Cricket has no shortage of experts online.Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on what players and teams ought to do and ought not to have done. But some views stand out because they are insightful, amusing or simply batty!
Forums
Cricforum.com claims to be a “good-natured, fun-loving and mature cricket discussion forum”. But then it goes on to warn that if you do not “eat cricket, drink cricket and sleep cricket”, you’re better off staying away.
Another hangout is Cricket247.org/community. While English cricket, both county and international fixtures, is in focus here, the International Cricket sub-forum is rather active with topics ranging from ICC rankings and World T20 to profiling young players with potential. For sure you’ll have something to add. Other popular forums are Cricketweb.net/forum, Planetcricket.org/forums, and the Google Group Rec.sport.cricket.
Blogs
Thecricketblog.com by Miles Reucroft, who previously worked at Wisden, delivers great insights on global cricketing issues. Current topics include M. S. Dhoni’s retirement plans as well as a fascinating story on cricket in war-ravaged Afghanistan. Those preferring a little more spice, sarcasm and bite will love Kingcricket.co.uk. Last we read, the blog ripped apart Shane Warne for his comment that humans came from aliens.
Facebook
The HowZat Cricket page offers a steady stream of posts covering matches, players, their wives and girlfriends. And audiences are at their intense best. You could also try your hand at the HowZat game.
Cricket Today’s Facebook page has more than 3.7 million Likes and carries news updates and feature stories. Topics range from Indo-Pak rivalry to six instances where a triple ton was denied by declaration.
But with more than 14 million Likes, the official ICC Facebook page hits them all out of the park. While you won’t find juicy gossip, the match updates and behind-the-scene images are dished out in spades.
Meanwhile Facebook’s own Cricket on Facebook page has close to 1.8 million Likes, but updates are rather sporadic. Things should perk up during the tournament though.
Twitter
Even as you hang on to every word of your favourite cricketer, keep track of hashtags like #cricket, #t20 or #twenty20. But beware the flood of updates, especially during matches. Incidentally, the official Twitter account of the Emirates Cricket Board (@EmiratesCricket) has been rather active, so expect to see some interesting perspective from closer home during the tournament. Official broadcaster OSN (@OSN) has also been running regular contests via Twitter. The freebies are always welcome.
For the ladies
A side to the game that generally gets overlooked is women’s cricket. Come March 15, ten teams will get together in India to fight it out in the fifth edition of the Women’s World T20.
The Crickether blog, with the tagline, Same bat, different ball game, focuses not only on English cricket but also latest news and views from around the world. Also check out Womenscricket.net. Though the design looks like something out of 1999, the site makes up with a treasure trove of images statistics.
The ringside view: A shot of the media room during a game between England and Sri Lanka
Image Credit: Corbis
