On a beautiful summer's day, what's better to do than to spend a lovely day at the cricket!
This traditionally British past time both confuses and stupefies foreigners, and yet it still holds a powerful grip on the culture of this country. Other sports have become increasingly popular in Australia, but the state based rivalries still exist and cricket remains the unifying sport that is embraced by the entire country.
So, with the sun high in the sky, we joined thousands of others as we made our way into the Sydney Cricket Ground for the one day international between Australia and England.
Our seats were good!Seated in the Trumper Stand, we were perfectly placed to view the action, whilst still receiving some protection from the upper parts of the stand.
With the game underway, there was nothing more to do than to sit back and start on the beers.
Cricket is a nuanced game that requires patience and technique. The traditional test match form of the game takes 5 days, so even the one day version is a bastardisation of that original pure form. The even newer 20-20 format is even further from what is traditionally considered cricket. Even with this "shorter" version of the game (a one day match being comprised of 50 overs per team) this was still going to take more than 8 hours.
What better way to enjoy those 8 hours though? Sitting in the shade of the stands, having some drinks with friends while watching Australia play the old enemy.
The English have been rather good this summer, with crushing wins in the Ashes Test series, so any wins to Australia (even in a one day match) is a welcome thing.
However, even with Australia taking hold of the match, the length of time involved in the game was clearly too much for some.
Part of the fun of going to the cricket seems to be in watching the crowd themselves as they start creating their own entertainment (usually after some liquid courage).
With the game underway, there was nothing more to do than to sit back and start on the beers.
Cricket is a nuanced game that requires patience and technique. The traditional test match form of the game takes 5 days, so even the one day version is a bastardisation of that original pure form. The even newer 20-20 format is even further from what is traditionally considered cricket. Even with this "shorter" version of the game (a one day match being comprised of 50 overs per team) this was still going to take more than 8 hours.
What better way to enjoy those 8 hours though? Sitting in the shade of the stands, having some drinks with friends while watching Australia play the old enemy.
The English have been rather good this summer, with crushing wins in the Ashes Test series, so any wins to Australia (even in a one day match) is a welcome thing.
However, even with Australia taking hold of the match, the length of time involved in the game was clearly too much for some.
Part of the fun of going to the cricket seems to be in watching the crowd themselves as they start creating their own entertainment (usually after some liquid courage).Bottles are thrown, beer snakes are formed and the crowd start hurling abuse at the police.
As the match wears on, the procession of fans being escorted out of the stadium with varying degrees of police encouragement steadily increases, almost always to the standing applause and cheers of everyone else!
As the match wears on, the procession of fans being escorted out of the stadium with varying degrees of police encouragement steadily increases, almost always to the standing applause and cheers of everyone else!
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1 comment:
I always enjoy visitig here.
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