PORT DOUGLAS, AUSTRALIA: Nothing is
more boring than watching a cricket match. Of course, the Aussies could say the
same of American baseball or football. The problem, of course, is that we
Americans don’t understand cricket. But even to the die-hard Australian cricket
fan sitting through a match that lasts six hours a day — tea breaks excluded
— for five straight days is a bit much. This is what the two elderly Aussies told me as
they watched their beloved Australia pummel South Africa live on TV without so
much as a commercial break. Players wear their sponsor’s logos and that
suffices for all the advertising that’s necessary. The two generously shared
their knowledge of their cherished sport, often relating the terms to the
little they knew of American Baseball. Unlike baseball, in international
competition, there are eleven players that play all five days. No substitution is allowed except in case of injury although the substituted player cannot bowl (pitch) or bat. Unlike baseball, the
bowler (pitcher) can hit the batman (batter) without incurring a penalty and
unlike baseball there are only two bases instead of four. Each time a batman
reaches a base it counts as a point. Batmen can score points by running back
and forth between the two bases. They can also hit in-park home runs (four
points) or out-of-park home runs (six points). It’s not unusual for a team to
score 400 points. Behind the batman is something called a wicket that looks like upright sticks. If the bowler
hits the wicket the batman is out. A batman is also out if a fielder catches a
ball or throws the batman out trying to reach base and here’s the craziest part
of the game, there are not one but two batsmen at the same time. Each player bats until he’s out,
which can be a very long time. Spectators sit in stands or stretch out on the
lawns surrounding the oval field. The two Aussies were clearly delighted with what
they were seeing. “Winning this is very
important for Australia. In international competition we’re the newcomers.
South Africa and India are the teams to beat.” But it must not have been
all that exciting, as the two decided it was time to go home. The cricket match
would go on for a few more hours, long after they were sound asleep.
