Well ..... Here Goes .....

The game is essentially Anglo-Saxon, with other Europeans rarely imitating it ..... we have never yet heard of a club preparing Frogs legs, Sour Crout, Paella, or Macaroni for tea !

At the game ..... You have two sides, one out in the field and one in .....
Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out .....
..... When they are all out, the side that's out comes in, and the side that's been in goes back out and tries to get those now coming in, out .....
..... Sometimes you get men still in and not out, and when both sides have all been in and out, including the not outs ..... that's the end of the game !

Still wi' me ..... good ..... well here's a bit more to help ya' .....

The very word 'cricket' has become a synonym for all that is true and honest .....
..... To say that something is not cricket implies something underhand and not in keeping with the best ideals
- Sir Pelham Warner

It's a game of the most terryfying stresses, with more luck about it than any other game .....
..... They call it a team game, but in fact it is the lonliest game of all !
- John Arlott

It's a cussed game ..... It can show glimpses of beauty and finesse in a stroke perfectly played ..... and it then catapults you back into the trough of mediocrity .....
..... Only the most hardy of souls, or those who don't give a damn, or those with unshakeable belief, survive these upheavals easily !
- Peter Roebuck

There is also a widely held and quite erroneous belief that cricket is just another game !
- Duke of Edinburgh

But what care I ..... ?
It's the game that calls me .....
Simply to be on the field of play .....
How can it matter what fate befalls me .....
..... with 10 good fellows and 1 good day !
- A A Milne

The ideal captain just doesn't exist ..... How could he ..... ?

..... What Human Being could possibly combine all the strengths and qualities of .....
..... tactical guru, seargeant-major, thoughtful counsellor, supreme man-manager, diplomat, inspirational gambler, consistent motivator, excellence as a player, skilled in personal relationships and overflowing with luck ..... ?

..... That animal has never existed, and it is part of cricket's charm that all captains try to conceal their weak spots while hoping that their positive virtues will paper over the cracks and get their players performing to their full potential .... !!

No game can be complete, or even started, without the all important Cricket Ball .....

This is the small round object that weighs approx Five and a Half ounces, is made of leather, dyed red, and whose in-flight characteristics are more akin to the Laws of Physics and Newtons third Law of Motion than any other man made object on this planet .....
..... all in all ..... a veritable unexplained enigma .....

It can Swing, Spin, Seam and Beam .....
..... Pitch on a Good Length, Back of a Length or Short of a Length .....
..... be a Full Toss, Long Hop, Beamer or Bouncer .....
..... a Googly, Doosrah or Chinaman .....
..... a Slider or Arm Ball, a Seamer or Cutter ......
..... with Outswing or Reverse Swing, Slower or Quicker .....
..... the options are endless .....

Exponents of the noble art of bowling will tell you that they know exactly what they are serving up to the batsman on every ball ..... Do not believe them !
..... The ball has a mind of it's own ..... and will occasionally perform it's own carcophany of strange acrobatics and devilment that combine to be the complete opposite of what is intended .....
..... astounding and mesmorizing both the batsman and bowler alike .....

..... leaving them both shaking their heads and looking down at the pitch in abject amazement and astonishment ..... another unplayable delivery !?

As you will obviously now fully appreciate, it's quite a simple game really .....
..... and in understanding all the why's, wherefore's, intricasies, mind sets, and sporting culture needed to participate in our glorious game ..... and it's obvious attractions for them that watch and support .....
..... you can read on having gained that same precious knowledge .....
..... along with the stark and irrevocable truth .....
..... that it is indeed ..... much, much more than just another game ..... !!