Is Cricket a Lazy Sport? (The Truth You Should Know)

Cricket is one of the world’s most popular sports with billions of followers. Most of the sports we know, such as basketball, football, and hockey, are usually physically demanding and exhaustive, and even a few minutes of gameplay can leave you sweating profusely. What’s more, is that these are full-contact sports and therefore a lot of stamina is required. Cricket isn’t like these games. There is usually no contact required, and there is very minimal physical exertion required. This usually makes people wonder whether cricket is a lazy sport.

On one side, cricket is a lazy sport because the most activity that a cricketer probably has to do is run between the wickets, make a run-up when bowling, or retrieve the ball when fielding. On the other, cricket is not a lazy sport because games at the pro level are usually a bit more intensive and focused. 

In this article, we will discuss all that relates to cricket being a lazy sport and a lot more. So if this interests you in any way, sit back, relax, and read on to find out more. This will most definitely be an enlightening read for you.

Is Cricket an Easy Sport?

If you think about it carefully, cricket is a game that seems like it doesn’t require the player to do much. But the truth is that it isn’t an easy sport in the slightest. In this section, we will endeavor to elaborate on why.

As I have already mentioned, cricket is a lazy game, and it also isn’t. When playing cricket, the most that you’ll probably have to do is to run between wickets, make a run-up when bowling, or retrieve the ball when fielding. This is the definition of a lazy game. On the other hand, it isn’t so lazy if you consider the fact that games at the pro level are usually a bit more intensive and focused. Batsmen usually have to run with their heavy protective gear on for multiple hours. They also have to contend with long batting periods.

So, even though I have mentioned that cricket is a lazy game, it can actually be quite a workout, especially for batsmen.

With that said, it’s only natural to wonder whether cricket is an easy sport. The answer is No. Cricket can actually be a quite demanding (and time consuming) game to play. Some of the reasons behind this include:

Catching the ball

Baseball players wear catching mitts, but cricketers don’t. This is despite the fact that cricket balls are heavier, harder, and smaller. A standard cricket ball weighs in at between 5.5 and 5.8 ounces (155.9 and 163 g) and has a circumference of between 22.4 and 22.9 cm.

This means cricketers usually catch a heavier ball traveling at incredibly high speeds without the use of gloves. Now, trust me when I say this isn’t easy at all.

Number of ways to be given out

There are a lot of ways to get out in cricket. In cricket, there are ten ways a batsman can be dismissed, and they include getting bowled, caught, LBW(being struck on the pads in front of the wickets), stumped by the wicket-keeper, hit wicket, hitting the ball twice, obstructing the path of a fielder, handling the ball, or being timed out.

There are a lot of ways to be given out. The batsmen usually need to keep all of their wits while trying to score as many runs as possible. This is not easy at all, especially when you’ve got someone bowling at you at 96mph (154kph).

Running with protective gear on

In cricket, the batsman has to physically run to score. The cricketer usually has to run with the weight from all his equipment, such as the leg pads, thigh guards, helmet, arm guards, gloves, box (or cup), and the bat itself.

This equipment makes running a difficult task. All in all, it isn’t easy to play cricket if you have to run with heavy protective gear on.

Playing conditions

Cricketers usually have to contend with the rules of the game and also with different playing conditions, which can have a dramatic effect on the game. For example, a cloudy day can change the way the game is played by giving the ball more swing through the air, making life hard for batsmen. 

Playing in the hot sun for hours can also drain a player. A lot of cricket is played on the sub-continent, where temperatures can soar high into the 40s (110˚F). Remember the point above? That shows you just how much exertion the players can be put under, meaning it isn’t an easy game.

Is Cricket a Boring Game?

For the most part, yes. There are a lot of reasons for this assertion too. Let’s have a look at some of them.

A cricket game takes too long

The first reason cricket is a boring game is because it takes too long. Even the shortest format of a game of cricket takes as long as three hours! The longest one, on the other hand, can last up to 5 days. That’s right, five DAYS! Because of this, it’s usually hard to watch a complete game of cricket. No matter the format, only the last 5-10 overs of each innings are interesting to watch. The rest of the overs, most of the time, seem largely inconsequential to watch.

The game is heavily biased to batting

Suppose a team bowls exceptionally well, and the batting team struggles to score runs. This makes the game quite boring and unhappening. Cricket is usually fun to watch only when there is some serious hitting going on. In some games, this can be quite rare.

Very few countries play the game

Only a handful of countries play cricket. Except for the World Cup and Champions Trophy, the result of most ODI series usually seems inconsequential. There isn’t much interest because nothing really happens; a team loses, and another wins. To give some context, I would like my football team to keep winning to clinch the league title/qualify for Europe/finish in the top 4/finish top 10/avoid being relegated, etc. In cricket, there isn’t much motivation.

Inactivity of most of the players

One of the things that make cricket boring is the fact that most players on the field standstill at a given moment, with only a few actively doing something. The bowler, the batsman, and one or two other players are often the only ones moving for a considerate amount of time. Some people claim watching paint dry is far much more interesting.

All in all, cricket is a lazy game, and it isn’t as we have discussed above. It’s also not such an easy game as you would believe, and for the most part, people think of it as boring.