Category Archives: Cricket

International cricket is divided into three forms of the game, which are becoming more distinct with each passing year. The shortest, and newest form, is Twenty-20 (or T20), which is less than a decade old, lasts about three hours, and consists of 120 balls for each team. The next form is One-Day cricket, which has been in existence for nearly forty years and lasts about eight hours, consists of 300 balls for each team. The third, and oldest form of the game, is First-Class or (when played between nations) Test cricket, and can last up to five days. This site divides its blogs into these three categories, and then sub-divides the categories between the rules of each form of the game and news and thoughts about each form.

Great Stadiums (cont’d)

Dharamshala this ain’t. (That blog was posted not only on Shakespeare’s birth and death day, it was posted on the 90th anniversary of the opening of Yankee Stadium.) But the original Yankee Stadium was (James Hilton’s) Shangri-La to baseball-crazed fans … Continue reading

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High Wind out of Jamaica

Just in case you missed seeing the Gayle storm yesterday (i.e., Jamaican Chris Gayle’s 175 n.o. in the Indian Premier League), here’s a link to the highlights. Be prepared for commentators’ astonishment.

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Happy Fortieth!

Happy fortieth birthday, Sachin Tendulkar. Celebrate. Enjoy the IPL. Then retire. Please.

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Franchising: the Glamour

Time was when baseball owners had color and character: Ted Turner of the Atlanta Braves and his then-wife Jane Fonda, and of course George Steinbrenner had plenty of both. But that was then and this is now, and aside from … Continue reading

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Great Stadiums

We at Right Off the Bat have a fondness for stadiums: those temples to the arts of cricket and baseball. For all their inherent grandeur, however, they often find themselves placed in some less-than-beautiful surroundings—yes, we’re talking about you, Yankee … Continue reading

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The Mumbai Indians: The Yankees of the IPL

Chock full of very well-paid if superannuated superstars—Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga—the Mumbai Indians are the New York Yankees of the IPL. Deep pockets and the biggest media market in India can’t buy you success, and the … Continue reading

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Sunrisers Hyderabad: A New Dawn

Being a new franchise and possessing a batting line-up short of destructive power (apart from the always-classy Kumar Sangakkara and Australian Cameron White) hasn’t stopped the much-unfancied Sunrisers Hyderabad from being the Little Engine that Could of the Indian Premier … Continue reading

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Reaping the Gayle Storm

Here at Right Off the Bat we’ve had occasion in the past to wax lyrical about Chris Gayle, the West Indian opening batsman and destroyer of bowling attacks, but today’s destruction requires a special mention. In the course of only … Continue reading

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The Curious Simplicity of Cricket and Baseball

As I (Martin) watched Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants plying his trade against the Los Angeles Dodgers the other night, one thought kept running through my mind: baseball is such a simple game. A ball, a bat, and some … Continue reading

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Deandra Dottin

It’s come to our notice that we don’t talk enough about women on Right Off the Bat. So, we’re going to rectify that in the next few weeks by profiling some of the leading figures in the world of cricket. … Continue reading

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