Ten Ways to Enjoy Watching Cricket

It's the cricket season and all the fans are clamoring to watch every single match on TV or in the stadium.

However, friends and family members of cricket fans who do not enjoy cricket will find their TV time privileges revoked. They will have no choice but to watch cricket with them. 

Here's how you can enjoy watching cricket

  1) Master the Rules (Sort Of):  Try to understand the rules.  Emphasis on try.  If you accidentally yell "Touchdown!" during a particularly exciting moment, just own it.  Confidence is key.

 2)  Find a Commentator Who Loves Weird Stats:  The kind of commentator who gets excited about things like "This is the first time a left-handed batsman with a name starting with 'B' has scored a six on a Tuesday in July against a team wearing yellow socks."  That's the good stuff.

 3)  Watch with Friends Who Bring Snacks: Cricket can be a long game.  Your friends are your support system, and their snacks are the fuel that keeps you going.  Bribing them with promises of future snack contributions is a valid strategy.

 4) Go to a Live Match and Yell Random Things:  Just kidding (mostly).  But seriously, the energy is contagious.  Even if you have no idea what's happening, yelling "Howzat?!" at regular intervals is practically mandatory.

 5) Follow a Team That's Guaranteed to Lose:  Lower your expectations, and you'll never be disappointed.  Plus, the occasional unexpected win will feel like you've won the lottery.

 6) Learn the History of Cricket (According to Wikipedia at 3 AM):  A deep dive into cricket history can be fascinating...or incredibly confusing.  Either way, you'll have plenty of anecdotes to share (whether they're true or not is debatable).

 7) Play Cricket with a Tennis Ball and a Dustbin Lid:  This is the purest form of cricket.  No fancy equipment needed, just a healthy dose of chaos and the potential for neighborhood window breakage.

 8) Read About Cricket in a Language You Don't Understand:  It's like a puzzle!  You can make up your own commentary and pretend to know what's going on.

 9) Watch Cricket Highlights and Fast Forward Through the Boring Bits:  Let's be honest, sometimes things get a little slow.  There's no shame in skipping ahead to the exciting parts.  Just don't tell the purists.

 10) Pretend You Understand the Strategy:  Nod sagely, furrow your brow, and say things like "That's a bold move, Cotton."  Nobody will know you're just making it up.  Fake it 'til you make it!