Cricket in Brisbane

Summer in Australia means many things, but I soon found out after arriving last December that one of the biggest things it means is cricket. And I happen to love it.

So it was with much excitement this morning that I hoofed it to Rebel Sports

in the CBD to the Ticketmaster window and bought tickets to day two of the test. That is day two of five. I wanted to attend day one, as well, but because this will be my first experience, I'd rather just go the one day and have my appetite whetted for more rather than be burned out by the end of two. In short, I don't want to hate cricket.

Now about this Rebel Sports place. It's magical for sports lovers, akin as it is to Big 5 (but better) and Modell's. I'm talking athletic clothing, replica uniforms, equipment for all kinds of sports, workout iron and accessories, hats, shoes, everything. And its got cricket stuff.

I had never held a cricket bat or seen the gloves and leg pad things. This morning, I took my time with it all. I picked up a bat or two and took a pretty non-cricket swing. I saw all the mini cricket bats they had, and I want one. I even picked up the cricket bat oil. I checked out all the crickets sets. Beach cricket sets. Nets. Helmets. And there is even an FM radio that will give you the stations that call the cricket matches. This is something I am going to have to get, because just last week, I told the girl that while I'm excited to be going, I'm going to miss the call of the match.

I have no idea why I'm obsessed with this sport. My barber asked me yesterday if I liked baseball. Well, yeah, but I told him that these sports really can't be compared. I read an article a few months back from a Brisbane newspaper called, "If Americans Played Cricket..." It was a fun read, as were the eleven pages of comments that followed. Some good, some hating on the "yanks." But whatever. Baseball and cricket might at first blush seem similar, but they really are quite different games, each coming with their own sets of specialties. That's for another post if I ever care to write it.

In the meantime, I am indeed obsessed with cricket, and I can't wait till Friday, November 21st. It'll be a week before the down-under summer, and I'll be wearing flip-flops and green stuff on my lips rooting for Australia. Please may Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, and Matt Hayden be named to the team. Them alongside Andrew Symonds, Michael Hussy, Michael Clarke...fuggedaboutit!