unit preparing to investigate further matches in last year's series, and Majeed indicating that a further (as yet unnamed) player was involved. And, of course, the game itself goes on. Pakistan are currently playing against Sri Lanka in Sharjah.

Kumar Sangakkara's 2011 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture.

chunking express — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:27:04 -0800

"Kumar Sangakkara delivered an exceptional speech in his 2011 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, touching on the history, culture and opportunities for Sri Lankan cricket as well a moving recounting of the terrorist attack on their team bus in Pakistan." Sangakara is facing some flack back in Sri Lanka because his speech was a bit too frank.

So, Cricket, Maybe?

reenum — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:45:50 -0800

With the NFL and NBA potentially going dark in the fall, Michael Schur and Nate DiMeo of Grantland.com decide to watch the India-Pakistan cricket match to see if it can be a suitable replacement.

Wait till he takes guard in Mumbai

vidur — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:54:10 -0800

"I've never been in a stadium that feels like this one. Hindus and Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, people from different castes and classes, speakers of a dozen languages, all citizens in the Republic of Sachin. The stern cops give wide smiles and thumbs-ups. The chant goes from "Sachin! Sachin!" to "Hoo … ha … IN-DI-A!" They are interchangeable." A feeling arises, a rare one, that you are part of a group watching something special. The power of sport is that, on occasion, it redeems the messes we create around it. Cricket can be stronger than the forces changing it. Victories are fleeting, but the poems are what matters. I don't know if cricket is about to be ruined, or if Sachin is no longer needed, if he's retiring or if he'll defy expectations and play 10 more years. These are things we can guess about but never know. I do know this: I am a fan. I am sunburned but do not care. I lose track of time. That's not a narrative flourish. Hours seem like moments. Rapture comes to the people here. I see Sachin constructing a score, and I understand the planning, and the years of experience, that lead a man to this field on this day, and to the artistry he now holds as part of himself, like a chamber of his heart. We are congregants in a church. We are watching the son of a poet. The stand-up comedian is serious. This is a perfect at-bat, Andy tells me. This is art, and I am lucky to see it. Soon, Sachin will be gone. This feeling will be gone. Right now, it is alive. It has the power of a name, immortal and pure.

The Sachin Tendulkar of Cricketblogging

Kattullus — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:34:35 -0800

For me, this was a first experience of seeing India play at home, and of Sachin Tendulkar playing in front of his own people. I chose a good game with which to start. I can think of few, if any, experiences in sport to match watching Tendulkar succeed in a home game. Roger Federer may occupy a similar status of universally-acknowledged greatness within tennis, but I think it is fair to say that Switzerland is not quite as passionate about tennis as India is about cricket. If Federer were to simultaneously play tennis whilst hoarding gold and providing banking facilities for dubious dictators, perhaps the fervour of his support would match that for Sachin. But the Swiss population is unlikely ever to top the one billion mark.

Don't know a thing about cricket? Wouldn't know a wicket from a googly? Don't worry, you won't have to know a thing to enjoy Andy Zaltzman's World Cup Blog. He is traveling around Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka attending various games. Zaltzman is best known to the world for the fabulous podcast The Bugle which he does with John Oliver. Therefore it should come as no surprise that he also does a cricket podcast. And he tweets about cricket too.

Cricketer Comes Out

hoyland — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 18:23:14 -0800

England cricketer Steven Davies has come out in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, having come out to the England squad prior to the Ashes, making him the first openly gay professional cricketer. The Guardian tries to work out what this says about cricket

Not a sport for gentlemen

bardophile — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:10:45 -0800

Asian Games Cricket Gold for Pakistani Women Pakistan beat Bangladesh to grab gold in women's cricket at the Asian Games.

Sachin Tendulkar becomes the most-capped Cricket player

vidur — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:48:29 -0800

Today, Sachin Tendulkar is playing in his 169th Cricket Test Match. With this, he goes past Australia's Steve Waugh. Already holding the record for most runs (13000+) and most centuries (48 and counting) in Test cricket (plus many other records), the 37-year old cricketer is not showing any signs of retiring anytime soon. In the previous game, he scored a double century and batted for almost 10 hours. A few months ago, he broke an 'impossible record' in the shorter format of the game. This record is a reminder of the "ache of endurance" (he played his first Test match in 1989), as one journalist put it. What's Cricket? This.

800 Wickets

chunking express — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:07:56 -0800

Muttiah Muralitharan, who is retiring from Test cricket, takes his 800th Test wicket. 800 wickets is a lot. Reaction to the record. Australian bowler Shane Warne suspects the record won't be broken for a very long time, if ever:

Even though so much more Test cricket is played these days, I think Murali's record will stand for a long, long time and probably forever. You just have to work it out by numbers - for that record to be broken someone has to play 140-150 Tests and take 5-6 wickets a Test. That will take some doing.

Swinging away

Abiezer — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:50:04 -0800

Swinging Away: How Cricket and Baseball Connect Five minute slideshow with audio from the BBC of historical images to coincide with an exhibition at Lords on the linked histories of the two bat and ball sports.

The sound of leather on willow and brains

fearfulsymmetry — Fri, 14 May 2010 01:45:43 -0800

Friday Flash Fun Ashes 2 Ashes - Zombie Cricket

Howzat!?! Is this cricket?

Grrlscout — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:31:53 -0800

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?

Speaking of sports...

Grrlscout — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:35:08 -0800

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?