Not Quite the Cricket World Cup...But Close

What better way to celebrate the beginning of baseball season (Go Tigers!) than by a nice game of cricket in Hyde Park? That's what I thought. So, when Bill proposed a Friday morning cricket game to the London Center in general, I wasted no time signing up. After all, if I can do baseball, I should be able to do cricket.

Except that in cricket, nothing is like baseball. Why not hit the ball anywhere you want to? Behind you, sure. There's no such thing as a foul. Poor luck for the fielders, really. A "four" is the equivalent of a home run in baseball except that it counts for four runs (hence the name, and really would be more like a grand slam, I guess) and you don't need to bother running around to earn it. Just stay put. There are two batters, no bases, some new equipment like stumps and wickets and whole different kind of bat, and pitching is called bowling. Oh, and the fielders don't wear gloves (something I find pretty terrifying as the ball comes wielding towards me) just the batters and the wicket keepers. Wicket keeper = catcher. Bail = a tiny little thingamabob that balances on the stumps (sort of like home plate, but only if you stretch the imagination) and if they fall off, you're automatically out and the bowler gets a wicket. Wickets are a very big deal. If you knock them off yourself because you're too close to the stumps as you bat - something a good amount of us did at least once - it's called a "suicide." Because you only get one out. And two times at bat. And then you're done. And while it's a team sport, it's also got a bit of every man for himself mentality, so that makes it interesting. Cricket's not for sissies.

Now for pictures with a little bit of narration:

Paddy and I are the two batters. I can't remember who, but one of us hit the ball, and we're looking to see if we should run for the points.





We decide it's probably for the best and book it. To earn a run, the batter has to make it to the other batter's stump (the 3 wooden poles). You can run back again to earn more runs.





Alyssa's batting, Jennie's bowling, I'm fixing fallen bails. (They like to spontaneously jump off of the stumps.)

I just swung, full-force, and missed. And now I'm in hysterics. This is during the second half of the game when I lost my focus.

I may not have been fabulous, but of the 7 of us who showed up to play, I came in second place with 15 runs. Not bad, I think. Oh, and I almost forgot - tourists took pictures of us! And, look, there we are. The cricket players, from left to right: Bill, me, Alyssa, Paddy, Jennie, Amy, and Tim. (Megan B. not pictured.) Ta-da!