I want to get off of our canine tragedy and talk a bit about the rest of our makeshift family holiday. Starting at the end with the cricket on Sunday. Dr.O’C and I took the boys to the third day of the second test between Australia and the West Indies. I had hoped to wow and woo you with beautiful photos of azure blue skies, lucious green grass and the blinding whites of the players but I made the mistake of not bringing my camera and thus am left with only poor mobile phone shots. I made the further mistake of letting Boy Z play with ‘the camera’ and thus have a mobile full of photos of posts and the ground and Boy Z’s finger.
I’ve written about cricket before. I’m a convert. So much so that I prefer cricket to its American cousin, baseball. My current mission is to gently guide my sons toward this, the more genteel of the Australian sports. I am fully aware that they may not be sporty at all, neither of their parents were, and that’s just fine. But, if we’re going to spend weekends watching them play a sport, I’d rather set up a lawn chair beside a vivid green on a warm summer Saturday than huddle in a driving July rain to watch them get mauled (Aussie football) or drift into a torpor whilst watching them fruitlessly kick a ball back and forth for 90 minutes (soccer).
And to that end, I have constructed an elaborate, multi-point plan to ensure that I get to spend lots of time watching cricket with my boys in the coming years.
A morning at the lovely Adelaide Oval in the balmy summer sunshine was just phase one. I was a bit concerned that my plan was faulty when I took Boy Z down to field level whereupon he started shrieking, “I don’t like it! I don’t like it!”. But he began to calm down with the discovery that cricket also involved hot dogs, chips, ice cream, inflatable fingers and miniature bats.
Phase one of the master plan seems to be a success. When I got home from work last night, Boy Z took my hand, led me outside and asked “Wanna play cri-et, Bubba?”
Score one for the old man.
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There are surprisingly few songs about cricket, considering it’s popularity around the world. The Kinks have one of the few good ones on their 1973 album “Preservation Act 1″ available from 
.
Popularity: 7% [?]
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by jams O'Donnell
08 Dec 2009 at 18:15
When an old cricketer leaves the crease.. Roy Harper I think
Howzat by Robert Calvert
There’s two I can think of.
I don’t think I will ever have your enthusiasm for leather against willow.
jams O’Donnell´s last blog ..WW – Yew
by Monty
08 Dec 2009 at 18:43
Demon Bowler… wasn’t that Mervyn Hughes? That man could scare the daylights out of daylight.
Monty´s last blog ..Who’s Your Caddy?
by ssg
08 Dec 2009 at 19:41
Awesome, I hope they are great cricketers. I hope you are showing them your superb fielding skills. Also, I like that he calls you bubba, like the guy outta Forrest Gump. Actually, I just looked up Bubba on Wikipedia and apparently it can mean a whole lot of things: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubba.
ssg´s last blog ..hello again
by Dan
08 Dec 2009 at 19:58
Someone recently released an entire album dedicated to cricket, but I can’t remember who it was.
Aha..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8061417.stm
Dan´s last blog ..Star Wars: A Small Hope
by Kerry
08 Dec 2009 at 21:26
I watched this game all day yesterday. At first I wasn’t into it at all but once the rules were explained to me I enjoyed it a lot more. I’m also thinking I will favor it over rugby.
Kerry´s last blog ..Still Alive
by SciFi Dad
08 Dec 2009 at 22:22
I have tried to watch cricket, really I have. I guess I’m just too North American (Canadian) for it to make sense.
SciFi Dad´s last blog ..My Interview With Steph The Wonder Worrier
by jen
08 Dec 2009 at 23:16
“dreadlock holiday”? not really *about* cricket as such, but catchy nonetheless…
I enjoy the shorter matches… but it will never supplant baseball for
me
jen´s last blog ..i just wanna look at the possibilities
by The Unbearable Banishment
08 Dec 2009 at 23:52
I’ve launched MANY brainwashing schemes for The Daughters. They work beautifully! Get your licks in while you can.
by The Unbearable Banishment
08 Dec 2009 at 23:52
I’ve launched MANY brainwashing schemes for The Daughters. They work beautifully!
The Unbearable Banishment´s last blog ..Bukowski on beauty
by arizaphale
09 Dec 2009 at 00:12
“I’d rather set up a lawn chair beside a vivid green on a warm summer Saturday”
What deluded alternate reality are you living in Yank Boy?????? It is usually 46C when the cricket is on and only the idiot cricketers and the ‘Barmy Army’ are out there in THAT mofo inferno!!!! At school matches, the parents are all sheltering in the sliver of shade afforded by their Volvos and Beamers and rabbiting on about how it was ‘much hotter in MY day’ and how ‘we didn’t even wear HATS!’….(which explains a lot about the state of the world nowadays I guess….)whilst their dehydrating progeny make silent vows to take up swimming next summer. Early morning training maybe but at least the carnival is over and they are back at the pub before their library books are overdue…
Sorry we missed you Monday. Good to see Dr O’C and the Freelets though! xx
arizaphale´s last blog ..Over A Week? Wow. Imagine What It Will Be LIke When I Am Fulltime
by Technobabe
09 Dec 2009 at 00:15
Some day when he is older he will say he wants to play _____ball. Some sort of sport that he is attracted to playing. When my son was five, he told me he wanted to play football. As far as I knew, he had not watched football and I was surprised at his determination to play. I called all over town to find a team who would take him and he played with that team and practiced almost every day until we moved. When we moved he wanted to continue playing which he did for the rest of his school years including college. His father did not watch sports and wasn’t interested in sports. Do they have lacrosse there? One grandson plays lacrosse and the other grandson plays football.
Technobabe´s last blog ..What A Waste
by Cat
09 Dec 2009 at 01:06
Is Aussie Football Rugby? Angst played all of the typical ball sports when he was little except for football. He never found his niche until he started high school and joined the fledgling rugby team. He loved it which is sort of weird because he absolutely hates American Football.
Cat´s last blog ..
by Jacob
09 Dec 2009 at 01:17
Everything I know about cricket I learned from Lagaan. Actually, that meant by the time the movie was over, I could actually understand the sport, although I’ve forgotten a good bit now. A bulk of the movie involves Indian villagers under the British Raj learning to play cricket so they can beat the British and win lower taxes. Of course the cricket lessons are interspersed between song and dance numbers.
Personally, I’m pushing my son toward a lifetime of high risk for concussions. He’s got the tackling part of football down and he surprisingly throws a mean spiral for a 2 and a half year old, but he’s got butter fingers. The ball usually just bounces off his face when I throw it to him. He thinks that’s funny though, so maybe he’ll be tough enough to be a star. He should have the size for it. Worst case scenario for me is if he becomes a baseball fan. I hate that sport. I’d rather he take up interpretive dance or rhythmic gymnastics.
Jacob´s last blog ..Masters of the Map
by Nichole
09 Dec 2009 at 01:19
Does that child have spiky hair? So darn cute.
Nichole´s last blog ..Dixie’s football pride
by chris
09 Dec 2009 at 04:44
My nine year old eschewed sports for music. I have to say that a 1 hour practice where his teacher comes to us and we have to remind him to practice a few times a week is preferable to the commitment of team athletics. That and he loves his rock collection, microscope, cooking and the computer–definately our kid.
chris´s last blog ..Pop It Like It’s Hot
by courtney
09 Dec 2009 at 05:33
I’ve never seen a cricket game and have no idea how it’s played, but if you like it, then here’s hoping your boys take it up. If it were my kid, I’d just steer him clear of rugby, because that’s a whole lot of broken bones just waiting to happen.
courtney´s last blog ..I Pity The Fool Who Doesn’t Make An Updated She-Ra Movie
by admin
09 Dec 2009 at 09:49
Jams – I know the Harper song, through John Peel.
Monty – He was an interesting looking fellow.
SSG – Well that bat you sent helps. Hopefully they don’t get any of my ’skills’.
Dan – Yeah, I wouldn’t mind hearing a bit of that, I like the Divine Comedy.
Kerry – It’s all about learning the rules, once you understand what’s going on it’s fascinating. Have I mentioned that the Gators are losers?
SciFi – You just need an afficianado to explain what’s going on. If you like baseball, you’ll like cricket.
Jen – 10cc, interesting one. I lost faith in baseball over the last several years, so cricket is a nice replacement. I actually don’t like the 20-20 version, prefer the pace of a test.
TUB – I’m just impressed how easy it is. I know it will get harder when they get older, but for now I am still omnipotent. Bwa, ha, ha!
Ariza – 1. It was gorgeous on Sunday, mid 20s with a nice westerly breeze. 2. The scenario you describe is much more pleasurable sounding than spending a Saturday in July freezing in the rain while other parents race back and forth between the stands and their Holdens to grab another VB and complain about how the coppers busted them for hoon driving and domestic violence on the previous Friday night.
Just sayin’.
Technobabe – I’m sure they do, but I don’t know anyone who plays it. I’m happy for them to do whatever they want to do.
Cat – No, Aussie rules is an odd hybrid of Gaelic football and drunk guys with a ball. I like rugby, but they don’t really play it in South Australia – more on the east coast.
Jacob – I have a creepy feeling that at least Boy Z is going to be sporty. He seems remarkable dextrous for a boy his age. A tip, maybe don’t aim for his face.
Nichole – He does in that photo. And cherry juice all down his front.
Chris – See, now I would rather they be into music. But no matter how much I try to get Boy Z to play with me or dance or anything, he just wants to hit things with a bat. He has started to sing lately, so maybe there’s still home. Not Max seems to be a fan of music.
Courtney – You’re missing out!
A Free Man´s last blog ..Beware the demon bowler
by mickey
10 Dec 2009 at 00:58
Cricket is one sport I’ve never made a real effort to understand. As a result, whenever I’ve come across it on television (for whatever reason) it makes absolutely no sense. Which is exactly why I’m sure it must be a great sport. Soccer is easy to understand and boring. American football is the same basic concept as soccer (two goals, one ball) with an insane amount of rules thrown in the mix, and that makes it interesting. Baseball is like cricket in that the method of scoring is not evident to the first-time observer, and I like that. It’s the anti-soccer.
Why do people like soccer so much?
mickey´s last blog ..What time is it in China right now?
by Jud
10 Dec 2009 at 03:37
The only somewhat of a cricket song that I can call to mind is “Sir Don” by John Williamson, but then it is more about the man than the game he was skilled at playing.
I am working with a bunch of footballers, so I have become interested in La Liga soccer. Go Real Madrid! Oh, and getting ready for the World Cup.
Jud´s last blog ..A Charlie Brown Christmas
by Allie
10 Dec 2009 at 10:23
There was an AWESOME cricket documentary called Cricket Outta Compton about the Compton Cricket Club – I think it came out in ‘99 or 2000. It was the first time I’d ever really seen any kind of cricket game – SO interesting!
Allie´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – Buddies
by heather
10 Dec 2009 at 15:51
I like the polite nature of cricket.
heather´s last blog ..“Yes, as through this world I’ve wandered I’ve seen lots of funny men; Some will rob you with a six-gun, And some with a fountain pen"
by Joe
11 Dec 2009 at 12:49
If Z ends up in the pros in 18 or so years… I’ll find a way to make it to one of his games. But, he better sign something for me. A ball, a stick, or whatever they play with (because I know nothing of Cricket).
Joe´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday v. Cheeeeeeeese
by Not Afraid To Use It
11 Dec 2009 at 14:50
Yet another sport I’d like to see live one day. Just can’t do it on TV.
Not Afraid To Use It´s last blog ..Fucked Up Windows and Asshole Asian Trolls
by Nathan B.
14 Dec 2009 at 10:11
You are/were a Braves fan…no wonder you prefer cricket to baseball.