Larry’s View

The Australian open-air sports stadium, Melbourne Cricket Ground or MCG at Yarra Park, inner Melbourne is the place of origin for the Melbourne Cricket Club or MCC. As it is famous because of its own legacy and virtues, the MCG also comprises the highest of light towers.

The MCG was the centerpiece stadium of the stadium for Summer Olympics (1956) and the Commonwealth Games (2006). But the legacy of the MCG lies in being the most popular of cricket grounds with the well-attended test match held on the Boxing Day every year. Late Septembers usually find the stadium hosting the AFL Grand Final.

Though the stadium used to accommodate more than 120,000 people formerly (the record is 130,000), the recent safety regulations do not allow more than 100,000. The MCG, or the “The G” (as it is referred to lovingly), is also famous for hosting major events like the matches between the Australian Football League and Gaelic Athletic Association, qualifiers from the FIFA World Cup and other friendly, international matches; the list extends to Madonna who jokingly named the stadium as the “G Spot” during her Girlie Show Tour.

The MCG received a facelift in 1861 (courtesy: RC Bagot) with the reversible-stand being erected in 1876 and the MCC pavilion came up along with a new members’ pavilion five years later. Prince George of Wales and Prince Albert Victor inaugurated the latter on the 4th of July. The member’s pavilion was put into use officially in December 1881. The scorecard appeared the following year but it took fifteen years for the Grandstand to be extended and a doubledeck was build. 1900 saw the lights changed to electric and the New Stand (now The Grey Smith Stand) was erected in 1906, eighty-six years before the Great Southern Stand came into existence. This also initiated the rebuilding of more than half of the MCG and a new stand was built for 48,000 people that costed AUD$150.

The older stands (the Members’ stand, 1928; the Olympic stand, 1956 and the Ponsford stand, 196 are now history, but if you had been there before 2002, you must have had a glimpse of all the three stands. It is a new structure that replaced the older ones for hosting the Commonwealth Games last year (2006). Now, that was AUD$400 million - the much-required capacity for the stadium for holding the 98,002 spectators who showed up at the First Preliminary Final of the AFL in 2007.

Lawrence

Like water is to life, so is latest cricket news to cricket fanatics. But latest cricket news is a term that covers anything from a team’s governing authorities to the current match results; while the former doesn’t always catch the attention of the cricket loving community, the latter becomes a phenomenon especially when a tournament is running. Add to it the live telecasts and work schedules often receive a setback throughout the entire season.

Until a few years back, it was the newspaper, the radio and the television that ruled the roost when it cam to the latest cricket news. But enter Internet and latest cricket news became something fresher compared to the olden days. Websites, webcasts and podcasts now occupy a central position in the current “latest cricket news” domain; by the time the information reaches the target audience, it is hardly a few seconds stale, unlike the traditional media of yore. The format followed in the cricket domain is now 24/7, but one also needs to know from where to gather the latest cricket news. So we took up the pain for you and that translates to the freshest and latest cricket news.

The following websites offer the most accurate information in latest cricket news:

* Cricketnext.com: For the lovers of Twenty20 2007/08.

* Cricketworldcuplatest.com: The website aim at becoming the primary unofficial website that is dedicated to every aspects of world Cricket and not just the World Cup. One of the best websites for comprehensive news coverage on the International test series; the English County Cricket season and the 2007 Twenty20 Cup.

* Cricinfo: The virtual home of cricket; offers comprehensive coverage of the game from both the international and the domestic perspective. Provides live cricket scores, most current news, editor’s view on the current scenarion of the sport; comments; analyses and statistics.

* Cricket365: It’s been the sixth year for the website and is a part of the British Sky Broadcasting Group. Need we say more?

* BBC Sport: The website was created for enriching the lives of people with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain. Not only cricket; one shall find the most intricate details of every form of sport including Soccer and motor sports inside.

* AbcofCricket.com: A free cricket resource for the most relevant and of cricket information. If you want, you can also donate to keep roaming the borders of insanity.

Lawrence

Have you just heard about Stick cricket or are you wondering what Stick Cricket is? Stick Cricket is a Adobe flash game which can be played on your computer like any other flash game that you must have played. The name stick cricket caught up earlier on because in the initial version of the game, the players did not look like humans but sticks and thus, the name. An Australian company called Cann Creative initially developed the game of Stick Cricket. Cann Creative failed to arouse much interest amongst the general public for the game of Stick Cricket. It was then that they got in touch with a company called Advergamer from London, England. The two companies got together and partnered to take the game further and what resulted was euphoria for the game on internet. These two companies together brought out a series of free Adobe flash games including the classic Stick Cricket.

The game of Stick Cricket can be played on any browser whether it be internet explorer of mozilla firefox or any other for that matter till you have Adobe flash player installed on your system. You can download the game from the website www.stickcricket.com . The website not only has the game on offer but also a host of other information regarding the game and the latest news in the world of cricket (of course, not stick cricket but the actual one ) . You can also see live match scores on the website and check out the betting meter for a game. You can also download wallpapers to your mobile phone from www.stickcricket.com and also buy cricket merchandise.

www.stickcricket.com also has on offer a basic version of the game that can be downloaded and played on your mobile phone. Thus, stick cricket has really become accessible to all of us everywhere.

Stick Cricket also has a little history behind it which is a must mention. The game has seen several versions. From the first version where the players were more of sticks rather than players to the latest version which is version 5 where the game is almost realistic. The first version hardly offered any features and the latest version allows you to make your own team, listen to commentary. With the latest version, you can also play the super 8 stage of the world cup. In the latest version of Stick Cricket, you can play for 5, 10, 20 and overs. You can also choose to play All Star Slog, Super 8 or Challenge. All these options allow you to play the game at different levels.

Lawrence

The cricket ground is a large, either circular or oval ground covered with grass. Though dimensions for a cricket ground are not fixed, the diameter of the playing area usually stays between 450 feet and 500 feet, with a rope marking the outer perimeter of the field. This is called the boundary, the target of every batsman who love the hollering of a crowd gone berserk with the heat of the play.

The central strip of the cricket ground is the cricket pitch that is 22 yards (20.12 m) long and 10 feet (3 m) wide, with one set of wickets (three stumps and the bails) at each end, known as batting end and bowling end. The surface of the pitch is very flat and stays covered normally with extremely short grass. Most of the action in a cricket ground takes place on this pitch, since both batting and bowling are to be done specifically on this strip of land. The lines on the pitch are known as creases that decide the dismissals of batsmen and correct deliveries. Pitches are famous for their inconsistency regarding the bounce, spin and seam movement available; this is what that makes certain pitches favorite to certain players who know how to make the best out of them.

The cricket ground may have two additional field markings for some limited over matches; these are the curves with 30 yards (27.4 m) radius that’s drawn from the center of each wicket according to the pitch’s breadth that join with lines drawn parallel at 30 yards to the pitch’s length. The line divides the field into two separate parts - the infield and the outfield, while two circles of 15 yards radii center on each wicket and define the “close-infield”. All of these three; however, are meant for enforcing restrictions on fielding.

Test pitches in India are conducive to turn the ball significantly; the Australian and South African pitches have been found to be bouncy; English pitches are the best to make the ball seam and swing; pitches in Pakistan are where run-festivals are held and Sri Lankan and West Indies pitches are infamous for being slow and low. But if it is about the the low-scoring cricket grounds, then nothing can perhaps beat the Dunedin cricket ground, followed by Headingley, Cape Town and the MCG. However, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai beats them all - this cricket ground has been found to produce the lowest average runs per wicket in the last ten years.

Lawrence

In a world where almost everything has a virtual counterpart, it would be unfair not to have one for one of the most popular phenomenon that the sport of cricket is. Computer-based virtual cricket games are adorning the gaming arena for quite sometime and now, with Internet invading every possible side of life, have given rise to cricket games to play online. The best part of it is that the advancement has removed the geographical barrier between the cricket-crazy mass; the cricket games to play online have also given the game the proper exposure to those who are not much savvy about the game. In a word, cricket games to play online are the biggest, indirect propaganda that have been found to stretch the boundary of the games to places where it never treaded before. But, it’s difficult converting a complex sport like cricket into a video game, as a result of which, they do not turn up to be as realistic like the shooting action or the motor race games. But nevertheless, virtual cricket remains a hot favourite among the game enthusiasts and serves the right purposes when the sun is too high or in case of devastating downpours.

So, how to choose the right one from the vast array of cricket games available for being played online? Among all the criteria, a realistic look and feel is most important; matched with enough difficulty levels to make the game a challenging and lasting one, the best games allow for controlling all the thirteen players on the virtual field. If the game is a detailed one, then it should also allow for playing the internationals; the one-day matches; the test matches as well as the friendly matches. There should also be an option for net practice and player selection according to their respective prowess.

But you must also know which cricket games to play online shall suit you the most. While the arcade types allow interactions with the players, the simulation games make possible managing a team’s tactics; if you are more for fantasy cricket, you shall require a totally different set of skills that are important to manage an international cricket team. But then again, all shall be of little use if the speed of an Internet connection and the processing capabilities of a PC do not match the minimum requirements stated by the game developers. In that case, Stick Cricket and the likes are suggested, though one shall miss out on the detailed graphics and fast response times.

Lawrence

Cricket is a game that might seem quite similar to baseball at the first instance to a layman. But to someone who has a fair bit of an idea about both the games, it’s like two different worlds. Cricket is played between two teams on a 22 yards pitch with 11 players each side.

Though the game has it’s formal origins in The Great Britain, some people also argue that another form of cricket was quite prevalent in Asia much earlier. It’s origins even in England are not clear, while some claim that the game began as early as 13th century, others say that the game actually began in 16th century and formal records of the game are available only from 17th century onwards, when professional cricketers emerged.

The game soon caught the attention of everyone and became immensely popular. The first cricket club was MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) and their ground was Lord’s in London. To this date MCC and Lord’s are unparalleled in the world of cricket.

The aim of the game is to score as many runs with 11 players each side and then try and get the other side out for as little as possible.

There are three major forms of the game today, with the third one very recently introduced. The first is ‘test match’. A ‘test match’ is played between two teams of eleven players each over a period of 5 days. In this type of game, the teams can bat and bowl upto a maximum of two times each. This is the oldest form of the game and is also considered as the ultimate test of a player’s abilities.

The 1960s saw the English counties reducing the number of days to just one and made the game a limited over match. This ensured that almost every match played produced a definitive result. Thus, was born the concept of One day matches, or now more popularly known as ODI (One Day Internationals). Today, this is the most popular form of the game and almost all the leading teams of the world play almost 50 ODIs every year apart from the test matches.

The latest form of the game that is now gaining huge popularity due to the tremendous energy and excitement that abound it is called 20-20. The 20-20 signifies that both the sides will have just 20 overs each to make as many runs as possible. This version of the game is fast and is a feast for the spectators because shots are hit all around the ground. A rain of sixes and fours is all that a fan pays for and this version of the game offers it all.

Lawrence

If it is the warfront, you need the right arms and ammunitions; if it’s the kitchen, you need proper utensils; if it’s cricket, you need a little more than that. For cricket is a sport where right equipment are paramount; without the right gear, you just might have to duck and run to the pavilion. That’s worst than facing death because of a jammed trigger in the warfront.

While the general mindset makes us more inclined towards choosing only the right kind of the bat, a professional approach forces us to be square. This is because cricket makes a player play multiple roles and without the right kind of cricket supplies, it’s not possible to master the moves. So welcome to the cricket supplies shop; step into the domain of ultimate perfection.

The usual cricket supplies hover around the domains of the bat, the ball, appropriate protection measures, the wickets and of course, the flannel. The third option applies most to the batsmen and the wicketkeepers, for they are the ones who face the dangers of the red devil (read - the ball). Thus, selection of the correct gloves is important along with the padding for the legs; the protectors for the abdominal region and a helmet to protect the head also require a careful approach before shelling out the dough. The question remains, how to select the right cricket supplies?

* The bats: A cricket bat should not be too light or too heavy for the player, though certain professionals use heavy bats and some, the lightweight alternatives. The best ones should feel the most comfortable to hold and must not restrict the play.

* Protection measures: These comprise the helmets, gloves, inner gloves, pads, chest pads, arm guards, inner thigh pads, cricket boots and groin guards. These should have a tight but comfortable fit and must offer a good deal of resistance to the force created by the ball at high speeds. Looks are the last things to consider.

* Other cricket supplies: They might range from the chewing gum and UV sunglasses to the dresses (cricket whites), jumpers, cap or hats, cricket balls, stumps and bails.

If you think that’s a lot of investment, then know that safety and performance have their own prices. Besides, investing in high quality cricket supplies shall fetch the best products in the market and shall also last for a very long time.

Lawrence

Although there have been many magazines that were or are published only for cricket, but there have been a lot of sports magazines which have give maximum space to cricket. Apart from this, most of these magazines were published only in the Indian subcontinent and were exported from there to other countries. One of those magazines is Sportstar. This is one of the oldest published magazine in the Indian subcontinent which featured special interview of cricketers of the present and the past. One of the trademarks of this magazine was the free poster of the stars of the game of cricket. The magazine also featured a cricket quiz every edition with prizes up for grabs for correct answers on an early bird basis.

Apart from that another magazine called Wisden cricket Asia was also published from the mid of 2001 to 2005 but was discontinued then. The publishers of this magazine are known more for their immense collection of books on cricket and their famous Wisden cricket quiz series than the magazine.

With the advent of internet, the paper magazines slowly seem to lose their ground to the internet based ‘virtual magazines’. There are numerous websites dedicated purely to cricket and promoting the game. These websites come up with weekly, bimonthly and monthly editions of free online magazines with the latest in the game and related stuff. Apart from the websites that are run by individuals or companies, the cricket governing bodies like ICC (International Cricket Council) also have their own online magazines for the latest updates on the game, the rules, awards etc.

Some of the most popular online cricket magazines are :
1. www.123India.com/cricket
2. www.cricinfo.com
3. www.crickbuzz.com
4. www.espnstar.com/cricket
5. www.cricmania.com

These internet based, online magazines, have a distinct advantage over the traditional published magazines in the sense that they do not occupy any space in your house and can be accessed anytime on a PC from anywhere in the world and are updated far more easily and faster than the traditional paper magazines. Also these magazines have a massive database of the various statistics related to the game of cricket. Apart from the regular stuff, there are loads of quizzes and contests with loads of prizes up for grabs. Also these magazines offer free pics of your favorite cricket superstars.

Surely, there seems to be a paradigm shift in the way we read magazines and more and more people are reading the online magazines, are you?

Lawrence