I went to a cricket game today on the advice of Dan’s coworker.

I am really glad I went, but I have to say – cricket is not for the
faint of heart. It is a commitment and a half.

I spent the first 30 minutes with my beer feeling totally confused, but then I sat next to this guy
with his uncle and grandpa who proceded to inform me about the
game (interrupted by lots of “Bollocks!” “Well fielded!” and
“Rubbish!”) Seriously. They really do say all that here. At least, the older guys do.

First impressions – it’s baseball, with a fancier stadium, longer
innings, and less running.

As I watched, I realized there were lots of intricate rules to
remember, but the particular group I was with seemed to think they
were more intricate than they actually were. After having the game
explained, I began to see the rules in action, and get a pretty good
grasp of the game, but every single time the ball hit the wall, my
tutors would look at me and exclaim – ‘That’s four runs! Get it? Bully
play!”

As with baseball, I have limited patience for people hitting a ball
with sticks, and after one inning - almost 240 runs scored, and 40x6
“bowls” (pitches) – I called it a night, and headed off to find the
pub crawl.

However, if held at gun point, I can now explain the game of Cricket.
Which I consider to be a success.