I've just received my Indian visa. The chances are rising that I'll fly on Monday. It's time to start preparing the social aspects of the trip. Small talk in India is impossible without taking about Cricket. As a Swiss, I'm of course a bit handicapped. We do Schwingen, Stone Throwing and Hornussen, besides of Yodeling - and yes, we're a Sailing Nation.
What do I know about cricket? It's an outdoor game played with bats, a ball, and wickets by two teams of 11 players each which can last for days. It's also a synonym for good sportsmanship and fair conduct.
Cricket is like baseball a tactics game. Watching cricket without knowing the rules and how they can be utilised for tactics is like watching grass growing. One has always to keep the 42 laws of cricket in mind. They tend to slip mine regularly.
Very helpful to talk about past matches is the scorecard. If you're able to read this, you don't need a report. The entire match is visible. Besides the scoring, you can read really weird things that happened to the players, such as caught, leg before wicket, stumped, and handled the ball.
Let's get to the current events form an Indian point of view. In April, India beat Pakistan by 51 runs after Pakistan beat India by 6 wickets. Maybe it's not a good idea to tackle such a sensitive issue as India's relations with it's neighbour in the west.
Less delicate is the outlook. India will be touring the West Indies. The series starts on May 16 in Jamaica with some ODI (One-day International cricket matches) and ends on July 4 with the 4th Test again in Jamaica. Apart form Jamaica, there will be matches in St Kitts, Trinidad, Antigua and St Lucia. All I know about the West Indies is that they used to have excellent fast bowlers. But I'm not sure if that is still the case.
There is a lot to catch up till Monday.
Added later
I remembered that I actually played some cricket when I was in Canada in 1983, but I gave up after a couple of hours. I was supposed to bowl. Somehow the bowling rules prevented me from bringing the ball anywhere near the wicket.
3 comments:
Yes, I think you've got a lot do until Monday, if you are really are going to go. To learn the 42 laws of cricket by heart is already quite a lot...;) and then the different kinds of crikets. But I still think that the most important is to know what can you say it in order not to get in a conflict with your hosts. Being diplomatic helps a lot.
Is your Indian visa in Sanskrit?
Oooooohhhhhh! Cricket! My fave spectator sport! Key phrases to learn would be, "Howzat!", "Bowled, Shane!", "Freddy Fintoff is a God" and learning how to pronounce "Sachin Tendulkar" would probably endear you to your Indian colleagues as well!
Oh boy! In 1983 was living in Los Angeles. I attended the 10th grade und als PE-Sport I was playing (learning) Tennis. It is now over 20 years... :(
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