Leave Americans to Baseball

Sambit Bal, writing for the online magazine Cricinfo, questions the merit of seeking to expand the game of cricket beyond its present sphere of influence, and in doing so, touches a chord this this:

Cricket is not an easy game to start liking. It is a complex and baffling game. It demands utter devotion, infinite patience, certain intellectual engagement, and that utterly scarce commodity: time, lots of it. Also, the cricket lover, particularly those attracted to the alluring charms of Test cricket, must be prepared to enjoy the journey for the sake of it, without obsessing about the destination. Try convincing your American friend that a drawn Test is not a waste of five days.

(For my American friends, as Bal puts it, a game of Test cricket lasts 5 days and quite regularly ends with neither team winning the game!)