Mick's cricket online: [www.cricinfo.com]

JumpingKentFlash

I've always wanted to attend a cricket match on one of my trips to the UK.
What time of year is the cricket season?

May to early September or thereabouts, but of course the games going ahead depends on good light and lack of rain, neither of which are exactly guaranteed.

Thanks, Gazza!
Is it usually possible to purchase a ticket at game time or do regular season games tend to sell out?

I've never been to one personally (I dont live in England and the sport tends to be bigger there than in the rest of the UK) but I would imagine that for most county games you should be able to get a ticket on the day. Big games like cup finals and test matches (ie, international games) would be a different matter though.

Remember also that the length of the games depend on what tournament it is. County championship games are scheduled for four days, and test matches for five, although there are various internationals and cup competitions contested by county (club) sides which are "limited overs" and which last for one day (they would be a lot more exciting for the casual observer I would imagine)

test matches and ODI's usualy sell out, although when we play 'minor' sides, such as Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, this isn't usually the case.

Cricket is a superb sport but tickets are usually easy to come by! Few cold beers, sunny day and its a great day out.....

20-20 County, day/night matches, on long summer evenings are always great fun...i usually go to 4 or 5 each summer....they start at 5pm and are usually finishes by 9-9.30....afew beers, some good sport.

i'd highly recommend this format of cricket, for overseas visitors, who
want a flavour of the great game, and a great nights entertainment.

the 2 sides in London, are Surrey, who play at The Oval,
[www.surreycricket.com]

and Middlesex, who play at the home of cricket, Lords.

[www.middlesexccc.com]

I enjoy a game of cricket, usually go to at least one of the One day internationals played during the summer.

Gazza (as bloody usual) is right, most matches involving county sides playing each other throughout the summer can be attended without any advance planning, but international matches and latter stages of cup competitions can be much more difficult.

I'd suggest if you've not been before to stick with a '20/20 limited over' match, where the result is decided in a few hours. Unless you understand the subtle nuances of the game, quite frankly most people would be bored with anything longer.

If you're lucky enough to be travelling around rural England on a nice sunny weekend you'll hopefully catch a village game to stop and admire the setting for a while.

As the Wise Men of IORR say, 20:20 is a good introduction.

I find cricket is best watched in the sunshine, with eyes closed and a Pimms in hand

If you're doing the sights in Richmond, there's usually a match on the Green on Friday evenings in the summer - and this is the pub to watch it from:

I'd recommend 20/20 to a first timer- sometimes, a visiting national side will play one of these at a county ground- i.e. Australia v Essex at the Chelmsford ground

Thank you all for the great advice!
I'll keep this in mind on my next visit.

I've watched a match on TV one time. The rules seemed to be hard to understand.

JumpingKentFlash

Was totally puzzled watching a match on tv: A) Never got the rules. It was in a stadium in India packed with some 65,000 people watching a match between Grenada and Pitcairn or the like.