History UsefulNotes / Cricket

* [[Film/TheLadyVanishes Charters and Caldicott]] (ENG) - they were so popular with audiences that their actors, Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, went on to appear as similar characters in several other films, including a 1949 comedy called ''It's Not Cricket''.

** Night Watchmen. Rabbits (but usually quite good as rabbits go) who come in the last ten overs of the day after a batsman gets out. Most likely to get out in the first five overs on the next day, but some have lasted to make centuries.

Cricket in Western fiction at least is always associated with traditional English values of decency, fair play, and the StiffUpperLip. If someone is described as a cricket player or fan, that implies [[SlobsVersusSnobs civilised middle to upper class behaviour, in contrast to those dreadful soccer fans who spend the match beating each other up]]. [[SpotOfTea Pass the tea and scones.]] Cricket does not have class barriers, even in UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain. Literature/LordPeterWimsey can take the field alongside the village blacksmith and nobody will raise an eyebrow. On the field all are equal,[[note]]though until 1962 some players [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_status_in_first-class_cricket were certainly more equal than others]],[[/note]] and if a working class fast bowler takes the opportunity to bruise a few noble ribs, it's just a game old chap, no hard feelings. Cricket has generally followed society on race issues rather than lead, although both Australia and England, refused to play against [[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra apartheid era]] UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica in the 1970s and 1980s and the ICC participated in the international boycott of South Africa until the start of TheNineties.

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!!Tropes applicable to cricketers in general

* TheChessmaster: Cricket captains are required to be this, owing to the 360 degrees field of play, large ground size, and variations in bowling styles. Unlike in baseball where every possible field position is occupied, nine fielders alone cannot cover every single possible field position on a cricket field, thereby cutting off every possible stroke. A captain must therefore strategize the best possible field positioning for a bowler (left vs right handed, pace vs spin, offensive [[note]] fielders are closer in to take catches or inflict run outs [[/note]] vs defensive [[note]] fielders are spread out to cut off boundaries and save runs [[/note]] as well as for the batsman facing him. The fact that he must keep swapping out his bowlers to prevent fatigue in test matches, or avoid the 10 overs per bowler limit in one day games must also be factored in to his strategy.
* CripplingOverspecialization: Pace bowlers often fall victim to this. Due to the physical conditioning required for fast bowlers being different from what cricketers in general need, these guys often must neglect batting prowess and fielding ability. You therefore find most good fast bowlers at “tail ender” positions in the batting lineup where nothing is expected of them, and are often dismissed easily by opposing fast bowlers. When fielding, these guys are often seen patrolling the outfield where their ability to run fast to cut off boundaries, and their ability to hurl the ball in back to the pitch are all that’s expected of them.
* DangerousBackswing: a reckless/careless batsman can get himself out by accidentally hitting his own wicket.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Beamers - high speed full tosses aimed at a batsman’s head are often very difficult if not impossible to dodge. If a bowler delivers one, he is given only one warning, failing which he is ejected from the game by the umpires.
** The Series/{{Bodyline}} technique [[note]] bouncers pitching on leg side in line with a batsman’s body, forcing him to attempt to hit it to an often packed leg side field, or get struck [[/note]] is also banned for the same reason - it forces the batsman to prioritize avoidance of serious injury over preserving his wicket.
* FiveManBand: Although teams consist of eleven, members do serve special roles that take on these characteristics
** TheLeader: The team captain. However, from a sporting perspective, this role is better filled by the best technical batsman on the team [[note]] technical refers to having a wide repertoire of strokes for every type of ball bowled and every situation [[/note]].
** TheLancer: The vice captain. Also applies to the most aggressive batsman on the team. This guy focuses more on flashy big strokes that result in fours and sixes and thereby [[TechnicianVersusPerformer falls under the performer side against the technical batsmen]]. This guy also has a tendency to be HotBlooded and throw his wicket away. Can become a real nightmare when he “graduates” into a technician.
** TheBigGuy: This role is usually filled by the pace bowlers on the team, as pace bowling requires extra strength and stamina.
** TheSmartGuy: The spin bowlers of the team. Unlike the pacers who use raw strength and speed to dismiss batsmen, these guys rely much more on deceiving batsmen. Spin bowling also requires a deeper understanding of pitch conditions to exploit them.
** TheHeart: This role is usually fulfilled by a more defensive batsman who acts as a fulcrum or anchor for an innings. He usually comes in after a few batsmen are dismissed in order to stabilize the innings and support the more aggressive stroke players.
** TheSixthRanger: Usually the team’s wicket keeper. He plays a vital role behind the stumps and takes on the role of TheHeart or TheCheerleader when a team is fielding.
* GuileHero: Spin bowlers. Leg spinners particularly so.
* JackOfAllStats: The all rounders - players capable of scoring a century while batting and taking five wickets while bowling, on a consistent basis.
* LightningBruiser: Pace bowlers. Big strong strapping guys who must also be capable of sprinting in fast before hurling the ball.
* StoneWall: Defensive batsmen often take on this characteristic. Instead of going for the flashy strokes that yield lots of runs, but can be risky, these guys excel at defensive blocking strokes meant to dent a bowler, score at a lower pace, but eventually frustrate the bowler into bowling bad deliveries - balls very easy to score fours or sixes out of - either by the defensive batsman himself or his more aggressive batting partner. Test cricket more or less requires batsmen to play this way.
** A good close in fielder who lets nothing get by him, can also serve this role on defense. He can cut off runs, frustrating a batsman or pressuring him into playing more rash strokes - and getting out. In some cases, the mere presence of a sharp fielder at a particular location can deter a batsman from hitting the ball anywhere in his direction - thereby constraining his stroke play and giving the fielding team an advantage over him.
* TechnicianVersusPerformer: Batsmen generally come in two types - either a perfectly orthodox, more defensive type or a flamboyant unorthodox aggressive type. Both have their weaknesses and strengths - the "technician" is far better at preserving his wicket and playing in difficult conditions against any types of bowling, but the "performer" is capable of single-handedly winning a game if his aggression pays off. Of course, the ''truly'' dominant batsmen of the modern era - such as Tendulkar, Ponting or Lara - can do both with equal skill.

Fictional cricketers and cricket fans include:

* [[Series/DoctorWho The Doctor]], particularly The Fifth Doctor. And in the Literature/PastDoctorAdventures novel ''Spiral Scratch'', the Sixth Doctor's last words before regenerating are saying that he's "had a good innings, you know." (GAL). The Fourth Doctor lso had his moments.
---> You know I think I'm wasted as a Timelord; with a talent like mine I would have made a ''great'' slow blower (complete with arm action).

* [[CricketWorldCup ICC Cricket World Cup]]
* [[WorldT20 ICC World T20]]

* Sir Donald Bradman, aka The Don. A legendary [[strike:batter]] batsman, the cricketing equivalent of Creator/BabeRuth or Pelé. His career Test batting average, 99.94--meaning that on average, he scored just shy of 100 runs each time he went to bat,[[note]]had he scored only ''four'' in his last innings, it would have been a 100 average. Allegedly, spin bowler Bill O'Reilly, whose personality clashed badly with the Don's, almost pissed himself laughing when Bradman was out second ball for nought.[[/note]] is one of the most famous sporting statistics. For perspective, the player who's second on the all-time list (fellow Aussie Adam Voges) is just shy of 62, and most full-time batsman are well content with a career average of 45. A study done on sports statistics showed that this average is so far off the mean that a baseball batter would have to have a career batting average of .392 (significantly higher than the actual MLB career batting average record, Ty Cobb's .366) and a basketball player would have to score 43.0 points per game throughout their career. Allegedly, this is the reason Creator/TheABC's postal address is PO box 9994.

** Night Watchmen. Rabbits who come in the last ten overs of the day after a batsman gets out. Most likely to get out in the first five overs on the next day, but some have lasted to make centuries.

* Most of the characters in ''Bollywood/{{Lagaan}}'' (IND)

Famous and exceptional cricketers include:

Tropes applicable to cricketers in general

* TechnicianVersusPerformer: Usually seen between an aggressive “pinch hitting” batsman who accumulates runs quickly and gets out, versus a technician who typically scores slower but gets more runs (and centuries). Also applies to pace vs spin bowling.

* [[Series/TheAvengers John Steed]] (ENG)

Specialist batsmen have the highest status in cricket rather than the more hard-working and usually less glamorous bowlers (specialist pitchers). Like baseball or softball, fielding in cricket involves standing around in the hot sun waiting for a ball to come in your direction, but for much longer periods of hours or even days. In both England and India, aristocratic batsmen were reputed to command their servants to perform their fielding duties for them but that is no longer the case in international cricket. The English firmly believe that they play cricket in a more chivalrous and genteel manner than anyone else, and hence can be excused for being beaten by more aggressive foreigners. As one might expect in international sport, this is despite England producing a number of successful cricket captains who were every bit as ruthless and conniving as their counterparts elsewhere. True English fans will dismiss the likes of Douglas Jardine as unrepresentative exceptions. Other nations more or less consider cricket another sport the English invented and popularized to the rest of the world (alongside Tennis, Football, Rugby) [[HoistByHisOwnPetard only to be outclassed by the people they taught the game to]]. England and Australia have a century old cricketing rivalry for UsefulNotes/TheAshes. Matches between India and Pakistan, two countries which were at war as recently as 1971, are also SeriousBusiness and since TheOughties, extremely rare owing to weak diplomatic relations and problems in Pakistan with terrorism. Their actual records if you are curious head to head have Australia and Pakistan having a higher W/L ratio to their respective competitors in terms of matches won but it varies by special tournaments and series[[note]]Australia and England are level in terms of overall number of Ashes series won-lost-drawn as of 2017, while in the case of India and Pakistan, India has won every single match they have played in the ODI World Cups as of the 2019 WC[[/note]].

Despite jokes about Americans fighting a war to get away from cricket-lovers, the game was quite popular in the United States until around the time of the Civil War, and the first official international cricket match was played between the USA and Canada in 1844 on a field in Staten Island. Anecdotal evidence even suggests that George Washington himself was a cricket enthusiast! [[note]](Although the game may in fact be indirectly responsible for America declaring independence: King George II's son Frederick died after reportedly being hit in the chest with a cricket ball, but it remains unproven to this day that this specific injury had anything to do with his death. In any event, this resulted in George III's accession to the throne.)[[/note]] Creator/RaymondChandler, British-educated author of quintessential Americana, was a useful bowler of leg-breaks while at Dulwich College, and during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Cricket_Club Hollywood Cricket Club]] was a much-appreciated reminder of home for many British actors; its membership rolls included such luminaries as Creator/BorisKarloff, Creator/LaurenceOlivier, Creator/CaryGrant, and Creator/DavidNiven. Currently, North America cricket is played in the more English bits of Canada, some older cities such as Philadelphia, in areas with a high concentration of South Asian residents (such as Silicon Valley and the greater Los Angeles area) and in the Caribbean. And in the fall of 2016, even as the [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} Chicago Cubs]] were winning their first World Series victory in more than a century, [[http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/series/1062487.html Uncle Sam was winning an international cricket tournament]].

Despite the association in America of Cricket and Old England, it is important to emphasize that the idea of cricket as an old and "quaint" sport doesn't match reality. Australia has fielded a highly-successful international team since the first official Test match against England in 1877, and the sport is enjoyed passionately by people from all walks of life in the land DownUnder. The biggest cricket-playing nations in the world in terms of viewership and enthusiasm are in the Indian Subcontinent -- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh. In these nations cricket is a street sport, played by poor kids in villages, cities, and other parts, and is far far removed from aristocratic and white-imperialist imagery. One of the greatest cricket teams in history, in both Test Cricket and One-Day Cricket is the West Indies, which was the joint team put forth to represent the Caribbean nations. There cricket was and is extremely SeriousBusiness, being both a source of national pride for the countries involved and something of a rallying point for regional identity. There aren't many sports which could be taken equally seriously, and written about with comparable levels of passion and knowledge, by both a Trinidadian Marxist intellectual and a former British Tory Prime Minister.[[note]]Respectively, C.L.R. James and UsefulNotes/JohnMajor, who otherwise had about as little in common as it's possible to imagine.[[/note]] West Indies have declined in recent decades, owing largely to competing interests in American sports but it's still a big deal there, and most of the lists of greatest players of all time, especially for fast bowlers and stylish batsmen, will include West Indians. It's also important to emphasize that England has never won the World Cup in cricket until 2019, and historically while producing a number of great batsmen, bowlers, and all-rounders and many great fields, are about the same level as their Football counterparts are (i.e. they are over-represented, and over-advertised because of the market share and media clout they have owing to their historical and economic status but their records don't quite match to reality).

* Rabbits. Poor batsmen, usually specialist bowlers, who seem to be scared stiff any time a ball goes near them.

* StoneWall: Defensive batsmen often take on this characteristic. Instead of going for the flashy strokes that yield lots of runs, but can be risky, these guys excel at defensive blocking strokes meant to dent a bowler, score at a lower pace, but eventually frustrate the bowler into bowling bad deliveries - balls very easy to score boundaries or sixes out of - either by the defensive batsman himself or his more aggressive batting partner. Test cricket more or less requires batsmen to play this way.

* Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (ENG), set to become a presenter of ''Series/TopGearUK'' in 2019

Despite the association in America of Cricket and Old England, it is important to emphasize that the idea of cricket as an old and "quaint" sport doesn't match reality. Australia has fielded a highly-successful international team since the first official Test match against England in 1877, and the sport is enjoyed passionately by people from all walks of life in the land DownUnder. The biggest cricket-playing nations in the world in terms of viewership and enthusiasm are in the Indian Subcontinent -- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh. In these nations cricket is a street sport, played by poor kids in villages, cities, and other parts, and is far far removed from aristocratic and white-imperialist imagery. One of the greatest cricket teams in history, in both Test Cricket and One-Day Cricket is the West Indies, which was the joint team put forth to represent the Caribbean nations. There cricket was and is extremely SeriousBusiness, being both a source of national pride for the countries involved and something of a rallying point for regional identity. There aren't many sports which could be taken equally seriously, and written about with comparable levels of passion and knowledge, by both a Trinidadian Marxist intellectual and a former British Tory Prime Minister.[[note]]Respectively, C.L.R. James and UsefulNotes/JohnMajor, who otherwise had about as little in common as it's possible to imagine.[[/note]] West Indies have declined in recent decades, owing largely to competing interests in American sports but it's still a big deal there, and most of the lists of greatest players of all time, especially for fast bowlers and stylish batsmen, will include West Indians. It's also important to emphasize that England has never won the World Cup in cricket, and historically while producing a number of great batsmen, bowlers, and all-rounders and many great fields, are about the same level as their Football counterparts are (i.e. they are over-represented, and over-advertised because of the market share and media clout they have owing to their historical and economic status but their records don't quite match to reality).

Cricket in Western fiction at least is always associated with traditional English values of decency, fair play, and the StiffUpperLip. If someone is described as a cricket player or fan, that implies [[SlobsVersusSnobs civilised middle to upper class behaviour, in contrast to those dreadful soccer fans who spend the match beating each other up]]. [[SpotOfTea Pass the tea and scones.]] Cricket does not have class barriers, even in UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain. Literature/LordPeterWimsey can take the field alongside the village blacksmith and nobody will raise an eyebrow. On the field all are equal,[[note]]though until 1962 some players [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_status_in_first-class_cricket were certainly more equal than others]],[[/note]] and if a working class fast bowler takes the opportunity to bruise a few noble ribs, it's just a game old chap, no hard feelings. Cricket has generally followed society on race issues rather than lead, although both Australia and England, refused to play against [[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra apartheid era]] UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica in the 1970s and 1980s and the ICC participated in the international boycott of South Africa until the start of TheNineties.

Despite the association in America of Cricket and Old England, it is important to emphasize that the idea of cricket as an old and "quaint" sport doesn't match reality. Australia has fielded a highly-successful international team since the first official Test match against England in 1877, and the sport is enjoyed passionately by people from all walks of life in the land DownUnder. The biggest cricket-playing nations in the world in terms of viewership and enthusiasm is in the Indian Subcontinent -- India, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh. In these nations cricket is a street sport, played by poor kids in villages, cities, and other parts, and is far far removed from aristocratic and white-imperialist imagery. One of the greatest cricket teams in history, in both Test Cricket and One-Day Cricket is the West Indies, which was the joint team put forth to represent the Caribbean nations. There cricket was and is extremely SeriousBusiness, being both a source of national pride for the countries involved and something of a rallying point for regional identity. There aren't many sports which could be taken equally seriously, and written about with comparable levels of passion and knowledge, by both a Trinidadian Marxist intellectual and a former British Tory Prime Minister.[[note]]Respectively, C.L.R. James and John Major, who otherwise had about as little in common as it's possible to imagine.[[/note]] West Indies have declined in recent decades, owing largely to competing interests in American sports but it's still a big deal there, and most of the lists of greatest players all time, especially for fast-bowlers, and stylish batsmen will include West-Indians. It's also important to emphasize that England has never won the World Cup in cricket, and historically while producing a number of great batsmen, bowlers, and all-rounders and many great fields, are about the same level as their Football counterparts are (i.e. they are over-represented, and over-advertised because of the market-share and media-clout they have owing to their historical and economic status but their records don't quite match to reality).

Specialist batsmen have the highest status in cricket rather than the more hard-working and usually less glamorous bowlers (specialist pitchers). Like baseball or softball, fielding in cricket involves standing around in the hot sun waiting for a ball to come in your direction, but for much longer periods of hours or even days. In both England and India, aristocratic batsmen were reputed to command their servants to perform their fielding duties for them but that is no longer the case in international cricket. The English firmly believe that they play cricket in a more chivalrous and genteel manner than anyone else, and hence can be excused for being beaten by more aggressive foreigners. As one might expect in international sport, this is despite England producing a number of successful cricket captains who were every bit as ruthless and conniving as their counterparts elsewhere. True English fans will dismiss the likes of Douglas Jardine as unrepresentative exceptions. Other nations more or less consider cricket another sport the English invented and popularized to the rest of the world (alongside Tennis, Football, Rugby) [[HoistByHisOwnPetard only to be outclassed by the people they taught the game to]]. England and Australia have a century old cricketing rivalry for UsefulNotes/TheAshes. Matches between India and Pakistan, two countries which were at war as recently as 1971, are also SeriousBusiness and since TheOughties, extremely rare owing to weak diplomatic relations and problems in Pakistan with terrorism. Their actual records if you are curious head to head has Australia and Pakistan having a higher W/L ratio to their respective competitors in terms of matches won but it varies by special tournaments and series[[note]]Australia and England are level in terms of overall number of Ashes series won-lost-drawn as of 2017, while in the case of India and Pakistan, India has won every single match they have played in the ODI World Cups as of the 2015 WC[[/note]].

The one-day form (guess why it's called that) is not taken as seriously by older players and critics, and the newer and more accelerated [=Twenty20=] cricket in which a match "only" takes three hours is considered by both FC, Test, and one-day fans, as proof of civilisation descending into barbarism. In general, the shorter versions of the game are more result-friendly, i.e. no chance of a draw (the nearest thing is the rare tie). There are also rules in place in the shorter-form that make it more batsmen-centric and less bowler-friendly, more or less [[{{Nerf}} nerfing]] the latter for the benefit of the former. In recent times, a number of critics have expressed worries that the shorter version of the game is more or less leading to a decline in quality bowling, and especially fast bowling. Fast bowling is the most physically strenuous form of bowling, and has historically been the form of bowling that is the most stylish and entertaining to see (since even when the bowler doesn't get the batsman out, the possibility that he could reach very high speeds provides additional suspense and thrill) and certainly the form that has produced some of the best cricketers in history. In test-cricket, victory depends on bowlers since the only way to get a result is if one side succeeds and/or fails in bowling out the other side's team in two separate innings before they reach a target to win/draw. In the shorter-form victory depends on one side's batsmen out-scoring and out-hitting the other side, which has led many, including old-time nostalgics, and more recent cricket fans (i.e. the ones who like ODI as well) as feeling that this is the real decline of cricket.

Cricket is therefore used in the background or as a personal trait to convey atmosphere and character rather than being the focus. In the UK, it used to be that the best way to watch the cricket is to mute the TV and turn on the radio. This is because of ''Test Match Special'', which is essentially regular sports commentary crossed with ''Series/LastOfTheSummerWine''. Given the nature of the sport, you'll likely hear the commentators passing the time with such subjects as various flavours of scones, matches from decades ago, and the species of the bird that's walking across the field. It's an experience like no other. Another reason is because of breaks in commentary for the transmission of ''The Shipping Forecast'' for Britain's coastal waters, itself an English Institution.

* Sir Donald Bradman, aka The Don. A legendary [[strike:batter]] batsman, the cricketing equivalent of Creator/BabeRuth or Pelé. His career Test batting average, 99.94--meaning that on average, he scored just shy of 100 runs each time he went to bat[[note]]had he scored only ''four'' in his last innings, it would have been a 100 average. Allegedly, spin bowler Bill O'Reilley, whose personality clashed badly with the Don's, almost pissed himself laughing when Bradman was out second ball for nought,[[/note]] is one of the most famous sporting statistics. For perspective, the player who's second on the all-time list (fellow Aussie Adam Voges) is just shy of 62, and most full-time batsman are well content with a career average of 45. A study done on sports statistics showed that this average is so far off the mean that a baseball batter would have to have a career batting average of .392 (significantly higher than the actual MLB career batting average record, Ty Cobb's .366) and a basketball player would have to score 43.0 points per game throughout their career. Allegedly, this is the reason Creator/TheABC's postal address is PO box 9994.

* Lord's. The Lord's Cricket Ground, in London, England. The most revered cricketing playing field in the world. Every cricketer dreams of playing at Lord's one day.

* Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (ENG)

* Imran Khan (PAK)

* UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington (ENG[=/=]AMR), General, statesman, and founding father-cum-first-president of the latter country.

Despite the association in America of Cricket and Old England, it is important to emphasize that the idea of cricket as an old and "quaint" sport doesn't match reality. Australia has fielded a highly-successful international team since the first official Test match against England in 1877, and the sport is enjoyed passionately by people from all walks of life in the land DownUnder. The biggest cricket-playing nations in the world in terms of viewership and enthusiasm is in the Indian Subcontintent -- India, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh. In these nations cricket is a street sport, played by poor kids in villages, cities, and other parts, and is far far removed from aristocratic and white-imperialist imagery. One of the greatest cricket teams in history, in both Test Cricket and One-Day Cricket is the West Indies, which was the joint team put forth to represent the Caribbean nations. There cricket was and is extremely SeriousBusiness, being both a source of national pride for the countries involved and something of a rallying point for regional identity. There aren't many sports which could be taken equally seriously, and written about with comparable levels of passion and knowledge, by both a Trinidadian Marxist intellectual and a former British Tory Prime Minister.[[note]]Respectively, C.L.R. James and John Major, who otherwise had about as little in common as it's possible to imagine.[[/note]] West Indies have declined in recent decades, owing largely to competing interests in American sports but it's still a big deal there, and most of the lists of greatest players all time, especially for fast-bowlers, and stylish batsmen will include West-Indians. It's also important to emphasize that England has never won the World Cup in cricket, and historically while producing a number of great batsmen, bowlers, and all-rounders and many great fields, are about the same level as their Football counterparts are (i.e. they are over-represented, and over-advertised because of the market-share and media-clout they have owing to their historical and economic status but their records don't quite match to reality).

Despite jokes about Americans fighting a war to get away from cricket-lovers, the game was quite popular in the United States until around the time of the Civil War, and the first official international cricket match was played between the USA and Canada in 1844 on a field in Staten Island. Anecdotal evidence even suggests that George Washington himself was a cricket enthusiast! [[note]](Although the game may in fact be indirectly responsible for America declaring independence: King George II's son Frederick died after reportedly being hit in the chest with a cricket ball, but it remains unproven to this day that this specific injury had anything to do with his death. In any event, this resulted in George III's accession to the throne.)[[/note]] Creator/RaymondChandler, British-educated author of quintessential Americana, was a useful bowler of leg-breaks while at Dulwich College, and during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Cricket_Club Hollywood Cricket Club]] was a much-appreciated reminder of home for many British actors; its membership rolls included such luminaries as Creator/BorisKarloff, Creator/LaurenceOlivier, Creator/CaryGrant, and Creator/DavidNiven. Currently, North America cricket is played in the more English bits of Canada, some older cities such as Philadelphia, and in areas with a high concentration of South Asian residents (such as Silicon Valley and the greater Los Angeles area). And in the fall of 2016, even as the [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} Chicago Cubs]] were winning their first World Series victory in more than a century, [[http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/series/1062487.html Uncle Sam was winning an international cricket tournament]].

** Night Watchmen. Rabbits who come in the last ten overs of the day after a batsman gets out. Most likely to get out in the first five overs on the next day, but [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome some have lasted to make centuries.]]

Despite the association in America of Cricket and Old England, it is important to emphasize that the idea of cricket as an old and "quaint" sport doesn't match reality. The biggest cricket-playing nations in the world in terms of viewership and enthusiasm is in the Indian Subcontintent -- India, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh. In these nations cricket is a street sport, played by poor kids in villages, cities, and other parts, and is far far removed from aristocratic and white-imperialist imagery. One of the greatest cricket teams in history, in both Test Cricket and One-Day Cricket is the West Indies, which was the joint team put forth to represent the Caribbean nations. There cricket was and is extremely SeriousBusiness, being both a source of national pride for the countries involved and something of a rallying point for regional identity. There aren't many sports which could be taken equally seriously, and written about with comparable levels of passion and knowledge, by both a Trinidadian Marxist intellectual and a former British Tory Prime Minister.[[note]]Respectively, C.L.R. James and John Major, who otherwise had about as little in common as it's possible to imagine.[[/note]] West Indies have declined in recent decades, owing largely to competing interests in American sports but it's still a big deal there, and most of the lists of greatest players all time, especially for fast-bowlers, and stylish batsmen will include West-Indians. It's also important to emphasize that England has never won the World Cup in cricket, and historically while producing a number of great batsmen, bowlers, and all-rounders and many great fields, are about the same level as their Football counterparts are (i.e. they are over-represented, and over-advertised because of the market-share and media-clout they have owing to their historical and economic status but their records don't quite match to reality).