Cricket, crickey!

On Sunday we had tickets to the 50/50 test match (game) between Australia and the West Indies. The game started at 2:30 so we arrived at the stadium fresh and excited:

We lasted 45(!!) minutes. From the minute we sat down the sun was fierce. There was not a hint of a breeze in the stadium and sweat was soon pouring down our faces and bodies. The backs of the kids' shirts were soaked. We drank 3 L of water and 2 L of gatorade in those 45 minutes and still felt queasy from the heat. Defeated we got back on the train and headed home to cold showers and a nap:

Around 6:30, revived and refreshed, we decide to return to watch the rest of the game. It was a pretty awful game even by cricket standards: Australia crushed West Indies. Luckily the crowd provided the entertainment the game lacked. Notice that the boys are not even watching the pitch (field) -- no one in our section was watching the pitch.

They were watching the hoons (hooligans) seated in the section below us. I didn't take any pictures of the chaos but every few minutes some of the hoons would act up so the police or the security guards would march in and escort the person out. This went on for hours. Some people even tried fighting the police causing little mini-riots which ended in actual arrests. I have never seen such craziness at a sporting event... From what I could tell you could get kicked out for: throwing your beer cup, chugging your beer, making a snake by stacking beer cups, kissing a girl (if you were a girl), flashing the audience (works for both genders), and shouting too obnoxiously. In addition to the various hoons, I spotted this guy in the hoon section -- he is wearing a watermelon. On his head. In 35 (95) degree heat. For a 7 hour game. So I guess the section consisted of hoons and nuts:

The boys had fun. When we went back to watch the second half of the game they grabbed their flags and got into the spirit:

I don't think I would go to a second cricket game. Thanks to my neighbor, scouts, and wikipedia I now vaguely understand the rules of the game. But it is the slowest, most boring sport I have ever had the misfortune of watching. Hideously, mind-numbingly boring. So boring that I was actually tempted to get kicked out just for the fun of it.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, my take on it,cricket is just like sailing,not a spectators sport.
I am amazed that you were able to go home, take showers and come back and the game was still going on.
Olga

Tina in CT said...

In 95 degrees, the last place I'd want to be was in the sun.

Joe Ganci said...

95 degrees there and 5 degrees here. I'm not sure what's worse!

Tina in CT said...

I'll take 5 degrees any day over 95 degrees.

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