You step out onto the balcony and are faced with the glorious sight of a cricket pitch in full sunshine. You pull up one of the seats, and let the sunshine warm you through as you watch the cricket match before you.
(Hey, I know this is unlikely, but it's my fantasy flat, and if I say the sun's shining and there's cricket, then the sun is shining and cricket's happening!)
As you glance around the balcony, you notice a whole load of stuff on the table. Taking a closer look, it's all information about Cambridge University and Cambridge Granta Ladies Cricket Clubs. There's also a note explaining that a couple of other good sites on women's cricket can be found in the address book.
Cricket is not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but I happen to love it. I'll admit that playing it is better than watching, but really, if it's a nice warm day, and you have something cold to drink, lying back and watching cricket is great. I spend the months between September and April longing for the season to begin again!
Cricket is played on a large, oval pitch, with 11 players on each team. On the field at any time should be:
Most of the action takes place on a central strip, known as the wicket. At either end of this strip stands a batsman, in front of a set of stumps. A bowler comes in from one end, and bowls the ball to the batsman at the opposite end. Let's say batsman 1. Batsman 1 tries to hit the ball and both batsmen then try and run to the other end of the wicket. If they manage this, they score a run.
Meanwhile the fielding side is trying to stop the batsmen scoring runs, and to get the batsmen out. Mostly this involves returning the ball to the wicket keeper (who stands behind the stumps being bowled at) as fast as possible. When a batsmen is out, their turn is over, and one of their teammates comes on to replace them. Once all 11 members of the team have had a chance to bat, the side is out and it's the fielding team's turn to bat. There are about 7 different ways of getting out, but most of these are either concerned with the stumps being hit, or the ball being caught off the bat before it bounces.
Possibly not the greatest explanation of the game ever. Oh well. For those of you who want to get complex, try here for the full rules, and a better explanation. Alternatively, may I escort you to Lords, the home of English cricket?
Or, I guess you could check out the map.