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A Rough Guide to the
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Most cricket magazine web sites give details about the latest international matches and controversies, but the BBC offers these and much more, such as skills master classes, laws and equipment, women’s cricket, and how you can get involved.
I’m not involved with BBC Cricket in any way, but I do spend lots of time on their web site. So, in case you haven’t discovered some of the jewels hidden in the depths of the site, allow me to show you the way.
The front page gives the latest national and international cricket news, with links to the top stories. Details of the latest scores, tables, results, fixtures and tour dates are easily accessible, but not unique as many other cricket sites give the same information.
As you would expect, there are sections on the latest England cricket news, and on County cricket, with the latest stories from each county. However, the site then comes into its own, with a combination of pages that you simply don’t find elsewhere.
The section on International Teams gives you an instant update on the developing stories from all the test playing nations. This isn’t a list of latest scores, but a regularly updated list of articles on international cricket stories, categorised for each nation. If you enjoy keeping up with all the developments in World Cricket, then click on the RSS feed to this page.
Women’s cricket is developing rapidly, and BBC Sport Cricket provides a complete commentary on the latest news, views and interviews about the women’s game world wide. A snapshot of this section tells of the 2009 Women’s World Cup in New South Wales, India’s Jhulan Goswami who was awarded the ICC womens player of the year trophy, and the Ireland women’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers. Plus, how to get into women’s cricket, and articles about England women’s cricket. This range of articles is great whether you’re a fanatical women’s cricketer or you just want to find out more about the women’s game.
The cricket skills section is formidable. There is a wide range of master class videos from international players, as well as static pages on batting, bowling, fielding and wicket keeping. Watch out for the catching and throwing master class videos from Paul Collingwood, and learn how the top fielders make it look so easy. And, listen to Michael Vaughan’s opinions on cricket captaincy. This section contains a complete collection of the key cricket skills, with user-friendly presentations by top players.
There is a comprehensive, well explained section on cricket laws and equipment. The section on laws is helpful without being overcomplicated. However, although the section on equipment is a useful start to choosing your cricket gear, you’ll need more detail before you part with your money. But, the “More Basics” section covers some areas where others fear to tread. There’s an excellent discussion on the Role of the Umpires, as well as a fascinating article on fair and unfair play.
There is also a section on how you can get involved, as a coach, player, junior or parent. Or even, if you fancy being a cricket scorer or umpire, there are informative articles on how to get qualified. I was particularly interested in the articles on how to be a good coach, and the related discussion on recognising burnout in children and how to deal with it.
No discussion of BBC Cricket would be complete without mention of Test Match Special. TMS covers live cricket for the BBC, led by the BBC cricket correspondent, Jonathan “Spiro” Agnew. This section tells you a little about the commentary team, and about their coverage of the coming international fixtures. TMS is currently celebrating 50 years of radio commentary, and there are some great archive photos of the team at work over half a century. And of course, there’s the TMS blog for you to discuss the latest issues with the commentators.
And finally, there is a complete archive of BBC cricket articles and international scores over the last 7 years.
While you can find some of this cricket information from separate sources, some of it is unique to the BBC. And, the beauty of the BBC Cricket site is that it presents a combination of original articles into one, easily accessible “one-stop-shop” that you’ll do well to find elsewhere. So, if you’re looking for cricket information, why not make BBC Cricket your first call?
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