Bail us out

The English, of course, owe their global reputation primarily to their unparalleled sporting prowess. Why, it seems like only yesterday that Bobby and Bobby and Gordon and Geoff were leading their country to World Cup victory; and in fact it was only yesterday that England (pop. 49m) finally beat Australia (pop. 20m) to win the Ashes for the first time since 1987. (That's the Ashes as in cricket, a sport played at the very highest level by former commonwealth countries all over the world.) The final five-day test match ended in a triumphant draw after umpires decided that the English weather wasn't good enough for Australia to continue trying to win, duly cementing cricket's place as the British tabloids' Sport of the Year (previous winners: 1966-2002, 2004 football; 2003 rugby). But you know the real secret of England's success? The motivational presence of the British Library's Chief Executive Lynne Brindley and Head of British Collections John Tuck, who were at the Oval to present representatives of cricketing authorities with facsimiles of the obituary from Sporting Times (September 2, 1882) from which the term "the Ashes" originated.

Now, in response to Naun's challenge the other day, Giles asked whether test cricket "approximates the whole" of international cricket. If it does, then works on test cricket may be classed at 796.35865 International cricket, and standard subdivisions (for example, for geographic area) may be added. If it doesn't, then works on test cricket have to go in "standing room" at the same number, and standard subdivisions cannot be added. Of course, some international cricket is played under one-day rather than five-day rules, and some international cricket is played by countries that are not among the ten test-playing nations whose status is conferred by the International Cricket Council. So where does that leave us? (If you're English -- victorious, of course! Hooray!)

Comments

[Indian Premier League]

Ha, Ha, Ha, Very Funny. Just came across your post while browsing on cricket...

[Acomplia]

Thanks for sharing!

[Brick Paver]

English - victorious. This must be an old post. :)