Question from a baseball fan...

[Broken Arm Bob]

I'm an American and a huge baseball geek. Our game is in its offseason now, so I've decided to read up on Cricket. The two are different, but I thought the similarities and historic connections between the two could increase my knowledge of bat-and-ball sports, therefore enriching my baseball experience. I'm particularly excited about the development of Twenty20 (no offense to traditionalists). It won't be able to usurp baseball in baseball territory, but it appears to be a game that baseball fans would be able to enjoy. I, for one, would love to see a county Twenty20 game (set? match?) next time I'm in England.

Cricket is rarely coverred on television in the US (except for highlights). Major League Baseball streams old ballgames on weekends through its website MLB.com (Home | MLB.com: Programming). Is there a website in the cricket world where I could watch an entire cricket game for free? I'd prefer Twenty20, but I'd still be willing to watch any form.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Twenty20 match is right.

No websites where there is live web streaming. There are some nice vids on youtube, and you can download some whole old classic matches.

Cricinfo.com - The Home of Cricket is the unofficial official cricket site BTW. Has live ball-by-ball commentary of any ongoing matches, along with stats and articles.

From what I've read of the history of cricket, it seems USA had a pretty strong side till they split from the British. Philadelphia was apparently the best side in the world in its time. I guess cricket died out once USA became the USA...

Hope you enjoy it, you are always free to ask any questions. Us cricket fans are a rare breed, newcomers are always welcomed...

 

[mukund_nadkarni]

Oh good, we have a baseball fan here! Someone different to try our tricks on. Mate, just let me tell you on behalf of all cricket lovers that we think it's the greatest sport ever. No offense to baseball. You better be prepared for all the advice coming your way buddy.

Anyways, check out You-tube for some videos. By the way, how did you get to know about Twenty-20?

 

[McLOVIN]

^^when he went to UK.

and there are live links where you can watch live cricket for free. but not allowed to post them in this site =( sorry. not sure if i am allowed to post website for highlights either

 

[max_dillon2007]

Is it me only or someone else also thinks that in 1800's american visit england on the ship,saw them playing games and they loved them. They went back to america and started to play those games there, but they didnt knew the rules and thus created there own rules.
I mean look at it, Baseball looks like a poormans cricket. They must have seen rugby and called it american football with protection gears.

max_dillon2007 added 0 Minutes and 56 Seconds later...

Hayden should try baseball now

 

[IloveGilly]

There are a few websites you're able to stream from, but unfortunately, it is unallowed on this site. Good to know there are people from the US interested in Cricket.

 

[Broken Arm Bob]

Thanks everyone! I'll check out those links.

max dillon2007: Ball and stick games, I've read, have been played in Europe since the Middle Ages. Cricket was the first to be formally recognized, then came baseball in New York and rounders in Ireland. My grandfather, who's from Norway, played bat and stick games as a kid (of course now as an old man he thinks baseball is completely ridiculous). I wouldn't say baseball is a poor man's cricket; it has it's own unique attributes that make it complex and wonderful. I've been doing a lot of online reading about the comparisons, and there's alot of back and forth regarding pitching/bowling, batting, fielding, etc. One thing cricket has that baseball doesn't is a 360 degree batting range. I'd guess alot of diehard cricket fans might look at the 90 range a baseball batter has and assume the sport is lacking in strategy and possibilities. But one thing baseball has that cricket doesn't is the inclusion of non-scored bases (wickets?). When a baseball batter gets a "base hit" (he runs to the first base, but decides it's not wise to proceed to the second), it may not score a run for his team, but it makes it more difficult for the fielding team to do its job because it means that there are suddenly two souls out there to get out, instead of just one (and the situation of having three on base plus the batter at home plate definitly places a burden on the fielding team's psychology). Baseball fans miss out on the fabulously crafted hits in the cricket field, but Cricket fans miss out on the drama of watching a base runner proceed from base to base until they get to home plate (or does the fielding team manage to get them out first?).

BTW, I was thinking of picking a cricket team to follow this year in Twenty20. The Surrey Brown Caps caught my eye (they have a very approachable website). Does that team have a positive reputation?

 

[mattfb]

Hey mate, Firstly I hate Twenty20 but it's good to see it's doing what I hoped it would do from when it started out - attract fans from America and Asia to the game. It's become an overkill now imo, and gets boring after the first 10 overs 70% of the time but it's good to see it bringing fans to the game

Test cricket and One Dayers are great, especially Test cricket. It might be boring for you now but if you stay into cricket and get to know it better you might start enjoying it.

Welcome to the forums btw Search youtube videos of Michael Clarke (My all-time favourite player... I'm obsessed with him xD) and Dale Steyn (My second favourite player)

 

[Inbox24]

Hey mate, Firstly I hate Twenty20 but it's good to see it's doing what I hoped it would do from when it started out - attract fans from America and Asia to the game. It's become an overkill now imo, and gets boring after the first 10 overs 70% of the time but it's good to see it bringing fans to the game

Test cricket and One Dayers are great, especially Test cricket. It might be boring for you now but if you stay into cricket and get to know it better you might start enjoying it.

Welcome to the forums btw Search youtube videos of Michael Clarke (My all-time favourite player... I'm obsessed with him xD) and Dale Steyn (My second favourite player)

Yeah just a tip Broken Arm Bob, never Youtube Shaun Marsh. The guy is the worst player going around and watching him play will scar you for life.

 

[Cricketman]

Thanks everyone! I'll check out those links.

max dillon2007: Ball and stick games, I've read, have been played in Europe since the Middle Ages. Cricket was the first to be formally recognized, then came baseball in New York and rounders in Ireland. My grandfather, who's from Norway, played bat and stick games as a kid (of course now as an old man he thinks baseball is completely ridiculous). I wouldn't say baseball is a poor man's cricket; it has it's own unique attributes that make it complex and wonderful. I've been doing a lot of online reading about the comparisons, and there's alot of back and forth regarding pitching/bowling, batting, fielding, etc. One thing cricket has that baseball doesn't is a 360 degree batting range. I'd guess alot of diehard cricket fans might look at the 90 range a baseball batter has and assume the sport is lacking in strategy and possibilities. But one thing baseball has that cricket doesn't is the inclusion of non-scored bases (wickets?). When a baseball batter gets a "base hit" (he runs to the first base, but decides it's not wise to proceed to the second), it may not score a run for his team, but it makes it more difficult for the fielding team to do its job because it means that there are suddenly two souls out there to get out, instead of just one (and the situation of having three on base plus the batter at home plate definitly places a burden on the fielding team's psychology). Baseball fans miss out on the fabulously crafted hits in the cricket field, but Cricket fans miss out on the drama of watching a base runner proceed from base to base until they get to home plate (or does the fielding team manage to get them out first?).

BTW, I was thinking of picking a cricket team to follow this year in Twenty20. The Surrey Brown Caps caught my eye (they have a very approachable website). Does that team have a positive reputation?

Surrey are definitely one of the more formidable sides in English domestic cricket, but Middlesex are the reigning T20 champions in England ATM.

I think you'd be interested in the Indian Premier League. It has the best players from all over the world in 8 teams all bashing each other out in T20 cricket. It's really quite entertaining and high quality stuff. I suggest you Youtube some of it, I personally support the Chennai Superkings in that league .

Also if you are interested, Dish Network, DirectTV etc all have PPV Cricket services. The IPL, in April, will be like $60 for the whole season. You can also buy international matches, but you may not be interested in those.
There are always free methods on the web, though. Google is your friend

 

[deerkick]

Hmm I have a link that has highlights of all the games from the first IPL but can't post here!

 

[mukund_nadkarni]

I think you'd be interested in the Indian Premier League. It has the best players from all over the world in 8 teams all bashing each other out in T20 cricket. It's really quite entertaining and high quality stuff. I suggest you Youtube some of it, I personally support the Chennai Superkings in that league .

Yeah I'd recommend the same. IPL at the moment offers the best Twenty20 spectacle. The atmosphere in those games is fantastic. You'll get to see most of the world's best players against each other in the same league. It is a franchise based league, like the soccer leagues in Europe, not county based.

 

[Howsie]

Thanks everyone! I'll check out those links.

max dillon2007: Ball and stick games, I've read, have been played in Europe since the Middle Ages. Cricket was the first to be formally recognized, then came baseball in New York and rounders in Ireland. My grandfather, who's from Norway, played bat and stick games as a kid (of course now as an old man he thinks baseball is completely ridiculous). I wouldn't say baseball is a poor man's cricket; it has it's own unique attributes that make it complex and wonderful. I've been doing a lot of online reading about the comparisons, and there's alot of back and forth regarding pitching/bowling, batting, fielding, etc. One thing cricket has that baseball doesn't is a 360 degree batting range. I'd guess alot of diehard cricket fans might look at the 90 range a baseball batter has and assume the sport is lacking in strategy and possibilities. But one thing baseball has that cricket doesn't is the inclusion of non-scored bases (wickets?). When a baseball batter gets a "base hit" (he runs to the first base, but decides it's not wise to proceed to the second), it may not score a run for his team, but it makes it more difficult for the fielding team to do its job because it means that there are suddenly two souls out there to get out, instead of just one (and the situation of having three on base plus the batter at home plate definitly places a burden on the fielding team's psychology). Baseball fans miss out on the fabulously crafted hits in the cricket field, but Cricket fans miss out on the drama of watching a base runner proceed from base to base until they get to home plate (or does the fielding team manage to get them out first?).

BTW, I was thinking of picking a cricket team to follow this year in Twenty20. The Surrey Brown Caps caught my eye (they have a very approachable website). Does that team have a positive reputation?

I don't know to much about county cricket in England, but check out Brendon McCullum on Youtube. This guy is the reason cricket is on the rise again in NZ. Oh and Jesse Ryder.

 

[Skater]

BTW, I was thinking of picking a cricket team to follow this year in Twenty20. The Surrey Brown Caps caught my eye (they have a very approachable website). Does that team have a positive reputation?

Good choice. They didn't lose a Twenty20 game until 2005 and are the richest county club.

 

[Ollie_H]

Yep Surrey would be a very good choice... They had a poor last season but are a strong unit. I have a fair bit of bias because I support them aswel