Why Is Cricket So Boring? (10 Reasons)
If you’ve ever seen a game of cricket before, you may have considered it an odd form of baseball.
The players use thick bats instead of thin ones, and the players tend to wear white, regardless of what team they’re on.
If you’re a fan of baseball, you may have tried to give cricket a watch, too.
However, you may have found the sport far more boring than baseball.
Considering that the two are similar, you may wonder why cricket feels so boring to watch.
Why Is Cricket So Boring? (10 Reasons)
1. You Don’t Understand The Rules
Any sport can feel boring to watch when you don’t understand the rules.
The rules of cricket especially can seem quite confusing and advanced to anyone who didn’t grow up with the sport.
That’s especially true for those who are more used to the game of baseball.
Since the two sports share some similarities, if all you know is the rules of baseball, the rules of cricket may seem a bit odd.
For example, the fact that they have two players from each team on the pitch might seem a bit strange to you.
You may wonder why there’s an opposing team member next to the bowler and an opposing team member next to the batter.
You might also feel some confusion when the sides don’t change after the third player gets out.
It may be even more confusing when the bowler suddenly changes after bowling six times.
Add on top of that the confusing way that players score points, and you have an advanced game.
Watching a game that you don’t understand is boring because you can’t appreciate the techniques and strategies that the teams are using.
To you, it may just seem like they’re hitting the balls and running around.
They might not even be running that fast.
Cricket is boring when you don’t understand the rules or what’s going on in the field.
2. Games Can Last Days
Cricket is not like other games when it comes to its duration.
There are several different varieties of cricket.
The traditional form of cricket is often called Test Cricket.
This type of game doesn’t last for a few hours.
It can last for as many as five days.
The same teams play each other during those five days.
That’s almost an entire week of the same game.
It isn’t even a bunch of different games each day.
It’s the same game.
That can feel very boring to some sports fans.
The progress is so slow that it may make someone not want to pay attention until the last day.
After all, it’s only the final day that really matters in the end.
Not a lot of people have that amount of time to give to a sport either.
They have to work or take care of errands.
They can’t be sitting in the stands or watching TV for five days straight of the same game.
Because of that, some people might find watching cricket too frustrating or boring.
The good news is that there is a shorter version of cricket.
It’s called Twenty20.
In this version, the innings end after the team gets 20 outs.
It’s faster than Test Cricket which makes it a bit easier to watch.
Otherwise, cricket is boring because the same game can last for several days.
3. Little Player Interaction
A lot of sports fans love to see players interact with one another.
When it comes to the same team, they love to see them hyping each other up and keeping each other locked into the game.
It can help boost the audience, too, and get them cheering.
Fans also love it when players on opposing teams interact with one another.
Some players might help each other up when they get knocked down.
The show of great sportsman-like behavior is inspiring.
However, fans love it just as well when players get in each other faces.
When something happens and it makes a certain player angry, it can be very entertaining to watch them go after another player.
Even if it doesn’t escalate into a fight, the question of if the altercation will reach that point is fun in itself.
In cricket, there’s very little player interaction.
The players tend to be enough apart that they can’t easily interact with one another.
The only players who are close enough to interact are on the pitch.
Those players are also busy with the main action of the game, so they’re not interacting much beyond the game, itself, anyway.
Most cricket players are well-behaved on the field, too.
It’s rare for a fight or disagreement to occur before fans.
As such, cricket can be a bit stale.
4. Regular Breaks
If you’ve never watched a cricket match before, you might feel some surprise when the game suddenly pauses.
Unless it’s a tournament, there’s a chance that some players might decide it’s time to break for tea or lunch.
This is especially common in more casual clubs than in the professional version of the sport.
You can consider cricket to be a bit more informal when it comes to game clocks.
There isn’t a game clock at all.
Instead, if a team decides it wants a break, then it can call for one.
The teams will leave the field to enjoy a tea break or go off to have lunch at one of the nearby pubs.
Fans then have to decide whether to wait or have some tea and lunch, themselves.
It’s not a terrible situation if you don’t mind spending your entire day watching a single cricket match.
You can enjoy some tea and lunch, then return to the stands feeling revigorated.
However, if you’re not used to having a lot of endurance to sit and watch a cricket game, you might feel a bit frustrated and bored.
You didn’t pay to watch them have lunch, after all.
You paid to watch a cricket game.
Breaking for tea and lunch also interrupts the action.
If something exciting was happening or a team was having good momentum, the sudden break can ruin that momentum.
It also halts all action.
In the wake of that, you can start to feel bored.
Cricket is boring when the players randomly decide to break for tea and lunch.
5. Frequent Weather Cancelations
Another problem with cricket that makes it boring is that it can end quickly at the slightest sign of inclement weather.
If the game was to continue in the rain, it would be difficult for both teams to play.
Low visibility would be dangerous for players, and the rain can affect the pitch until it is practically impossible to play on.
Instead of forcing both teams to play through the bad weather, the game gets called off instead.
The problem with this is that England can be quite a rainy country.
The game may be ready to play, but if a storm suddenly rolls in, it could end up canceled.
Sometimes, they might wait to see if the storm clears before canceling the match.
If the rain doesn’t let up, however, they’ll cancel it.
Other pieces of equipment can also become damaged in the rain.
The wickets, themselves, might not do well in the rain since they’re usually made out of wood or use wooden elements.
This makes cricket boring because it means you might show up ready to watch the match only for it to become canceled.
Or, even worse, you might have to wait in your car or in the wet stands to see if the match is going to continue.
The game might proceed but then might stop again if the rain resumes.
Due to England’s weather, no one can be sure if it’s safe to resume the match or not.
As such, the action on the field continues to face interruptions.
Cricket is boring because inclement weather can put a stop to it.
6. Doesn’t Require Much Athleticism
One of the things you’ll notice about a lot of cricket players is that they’re not always the most athletic.
Some are heavy-set while others look skinny.
This is quite different from American athletes.
In football, for example, most of the players are either big and corded with muscle or lean and muscular.
It’s rare to see someone with a potbelly or just a beanpole on the field.
The same goes for baseball.
While there are some heavier players, most of them tend to be athletic looking.
That isn’t the case with cricket.
While there is a bit more athleticism with those involved in professional Twenty20 matches, by and large, many players don’t look that athletic at all.
That’s because cricket isn’t as physically demanding as other sports.
There certainly is some athleticism required.
The batter and bowler, for example, need to have a certain amount of strength and agility, but you’re not going to see players running at break-neck speeds either.
The exception is the bowler who often runs toward the batter to make a pitch.
The out-fielders also tend to run to try to get the ball.
In casual cricket, however, it’s not uncommon to see a lot of lazy running among the players.
That can be pretty boring to watch for fans.
It can seem as though the players aren’t really invested in the game.
As such, cricket can sometimes feel boring because cricket doesn’t appear as athletic as other games.
7. Not That Many People Attend The Game
Cricket isn’t that popular.
While it does have its fans, it isn’t as popular as a sport like soccer.
Fans are decreasing.
The fact that cricket can take days to play is one of the reasons why the game isn’t as popular as it used to be.
People just don’t have time for it anymore.
This makes cricket boring because it means fewer people are showing up at the stadiums.
Part of the fun of sports is rooting with your fellow fans.
You can even make new friends.
When fewer people are attending the matches, it means the excitement in the stands is also dwindling.
Cricket is sometimes boring because fewer fans are keeping the energy alive in the stadium.
8. Bowler Takes A Long Time
When it comes to bowling, the bowler has a lot of time to actually throw the ball.
There isn’t a game clock like there is in football.
In football, once the game clock starts, the quarterback has a limited time to start a play.
In cricket, the bowler can throw their pitch when they want.
Sometimes, a bowler will wait a bit to psyche out their opponent.
Others will bowl quickly to surprise their opponent.
However, those who take a long time to set up and bowl can make the sport boring.
Everyone is waiting for the ball to end up in play.
If the bowler is taking a long time, it can make the action feel more stagnant and boring.
Cricket is boring when the bowler chooses to take a long time to bowl the ball.
9. Action Stops Every 6 Bowls
Cricket has a unique rule when it comes to what they call overs.
The bowler has six attempts at bowling.
After those six attempts are over, it’s called an over, and a new bowler takes that bowler’s place.
Essentially, no bowler can bowl more than six times in a row.
This spices some things up in terms of gameplay.
After all, in baseball, you want to use your best pitcher the whole time if you can.
In cricket, you’re not allowed to do that.
However, this does make the game a bit more boring because it halts the action.
Every six bowls, players get re-arranged.
It adds more time to the game which can be boring to watch and sit through.
10. They Don’t Have A Team To Root For
A final reason cricket is boring is that some fans don’t have a team to root for.
This might be true of Americans who are watching European cricket to try and get into the game.
Because they don’t have a team that they identify with, it makes the game a bit more boring.
They’re not emotionally invested in anyone.
A lot of enjoyment in a game comes from being able to root for a team that represents your state or city.
If you don’t have that personal connection, you might not be as invested in what happens on the field.
Cricket is boring when you don’t identify with a team.
Conclusion
Cricket can be a confusing game to watch and understand.
As such, you might find it a bit boring to watch.