Cricket (mind) Blogging!

The game of cricket is considered a gentleman’s game, how I don't know, but what I do know is, 11 men throwing, catching and hitting a small ball with a wooden bat on an open ground does not seem manly to me, more like kids play.

These days with the world cup happening, it’s more and more everywhere. I had read somewhere that after football internationally cricket is the most favorite sport, why? What makes cricket click so much, that in India it is also called at our religion? What is it about the game that takes ones fancy so much? What is it about it that excites people in Asia so much?

When I asked some people they gave me some ill-logical reasons, like,

Because there are so many players and more spectators, so more people can play and watch and enjoy.
Hello, sports like soccer and hockey also have 11 players a team and stadiums can accommodate as many spectators as cricket grounds do. People come to watch the matches only if the sport is popular, not vise-versa.

Because in cricket every ball can effect the result of the game so its interesting.

Not all balls can change the fate of a game, yes agreed there are some close matches, but that happens in all games, all sports, so what is new?

Someone even called it the game of the beasts!
I know we get a kick out of seeing others suffer, but cricket is not such a beastly game as rugby or soccer.

The game has money, glamour and fame also in it.
Yes it does, for it is a very popular game, and the players are paid well because of its popularity, and not the other way round.

It is also said the cricket is gaining popularity because of the various forms it is played in, like you have the test matches, one day tournaments and now the 20-20 format also.
But like I said earlier, there are other sports too like, football and hockey which are also played in many formats, rather they have indoor and outdoor matches, they play on land, water and on ice too, and they also have variations in the number of players too.

But like all of them say, cricket is a mystery, make hay while it lasts! That’s what our politicians, stars and players seem to be doing.
Happy cricketing!

Following the post, I had some more inputs from a co-blogger, (I hope I am using the right word)Parimal, which I would like to share with my readers too.

Blue text Parimal 
Black text Pooja (Has no negative intonations)

1) Cricket is so interesting because india won world cup in 1983 and this generation, i.e our generation was bought up seeing only cricket where we were named champions of the world. So that kept cricket floating in India.

1983 is a long time back, we are a country which forgets what happens in a month, how can you say we are clinging to the 80s?

2) No individual sport can match team sport in its excitement. So really cricket had only competition with hockey and soccer. Before cricket, hockey was religion in India but the decline of Indian hockey in the world prompted inclination on cricket.
I have to agree with you here, like i said, the more the number of players the more the fun. just proves the world is with you if you are successful.

3) Soccer and hockey are too physical games for the liking of an average Indian. Wherein cricket you can do your bit and then relax. for e.g. you can bat for a while then get out and relax while others are batting or you can bowl your over and relax at the fielding position.

I may be wrong here, but I think in soccer the players are rotated and given time outs too, so as to give them resting time too. 

4) Cricket can be improvised and played any where with minimum amount of space and equipment and players. (Two players can play cricket. Can two players play soccer or hockey? :D)

Here I have to say, yes two players can play Hockey and Soccer! Think about it.

5) Lastly it is not all about money. It has made itself so strong that financial activities are surrounded more and more to it. I find it not at all wrong if it is making this amount of money. But eventually its the joy that it gives us; and it is multiplied because more people follow it and are happy because of it.

I think all sports give a joy to its followers, how it happens during the FIFA world cup, I think that the popularity of football/soccer is also on the rise.