6/29/08 Sunday

One of the goals I wanted to accomplish while in England was to see a real cricket match. I went to see a cricket game today in Taunton. Somerset was playing the team from South Africa. I was interested in buying a ticket from Stephanie's dad (a huge fan) to attend the game. He had bought two tickets at one time, and apparently, they can only be sold as a pair and not individually. The reason why still remains unclear to me. But Stephanie assured me that I could buy a ticket directly from the stadium. She basically told me how to get to the stadium via the train (as opposed the Dennis' suggestion of using the bus). I purchased my train tickets yesterday, so I'm all ready to go.

Oops...one problem still remains. How to get to the train station from the house? My train left at 949am, but the buses didn't start running until 930am. Panic! I can't get to the train station via the bus in 10 minutes! I had no car, I couldn't walk...what to do? I realized the taxi would be my only option. I looked around Stephanie's office, located a phone book, and called a taxi service. The company I selected from the ad offered 10% off to students. I called the number, and after about 15 minutes, I had my cab ride to the station booked; it cost about 6 pounds.

I got to the bus station by 8 am, so I had a lot of time to kill. I wandered around the city and looked into the windows of all the shops. The town was completely closed up; the only business that was open at that time was McDonald's. After an hour and a half, I went to the station and up to the platform. 949 came and went...959 came and went...at 1009 the train pulled into the station. There was some sort of issue with the tracks, which caused the delay. I figured I had 5 minutes to find the stadium when I got into Taunton. I was in first class (very comfortable-leather seats and tables). We first pulled into Bristol Temple Meads. The conductor announced that, for whatever reason (the tracks, I think), the train was terminating at Bristol Temple. Damn, what am I going to do? I'm in the country, a foreigner, and have no idea what to do next...

We were told to disembark the train, so I did, and just milled around the platform contemplating my next move. The doors slid open 10 minutes later, and everyone reboarded the train. It was never explained why, but the train continued on its way. I am going to be soooo late...

I got to Taunton by 1130 am and asked for directions to the stadium. The walk took about 10 minutes, but it was obvious which structure was the field. I bought my ticket at the gate (it cost a little more buying on game day), and I was in. Yippee-a real cricket game! The seats are not assigned; as long as I stayed in my assigned area, I could sit in any available seat. I was in the second row, about five seats in. I was right next to the field. How exciting!

I went to this game without understanding any of the rules of the game except that one team needs to score more "runs" than the other one. There are pitchers (bowlers), batters, catchers, and "the fielders". The basic rules are: the bowler pitches the ball, the batter hits it, and the batter (and other teammate) run back and forth the length of the pitch (multiple times if possible). I didn't understand the scoring, how outs affected the game, or any of the strategies of cricket. The most perplexing thing about the match was that all the players on the field (and the batters) were all dressed in their whites. Where were the South African players? I know that none of the South African players were on the field because three of them, dressed in green and gold, came out to the field during an intermission to mug for the audience. One of them bowled the ball, the second hit the ball, and the third shagged the "hit". They were definitely mugging for us. The batter hit 2-3 balls "out of the park" over our heads, while we all cheered. For the 5 hours I was there, I never saw the South African Players on the field (except for those that entertained us).

I soaked up the atmosphere, literally and figuratively. I got a pretty nice sunburn (I was in pain for a couple of days) and I also got to experience what it was like to be a fan. It seems to me that being there in the stands and interacting with everyone else was more important that the match itself. People go to the games for the social interactions. From time to time, the crowd would applaud a play on the field, but most of the time was spent chatting with others. All the fans in my area must have been coworkers judging by their conversations. It's a chance to get together, talk, laugh, eat, and drink. Fans were able to purchase 4 cans at a time; that's more than someone can buy at Pac Bell Park or any ballpark. The fans behind me must have consumed 20 or so ciders (24 oz. cans I think). I know that drinking is part of the British social culture, but never seen that many ciders/beers consumed between five or six people. At least they didn't act drunk...

By 430 pm, I left. The match was still going and I was really sunburned. It was cloudy most of the game, but the sun broke through and I was in direct sunlight for an hour. I took the train back to Bath and grabbed a cab back home. I walked through the front door about 8 pm. Stephanie was in London helping her daughter move house and Miki was at her boyfriend’s son I was on my own again. I got some dinner and then went to bed.