July 19th 1973

“Staff v School cricket match. Bludy boring – as usual”

With apologies to any readers who may be fans of the sport, I declare myself FAR from a “cricket lover”. I have never understood the appeal of the game, my hatred dating as far back – it would seem – as 1973 and having to endure a school match between the staff and schoolkids.

For those unfamiliar with the sport, and/or how it is played, this seems to sum it up succinctly….

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 that’s 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 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 given 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.

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