A word about bowling. There are many different types of bowler (swing, seam, wrist spin, finger spin). A baseball pitcher tries to develop several different types of pitch, but with cricket there are so many different types available that bowlers specialise.

The ball normally bounces before it gets to the batsman, and this is where all the fun happens.

Seam Bowling. The ball has a double seam stitched around its circumference, which is quite prominent, especially with a new ball. You always start with a new ball, and then you only get another after a certain number of balls have been bowled (85 x 6). If you bowl fast (up to 90mph) and land the ball on this seam you can get it to move in towards or away from the batsman to confuse him and get him out. Sometimes the wicket (playing surface) will help this happen more than others.

Swing Bowling. Nobody knows exactly why a cricket ball swings through the air, but some fast or medium-paced bowlers can do this. It happens more when the ball is new and when the atmosphere is humid under cloud cover. A swing bowler normally pitches the ball to bounce nearer the batsman to give it time to swing.

Spin Bowling. Slow bowlers (about 50mph) spin the ball using either the wrist or the fingers to get it to turn one way or the other when it bounces. When the wicket and the ball are worn, this can happen quite sharply. These bowlers also have diguised deliveries which turn the way they shouldn't, or bounce more or less (top-spin).

As of course as there are right and left-handed bowlers and batsmen there is an immense variety in bowling. The amount or seam, swing or turn, how far away the ball pitches from the batsman and the differing conditions of the ball, wicket and weather as well as the skill of the participants make this game fascinating enough to watch for 5 days,

Watching cricket on TV gives you a good view of what is happening, which you don't get at the ground. Like baseball you are well away from the action. But the atmosphere at the ground (and the beer) make up for that.

(I'm listening to England v India One Day International while I'm typing this)