Cricket For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback))

Cricket For Dummies......Page 5
About the Authors......Page 7
Author’s Acknowledgements......Page 9
Contents at a Glance......Page 11
Table of Contents......Page 13
Foreword......Page 23
About This Book......Page 25
Foolish Assumptions......Page 26
How This Book Is Organised......Page 27
Where to Go from Here......Page 29
Part I: Getting Started......Page 31
Glancing at Cricket’s Global Appeal......Page 33
Gauging the Difference: Amateur and Professional Cricket......Page 34
Exploring the Strange World of Cricket Speak......Page 38
Understanding That Cricket is a Dangerous Game......Page 39
Scorebooks, Scoreboards, and Scorecards......Page 40
Equipping Yourself as a Fan......Page 41
Gauging the Importance of the Umpire......Page 42
Introducing the Players......Page 43
Remembering Cricket Helpers......Page 44
Taking in the Field of Play......Page 45
Umpiring: The Men in White Coats......Page 52
Understanding the Scoring System......Page 57
Dismissing the Batsmen......Page 61
Looking at Breaks in Play......Page 64
Looking at an Innings......Page 67
Taking a Closer Look at Test Cricket......Page 71
Taking a Peek at English First Class Cricket......Page 74
Crash, Bang, Wallop: Twenty20 Is Born......Page 78
Maths Geniuses Required: The Duckworth/Lewis Formula......Page 80
Getting into Hot Water: Breaking Cricket Rules......Page 82
Getting It Together: The Essentials......Page 83
Getting Personal: Choosing a Bat......Page 85
Getting the Right Protection......Page 90
Getting Kitted Out Top-To-Toe......Page 94
Choosing a Kit-bag......Page 95
Kitting Out a Youngster for the Game......Page 97
Part II: Playing the Game......Page 99
Understanding What It Takes to be Good at Batting......Page 101
Starting Out in the Middle......Page 103
Judging ‘Line and Length’......Page 109
Pulling Up the Drawbridge: Defensive Shots......Page 113
Expanding Your Horizons: Playing Aggressive Shots......Page 115
Taking Control in the Middle......Page 122
Preparing to Do Battle......Page 125
Choosing a Batting Role......Page 127
Looking at the Object of Bowling......Page 129
Getting to Grips with Bowling Basics......Page 130
Checking Out the Different Bowling Types......Page 139
Mastering Seam Bowling......Page 141
Swinging Your Way to Success......Page 143
Taking It to the Batsmen: Spin Bowling......Page 146
Focusing On What You’re Good At......Page 151
Bowling With Your Brain......Page 152
Being Fit for the Task......Page 153
Catching On to Why Fielding Matters......Page 155
Understanding Fielding Positions......Page 157
Preparing Properly for Fielding......Page 163
Getting Out on the Grass......Page 164
Making it Big as a Wicket-keeper......Page 169
Understanding the Role of the Captain......Page 177
Selecting the Right Team......Page 179
Calling Heads or Tails...the Toss of the Coin......Page 181
Captaining the Team in the Field......Page 183
Batting Tactics......Page 191
Looking At One-Day Captaincy......Page 195
Improving Your Fitness and Cricket Skills......Page 199
Getting Match Fit......Page 200
Honing Your Technique in the Nets......Page 202
Giving Your Batting a Boost......Page 203
Taking Giant Steps Forward with Your Bowling......Page 204
Looking at Fielding Drills......Page 207
Explaining Stretching......Page 208
Coaching Kids to Play Cricket......Page 210
Part III: Welcome to Planet Cricket......Page 217
Exploring the History of Cricket......Page 219
Looking at the Test-Playing Nations......Page 223
Taking in the Cathedrals of Cricket......Page 231
Troubling Times for Test Cricket......Page 233
Breaking the Hoodoo: England’s Renaissance......Page 235
Raking over the Ashes......Page 237
Developing Rivalries around the Globe......Page 242
Beating England Is Everyone’s Goal......Page 243
Competing for the World Cup......Page 244
Looking at Other One-Day International Tournaments......Page 248
Checking Out the World’s Leading Cricketers......Page 250
Laying Bare the English County Cricket Scene......Page 255
The Minor Counties......Page 265
Losing Cricket’s Stuffy Image: Introducing One-Day Cricket......Page 266
Coming Up Trumps: English Women’s Cricket......Page 271
Watching International Cricket Live......Page 273
Becoming a County Member......Page 278
Hob-Nobbing with Cricket’s Elite: Joining the MCC......Page 279
Enjoying Your Day at the Cricket......Page 281
Being an Armchair Fan......Page 285
Getting to Grips with the Statistics......Page 287
Part IV: The Part of Tens......Page 295
Sir Donald Bradman, Australia......Page 297
Sachin Tendulkar, India......Page 298
Imran Khan, Pakistan......Page 299
Adam Gilchrist, Australia......Page 300
Malcolm Marshall, West Indies......Page 301
Shane Warne, Australia......Page 302
England v Australia: Third Test Match, Headingley, 1981......Page 303
Australia v England: Centenary Test, Melbourne, 1977......Page 304
England v Australia: Test Match, The Oval, 1882......Page 305
England v Australia: Test Match, Edgbaston, 2005......Page 306
England v India: NatWest Trophy Final, Lords, 2002......Page 307
South Africa v Australia: One-Day International Match, Johannesburg, 2006......Page 308
Surrey v Glamorgan: One-Day Match, The Oval, 2002......Page 309
Brian Lara’s Record High Scores......Page 311
Sir Jack Hobbs: The Ultimate Golden Oldie......Page 312
Ian Botham’s Miracle Ashes Triumph......Page 313
Sir Donald Bradman’s Colossal Batting Average......Page 314
Kapil Dev Flays Zimbabwe for 175......Page 315
Wilfred Rhodes: Never Ending Career......Page 316
Bodyline: The Biggest of the Lot......Page 317
Arguing with the Umpire: The Shakoor Rana Debacle......Page 318
Kerry Packer’s Cricketing Circus......Page 319
Mixing Politics and Cricket: Zimbabwe......Page 320
Facing the Whirlwind: The West Indian Fast Bowling Machine......Page 321
Gentlemen v Players......Page 322
Index......Page 325