That's Not Cricket!

The Cricket World Twenty 20 tournament opened in England on Friday night. Actually the opening ceremony had to be abandoned because of the rain and the opening match between hosts England and minnows Netherlands (Yes Netherlands has a cricket XI) provided a shock, Netherlands winning. They needed to score two from the last ball and did so thanks to an overthrow by Stuart Broad (An overthrow is when an attempt to knock the wicket misses and goes so far that another run can be scored). See picture right - that's Broad on the ground! A lot of adverse comment in the English media.

Of course the whole concept of Twenty 20 cricket is sneered at by many who regard it as pandering to the short attention span of the modern fan. Twenty 20 means each side bowls 20 overs so the game is completed in an afternoon. To many the only real cricket match is the five day test match.

To be fair to cricket, a game many would regard as a relic of ancient manners and customs, the controlling bodies seem very willing to make changes in format and rules to make the game and its various versions more enjoyable.

The Irish cricket team is taking part in this tournament in a group with India, one of the favourites, and Bangla Desh. Their first match, against Bangla Desh, is on this afternoon at 12.30pm and the other match against India is on Wednesday at 4.30pm. It would be a major suprise were Ireland to win any of these matches.

Cricket in Ireland has a long history. More here.