Cricket is the second most popular game on the planet and offers a sporting community like no other.  From Stephen Fry and Elton John to Barack Obama and Lily Allen, cricket fans can be found far and wide.

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So, how do you play it? Cricket is certainly never going to be a nominee for the simplest sport, however, its intricacies and complications are what give it that unending, constant cliffhanger-like, charisma and charm.  It is quite simply a beautiful game with twists and turns at every step of the way.  It can be played for a couple of hours or five days and still end in a draw! 

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           "You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.  Each man that's in the side that's in goes

            out and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.  When they are all out

           the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in

          out.  Sometimes you get men still in and not out.  When both sides have been in and out including

          the not outs, that's the end of the game- Howzat!"

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The basics can be picked up in no time; you learn how to hit  the ball with a bat, catch the ball, throw the ball and bowl the ball, which is an awkward way of getting the ball from one side of the 'wicket' to the other, but you'll get the hang of it soon enough. And not to worry, at UOLWCC we play the short form of cricket so you won't have to book off five days at a time.  By far, the best thing about the wonderful game of cricket is that in the middle of a match everyone immediately stops in order to drink tea and eat cakes and sandwiches.  Even if the terms googly, cow corner, silly mid-off and chinaman mean nothing to you, or you use these words in daily conversation, UOLWCC welcomes everyone.  

 

For those wishing to learn more about the Laws of Cricket, there are dozens of YouTube videos and plenty of information online. We highly recommend the MCC Laws of Cricket animations narrated by Stephen Fry.

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