International Cricket; Norway vs Vanuatu LIVE…….from Essex??

There are many comic descriptions of Cricket, you know, the whole “those that are out try to get those that are in out so they can be in and try not to get out” sort of caper, but most of these just disguise the fact that under the pomp-and-circumstances of the white clothing and long-windedness there’s a highly nuanced game that is far and away more interesting that any of the other bat & ball games yet invented. International Cricket simply has no equal.

Being English I was made to play at school. Thankfully, being completely inept, this stuck me in a group with the other duffers, and on sunny summer afternoons I would gamely take up a fielding position just beyond the maximum distance any of my unskilled chums could hit a cricket ball (a rock covered in leather that makes a baseball feel as soft as a tennis ball) and while away the time looking vaguely disappointed I wasn’t more involved in the game.

However the English are not the only ones to play Cricket, and indeed many nations have outstripped the country of the game’s origin with their own skills. Many of them are former colonies of Great Britain, of course, but there are lots of countries that play International Cricket who aren’t, and whilst they might not reach the upper echelons of the game, doesn’t mean they don’t try, and if you’re Norwegian gambling laws of common sense means this won’t apply to you, think again.

International Cricket’s Unsung Heroes

There’s a tendency to think that beyond England, Australia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies, no one else has a chance in any major tournament, these nations having dominated so long that their position seems unassailable. However behind these well publicized big name sides International Cricket has an entire league system for the rest of the world to battle it out, trying to win a coveted place at the next World Cup.

Obviously the World Cup does not follow the five-day-a-game format of test Cricket, faster games of limited overs (go and look up what an “over” is you lazy so-&-so, you’ve got the internet, that’s what it’s for) are played over the course of a single day in front of packed stands of hugely enthusiastic supporters. A much more frenetic game ensues under these compressed conditions and down the International Cricket leagues teams play against each other regularly.

That Norway is amongst these nations might surprise some, perhaps mostly those that imagine Norway to be entirely covered in snowy mountains, rally drivers and fjords, however the central tenets of Cricket, that subtle yet significant emphasis on skill that eclipses all considerations of luck per se, is as attractive to keen sportsmen and women in Norway as it is everywhere else. Football is by far and away a more popular game, but only because it’s easier.

Admittedly Norway do somewhat languish in the league, being down in World Cricket League’s Division Six (which is the International Cricket equivalent of the group I was in at school) alongside such notable cricketing nations such as Fiji, Guernsey, Suriname, Botswana, Saudi Arabia, The Cayman Islands and Vanuatu. Perhaps this explains why those who like to bet on sports in Norway tend to eschew wagering on the game at ComeOn! Sportsbook or Bet365, and why it’s held in Essex.
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