denopa wrote:
Re: cricket, I finally understood the attraction of the English for that game when I was invited to an Ashes test at Lords in 2005, arriving at midday to find the entire crowd gently drunk on Pims and warm beer, getting cooked to a nice bright red in the sunshine.
I can definitely see you are getting the hang of it. 
Malibuflyer wrote:
These include Cricket and Rugby (only played in the former British empire
whoa whoa whoa stop right there, mister
France was never a part of the British Empire, and has been a rugby “power” for decades (less so since ~2005, actually, although our current team is pretty good), has taken part in every world cup and reached the final thrice.
Argentina also never was a part of the British Empire and have played for years at an excellent level.
Re: cricket, I finally understood the attraction of the English for that game when I was invited to an Ashes test at Lords in 2005, arriving at midday to find the entire crowd gently drunk on Pims and warm beer, getting cooked to a nice bright red in the sunshine.
Apollo 11, I lived and worked in London in the 60’s and don’t remember much of it, except having a great time.
I adore cricket and will watch it whenever I can. I even understand the rules except for the “The Duckworth – Lewis calculator”
I don’t watch the game but I know it started when I get “standby” from few AFIS Saturdays afternoon at 4pm with no one else on frequency
If you add together the populations of all the countries that play cricket you get to a very large figure.
In high school in the 70s I spent a summer in England on an English language programme. I learned to actually enjoy cricket and could sit watching it for hours in front of the telly.
Today I renember very little of how the game is played.
Apollo 11 – I was in a refugee accommodation place in Reading, shortly after having escaped CZ.
Cricket – reminded me of the old joke about sex: Ian Botham… once’s he’s in you will never get him out. (There was also Kevin Keegan: will try all day to get it in).
When we had “games” at school, I would hide in the bushes, and definitely avoided going into the showers afterwards (the unavoidable story about a PE teacher 
).
Don’t forget to set aside just under a week for a game
Peter wrote:
As for “cricket” – what is it?
Simples.
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 thats been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay all out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!
All clear now?
Off_Field wrote:
Ditto landing on the moon.
I do. Without boasting (too much) I was inside Jodrell Bank watching the live stream. Long story, and very lucky to be there. You are right a very fine moment for the human race.
