CRICKET - The slogfest that is the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup starts in England on 5 June, and in the eyes of loserscomesecond it promises to be an exciting event even for the non-cricketing afficionado. But why, you might ask, would a non-cricket fan be interested? Good question. Basically, you need to think back to your school days and how in your games lesson you would get to play rounders when the summer was approaching. For readers who don't know, 'rounders' is the game which is otherwise known as baseball around the world, but rounders is played by British children unlike baseball which is played by steroid-laden men in pyjamas. Mind you Twenty20 Cricket is played by men in pyjamas, so I suppose it has all come full circle. Sort of. Anyway, the whole purpose of rounders is to smack the ball as far as you can. The principal behind Twenty20 Cricket is pretty much the same: hit the ball as far as you can and as often as you can. And bearing in mind all kids love playing rounders, then all adults should love Twenty20.Perhaps surprisingly, Twenty20 makes for a good spectator sport. Mainly, we suppose, it is because it is good seeing cricketers taking risks rather than be careful and prudent as they tend to be in the more traditional forms of cricket, the four- and five-day matches. Cricketing purists would argue until they are blue in the face that Twenty20 Cricket will never be a match for the skill, dedication and concentration required to succeed in the longer version of the game, but others, including loserscomesecond, will argue the alternative viewpoint that Twenty20 is entertaining, exciting, and because it is over in a shorter space of time it is a more satisfying spectacle for the consumer. This is a busy world we live in, and we do not all have the luxury of taking five days off work to watch a cricket match that might end up a bore-draw.
This year's Twenty20 World Cup will be only the second time the event has been staged, the tournament having first been held in 2007 when it was won by India. India are generally regarded as being favourites this tournament too, but given the unpredicatability of the game loserscomesecond would suggest holding onto your cash. Twenty20 Cricket is not a reliable betting medium.
