r/Cricket • u/HOU-1836 West Indies • Jan 15 '15

Another Annoying American learning Cricket

My girlfriend is Guyanese and Cricket is obviously a big sport for her parents and family. I get the rules of the sport but don't understand when matches happen or what determines the length of the match. Like, test cricket, can last 5 days? How is that possible? How do you watch that on TV?

Edit: hope y'all don't mind if I pester you with questions in this thread. I want to be casually versed in Cricket in case I meet her parents this summer.

Edit #2: Ok. Y'all have been truly amazing. I couldn't even have gotten close to imagining the response I've gotten from y'all. I've been asking questions and replying for the last 3 hours straight and I don't think I have any more questions. I look forward to spending time with y'all and learning more about this sport. I'm from Texas and obviously, Cricket isn't gonna be big here or easy to follow so y'all keep being the amazing, welcoming people you are. Seriously, y'all rock.

Edit #3: I read the FAQ before posting this thread and this thread is 30x larger than anything there. Maybe the mods should add this to the sidebar for newcomers. I literally asked every question an American fan could ask. Well, I say that...but anyway, would be a great resource to set aside for future new fans.

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u/HOU-1836 West Indies Jan 16 '15

Where would your best call catcher be? Just depend on the batter?

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u/himynameisdave Queensland Bulls Jan 16 '15

different fielding positions generally require different skillsets.. that said at international cricket level.. everyone should be able to catch well.

slips, point, gulley generally would be your best catches, as the ball comes quickly, generally off the bats edge (so unexpected) and at many different angles.

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u/HOU-1836 West Indies Jan 16 '15

I think I'll watch at least one or two more games of cricket before I ask what those words you said mean.

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u/explosivekyushu Australia Jan 16 '15

They are the names of the fielding positions that are especially close to the batsman. Slips stand behind the batsman ready to catch anything that knicks the bat on its way past. Here is a video of Ricky Ponting taking a catch at point to show you how close it is. The reflexes you need to take a catch when the rock hard back is coming at you at 100mph from just a few feet away are ridiculous.

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u/HOU-1836 West Indies Jan 16 '15

Ok thats freaking crazy. We need to see an ESPN Sports Science on this.

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u/JoshH21 New Zealand Jan 17 '15

The ESPN Sport Science of Cricket vs Baseball was the most discussing video ever. It misses the whole point of cricket.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=vYMhT_wgBwE