What can we learn from cricket?

Four reasons why your grandad is right to sit in his chair all day and watch men in white pyjamas potter around a field in the rain.

Warts and all
No other sport on the planet embraces difference like cricket does. The sport has long championed the relative quirks and complexities of sports men and women across the world, be it a wristy spinner from the dustbowls of the subcontinent, a towering Jamaican fast bowler or an elegant opening bat from England’s fairest county cricket remains a breeding ground for the weird and the wonderful. In our hollow vanity-driven society cricket reveals our world to be one of individuals all with their own agenda. No batsman or bowler is the same. When a bowler is described as right arm medium fast or a batsman as a left-hand middle order pinch hitter this really is only the beginning of the story. No bowler will ever bowl the same delivery and neither will a batsman ever play an identical shot. Take into account weather conditions, the state of the pitch, the outfield, fielding positions, umpires, and the countless modes of dismissal and you have a game almost as multi-faceted as life itself. The appeal of cricket is ultimately its mystery and unpredictability and it is I believe in the game’s unbridled resistance to conformity that it ultimately gives all who enjoy and understand the game a sense of hope that no matter who you are you always have a chance.

Camaraderie

Team sports are inevitably competitive and it’s true that cricket has maintained some of the fiercest rivalries in all of sports history, however beneath all the trash talk and flag waving lies a mutual respect between all cricketing nations, what one may call ‘the spirit of cricket’. On the field it is an appreciation for what the purists call ‘good cricket’: for a stunning catch in the field, a back-to-the-wall century or devastating spell of bowling. Few will forget the iconic image of Andrew Flintoff consoling Brett Lee in and amongst English celebrations after his heroic batting at Edgbaston in 2005, or even the great Shane Warne shouting after Kevin Pietersen from the field in that same series to congratulate him on a match saving hundred in the final Test, an innings that would see Warne’s Australia stripped of the Ashes. Off the field it is much the same. When the last wicket falls on day five and the cameras have been turned off it’s the losing captain who leads his team into the opposition dressing room to share a beer with the victors. A sentiment that England wicketkeeper Matt Prior experienced first-hand during the 2009 Ashes series when Aussie captain Ricky Ponting refused to say a single word to him whilst on the field for the five Test matches that summer, but once the series was over Ponting was the first man to brave the England dressing room and raise a glass to the English.

It's still fun       

Despite a sharp increase in the professionalism of modern cricketers, cricket I think still maintains a vital balance between hard fought competition and good honest fun better than any other sport. Where football is driven by money, cricket for the most part is kept alive by a love for the sport itself. With the international arena still representing the pinnacle of the game, county players work on a more meritocratic scale than most other top level sportsmen. Whilst Chris Tremlett may move from Hampshire to Surrey to improve his game, Shaun Wright-Phillips is happy to sit on the Man City bench each week safe in the knowledge that if he doesn’t play he’ll still pocket a tidy wage packet come the end of the week. It’s true that the infiltration of the IPL may lead to a far more money-driven cricket community, but, at least for the moment, such avenues are only available to the upper echelons of the cricketing community with big bucks reserved only for the world’s most exceptional superstars. The advent of Twenty20 cricket from which the IPL was born however has been a considerable boost to the appeal of cricket. A fast-paced and thoroughly entertaining format cricket’s most recent innovation has proven once again that the sport is eager to continue its tradition as a competitive but ultimately fun sport for all to enjoy.

Old meets new

Cricket has always been a sport steeped in heritage and tradition, especially in England the game’s true homeland. England cricket fans perhaps more than most understand the careful blend required between the old guard and the new in order for the game to progress without surrendering any of its ancient charm. Twenty20 may have revolutionised the way cricket is played but Test cricket remains the greatest challenge to any cricketer. Technology may have helped to make better on-field decisions but umpires still dictate the outcome of cricket matches. Players may have particular diets but they still stop for tea at four o’clock everyday. Cricket unlike the modern commercial world is not keen on finding short-term solutions to long-term problems, but instead makes decisions based on the health and longevity of the game. Much like the game itself the business of cricket is carried out in a thoughtful and considered manner, rash decisions are punished and progression is always measured on that which has been successful in the past.