The Ashes - Has it changed your opinion of cricket?

cil_aine

I put this on here, because i didn't want to offend the cricket forum people. Personally, i still find it mundane as ever, and can't tolerate any more talk of the stuff. And the people pretending to be avid cricket fans, constantly asking the score, as if they care. My friend said yesterday that he'd be far more interested in it now, but would you?

zuma

I've seen a couple of minutes of it on Channel4 many times.

It bores the life out of me, then again I've never bothered to actually learn how its played...so ignorance is bliss!!
Personially I find tennis just as boring and can still remember Wimbledon being shown all day on RTE when I was a child.!

Ireland are going to be playing in the Cricket World Cup...so mabye if RTE shows a couple of matches, then it might become more popular.

Makaveli

Sitting in work, with nothing else to watch (I work in a bookies) it's a great thing to watch to pass time. I used to hate cricket but one of the lads I work with explained the rules to me and now I find it quite good to watch.
So yeah, I'm more interested in it now. The Ashes is a bit drawn out though, the one day tests are more exciting.

whiskeyman

It's a good game once you know the rules.
Otherwise you're probably gonna have the usual "its boring rubbish" approach.
I could say the same about all other sports really.
Depends if you like them or not.
But to answer your question, Yes it has, as I only learnt the rules just before the Ashes began and it just served as a wonderful example of the sport.

Pitseleh

Well I used to arrogantly assume it was just boring crap that got in the way of Frasier on Channel 4 in the mornings. However, I slowly got into it and watched the majority the final three tests. While I would be "asking the score" over the last few tests I'd never make out to be an "avid cricket fan" - I think I'd only take interest in maybe the Ashes and the World Cup but none of the county or one-day matches to be honest.

28064212

Pile of ****e tbh. Can't understand how you can possibly get interested in something as absolutely mind-numbing as cricket. Any single game that takes more than a day to complete needs a good kick up the arse. And they stop if it rains! It's worse than baseball for christ's sake.

KevIRL

Its a great sport. As some other posters have said, you just need to give it some time to understand the rules.

Remember Ireland have qualified for the World Cup in 2007 in the West Indies. We are in a group with

West Indies
Pakistan
Zimbabawe
and Ireland

I'm goin for definite. Ireland V West Indies in Kingston Jamacia. Imagine that!

Pitseleh

KevIRL wrote:

Remember Ireland have qualified for the World Cup in 2007 in the West Indies. We are in a group with

West Indies
Pakistan
Zimbabawe
and Ireland

Now I'm pretty much a cricket amateur but that just means "we" are going to get hammered in 2007.

KevIRL

Pitseleh wrote:

Now I'm pretty much a cricket amateur but that just means "we" are going to get hammered in 2007.

LOL more than likely. But in recent years we have beaten both the Windies and Zimbabawe in one dayers. But it'll all be about the participation. Also famously in 1969 Ireland bowled out the West Indies for 25 runs!

entropi

This " sport " bores me to tears tbh , it's just like golf or tennis or badminton etc... Too much emphasis is placed on this load of bull becoming popular, but it's shoddy and should have died out a long long time ago. The only thing that makes me happy about cricket and above mentioned past-times is when they lose and those ever so smug Brits start to crack up and get in a huff blaming the weather or ground conditions

RuggieBear

emm....there is a cricket forum btw

has it changed my opinion......nope. Alway's liked it.

Nothing quite like whacking a ball for four that the bowler has aimed at you ribs...

Timans

I am not a great cricket fan but i the ashes has got me into it more as in, when the cricket would come on the sports news i would switch channel but now i listen to it.Might watch it if RTE show ireland games/matches/whatever they are called in cricket.

Come On Ireland!They beat surrey in a freindly once last year or year before.

KevIRL

Sound Barrier wrote:

I am not a great cricket fan but i the ashes has got me into it more as in, when the cricket would come on the sports news i would switch channel but now i listen to it.Might watch it if RTE show ireland games/matches/whatever they are called in cricket.

Come On Ireland!They beat surrey in a freindly once last year or year before.

That was actually in a competition. The FA Cup of English cricket if you like.

RuggieBear

oh... and there is a Bray lad, Ed Joyce, who has a very good chance of breaking into the English Test team. and a good couple of other Irish potentials who are more than holding their own in county cricket.

KevIRL

RuggieBear wrote:

emm....there is a cricket forum btw

I think that was acknowledged by the OP Ruggie. She just didnt want to offend us over there on the cricket forum.

cil_aine

see, i enjoy watching tennis, wimbledon is always quite good, but i don't think i have the patience for the cricket tbh.

RuggieBear

KevIRL wrote:

I think that was acknowledged by the OP Ruggie. She just didnt want to offend us over there on the cricket forum.

lol
by god I've got bad eyesight....

Apologies OP! TBH, i don't reckon it would offend the regulars on the cricket forum as long as there would be no "Cricket is crap" statements without a reasonable explanation on why a poster might feel that way.

I understand why cricket might not be to everyone's tastes and tbh, some of the "bad light" rules are ridiculous

Mossy Monk

the Ashes hasnt changed my opinion at all

i still love it, although the lack of Channel 4 is a bitch

KevIRL

Mossy Monk wrote:

the Ashes hasnt changed my opinion at all

i still love it, although the lack of Channel 4 is a bitch

Ouch. First time since I had to change from Sky digital to NTL digital that I'm happy with NTL.

Endurance Man

Pile of ****e tbh. Can't understand how you can possibly get interested in something as absolutely mind-numbing as cricket. Any single game that takes more than a day to complete needs a good kick up the arse. And they stop if it rains! It's worse than baseball for christ's sake.
Today 20:15

Cricket is a great game, i enjoy it a lot. Played it since i was young .
Now forgive me for being rude, as this poster was^^, but what is the attraction with this gaelic football? Did they just take soccer/basketball/rugby and mix them into that?
I find that painful to watch .

Mossy Monk

KevIRL wrote:

Ouch. First time since I had to change from Sky digital to NTL digital that I'm happy with NTL.

luckily for me all the Test Matches and ODI will be on Sky Sports now

is_that_so

Played a bit as a kid. It seemed to fit in between the tennis and football. I lost interest in it and tbh now I would be hard pushed to watch a full match but this Ashes series has been brilliant. For me cricket on TV is something to dip in and out of but any cricket that good is worth watching.

nesf

cil_aine wrote:

I put this on here, because i didn't want to offend the cricket forum people.

No, they read this board too occasionally. Post in the correct forum please, AH is not an alternative to other forums for topics.

Thread moved to cricket.

Dagnir Glaurung

Always loved cricket, so no. What it has changed is my opinion of the England team. I have certainly gained a lot of respect for them over this series.

Never played it though. Seems kind of expensive.

Pepe LeFrits

20-20 got me into it and the Ashes was(were?) fantastic. Not really practical to watch it all though, I took a more highlights & final day approach. It's an intriguing game to watch and the sportsmanship is a breathe of fresh air, coming from football fandom where the players are generally mal-educated, overpaid thugs, louts and cheats.

pickarooney

It seems like a sport that's far more fun to play than watch - like golf and motor-racing I suppose. I've played it a few times and it was a great laugh, but I wouldn't know where to begin watching it. Pick a team at random and cheer them on? Try appreciate different styles? Look out for interesting statistics? I have trouble following any sport I don't have at least some vested interest in, so I reckon I'd only watch attentively if I was with someone patient who understood it fully and Ireland or someone was playing.

Endurance Man

It's an intriguing game to watch and the sportsmanship is a breathe of fresh air, coming from football fandom where the players are generally mal-educated, overpaid thugs, louts and cheats.

Well said m8!

Makaveli

kaids wrote:

Not really practical to watch it all though

Nope not at all, unless you are a bum or are lucky enough (like me) to be able to sit and watch television in work.
Which was actually quite handy, no Channel 4 at home so I wouldn't have seen any of the Ashes live.

LegacyUser

Good points made above.

I've watched some cricket every so often, and I can find it quite entertaining. I think if it wasn't for one day tests and 20/20 the game would be on its knees. IMO the only reason test cricket, like the Ashes for example, if still going is tradition. I wouldnt ever call myself a fan, but I've certainly been following it lately. I just find it hard to swallow that the weather/bad light can really influence the outcome.

Take the last test for example. Englad essentially had 2 complete innings and amassed a total of 708 runs. Australia had one inning and got 367, and the joke of a second inning, which comprised of a few balls and scored 4 runs. Now it's perfectly conceivable that had Australia another full innings, they could have beaten the England total, but due to some sketchy decisions on Sunday with the light etc. they (England) started well yesterday, and after lunch just ran down the clock. IMO sport is about scoring more than the other guy, more so that making sure the other guy doesnt have the chance to score more than you. I find this annoying.

It's a bit like two soccer teams in a penalty shoot-out, and one team has five penalties, while the other only has three!! One day cricket is much fairer where both team have an equal amount of balls to make a score.

While England played very well, and they havent won it since '85 so we cant begrudge them it, it seems more luck and bad light won the final test as much as good batting and bowling.

I stand open to correction on any of the interpretations of the rules above....

Harry2001

bruachain wrote:

Good points made above.
IMO the only reason test cricket, like the Ashes for example, if still going is tradition.

Test cricket is HUGE in all the top countries that play it, the County Game in England gets very poor attendances but every test (not only against Australia) is sold out long in advance

Cricket is the second best sport ever imo, played as it was in this test series it drags my interest from football which takes some doing.

RuggieBear

kinda right, bruachain and tbh, it's within the rules but remember england also ran out of time when they had a chance to win the third test when all they had to do was get McGrath out.

Test Cricket is exciting now. ODI's and 20-20 has made players much more adventurous and ambtious to score quickly.

My mother still loaths Geof Boycott as he would just defend and block for two/three days in scoring his 100's as he bored the opposition into submission.

KevIRL

bruachain wrote:

Take the last test for example. Englad essentially had 2 complete innings and amassed a total of 708 runs. Australia had one inning and got 367, and the joke of a second inning, which comprised of a few balls and scored 4 runs. Now it's perfectly conceivable that had Australia another full innings, they could have beaten the England total, but due to some sketchy decisions on Sunday with the light etc. they (England) started well yesterday, and after lunch just ran down the clock. IMO sport is about scoring more than the other guy, more so that making sure the other guy doesnt have the chance to score more than you. I find this annoying.

....

What about the other tests that were all fully completed within 4 days? Like Ruggie said, test cricket is now much more entertaining due to it being played often in a one day style. This is mainly thanks to the Aussies and their win at all costs attitude. I love the ODI's but have to say that a close finishing test is much more satisfying as after 5 days of play the teams can only be separated by 2 runs. Nuts!

Granted the bad light thing was a major pain in hole though.

LegacyUser

Agreed it's fully within the rules - just a bit frustrating

Have to say though I could watch Warne all day bowling spinners, its incredible the control he has over the ball. Great player.

Also was impressed when he went over to Pietersen to give him props for his batting once he was out. Good sportmanship. And IMO bleached hair looks cool on the Aussies, the English just look like tw@ts with it!

RuggieBear

bruachain wrote:

Also was impressed when he went over to Pietersen to give him props for his batting once he was out. Good sportmanship.

well that and the fact they play for the same county and are really good mates