Not sure it’s the greatest sport. But are there many better ways to spend summer than following a test-cricket series?
What a name for a contest – test match. It truly is a test of one’s character and stamina… Few things in sport matter than a well poised test match. [And after five days], all three results are possible – both sides win or a draw.
What other sport can do that?
One of the glories of cricket is the way the drama of a match develops, how the pace varies from the leisurely to the suddenly lethal, how the plot thickens, and the subplots are interlinked as the play goes on, how the heroes and the villains take the stage with time enough to act out their roles. A good Test match is the equal of a five-act masterpiece of the stage. Even the best of the other games can really only compare with one-act spectacles that attract those whose attention span is brief and whose imaginations are lacking. It may be that the latest pop star with his highly charged and hectic act can attract much larger crowds than Shakespeare’s King Lear or Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle, but we all know that the one will fade into oblivion long, long before the others’ glory ends.
READ:: ‘Is cricket the greatest of all sports?,’ quoting this romantic piece at cricinfo.com by Ian McDonald (a poet, novelist and columnist who lives in Guyana)
NB: NZ’s three-test series against Australia starts at Brisbane in just 1 hour and 32 minutes …
[Hat tip Utopia-You Are Standing in it]
1 comment:
A chance to see how good this NZ team is. Been waiting for it. Tough first day at the office...
Greatest sport? Up there with hunting French frigates off the coast of Martinque.
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