Paws for thought

Hello there my friends! Thank Dog it's Friday eh.

Me, I'm in the office, enjoying some P&Q with the team. I love watching them going clickety-click on keyboards as I potter around giving encouraging woofs ... and raiding the fridge for snacks when they're not looking, hee hee hee.

Now on to other news: some young players representing their countries will play in the weekend's cricket sixes. Our own star is Babar Hayat, a 19-year-old player who coaches at Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College. He graduated from the college last year.

Our man, sports writer Kevin Kung, is tracking him down for an interview. You go, Babar and Kevin!

So let me tell you about cricket. Like a good little reporter pup, I spoke to some people who know about these things. So here goes:

Ball: That's a hard round thing players like hitting. Don't ask me why they don't prefer to go chasing after it and fetching it. Weird.

Bat: No, not the flying little mammal that can drive me nuts. It's a stick of wood players used to hit the ball.

Pitch: That's a hard, rectangular strip of ground in the middle of the field, where the main action is.

Batsman: First I thought they meant Batman, but apparently it's a player wielding the bat. There are two batsmen from the same team on the pitch at the same time.

Wicket: Three sticks of wood behind each batsman, like in this pic here.

Bails: Two pieces of wood that rest on the wicket. If these fall off, then the batsmen are out.

Bowler: He who throws the ball.

Run: With a ball in play, the batsman can make a 'run' to the opposite batsman's wicket. As two batsmen run between the wickets, the fielders try to hit the wicket with the ball. Each run is worth one point.

Caught: If a batsman's ball is caught by the opposition, he is out.

Six: Hitting a ball right out of the field equals six runs (points).

Boundary: Hitting the ball as far as the field's edge is worth four runs.

LBW: 'Leg Before Wicket.' It's when a batsman tries to defend the wicket using his leg. That's a no-no.

Over: An 'over' is when the ball is bowled at the wicket six times. The match is sometimes divided into the number of overs played: 50 or 20.

Cricket is played by two teams, usually of 11 players each. Teams take turns at batting and bowling. While one player bowls the ball, his teammates stand around waiting to catch it. The bowling team tries to get all the batsmen out; batsmen try to score as many runs as possible.

See, it's easy as pie! ... Which reminds me: I'll need to check that office fridge again, hee hee hee.