We chat with Karthik Krishnaswamy and Kartikeya Date about the role of luck in cricket and how we can better describe the game by separating actions from outcomes.
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Talking Points:
- Luck v skill - and why the two are not opposed to each other
- The traditional method of describing cricket - by ascribing reasons for outcomes
- Why it is hard for fans to accept 'luck' as a major part of a sporting contest
- The luck component in different sports - and the 'optimal' luck cricket needs
- The brief phase in each ball when neither batter or bowler is in total control
- India's loss to New Zealand in 2020 against an attack best suited for the conditions
- England's strategy v spin in the 2019 World Cup compared to their strategy in the 2023 World Cup
- The model of the game that views contest without the layer of chauvinism
- The post-facto analysis that accompanies most discussions around captaincy
Participants:
Karthik Krishnaswamy (@the_kk) | ESPNcricinfo page
Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)
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Related:
- What's luck got to do with it: a control review of the World Cup - Kartikeya Date - ESPNcricinfo
- Virat Kohli's battle with himself - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo
- The Virat Kohli century that was a trip back in time - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo
- What we talk about when we talk about pressure - Podcast with Abhinav Mukund - 81allout
- What we talk about when we talk about cricket - Podcast with Daniel Norcross - 81allout
- Are some points in Tennis more important than others? - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview substack
- Luck and skill untangled: the science of success – Michael Mauboussin interview – Wired
- Why it’s so much harder to predict winners in ice hockey than basketball – Vox – YouTube
