Quotes about cricket

A collection of quotes on the topic of cricket, cricketer, game, gaming.

Quotes about cricket

Leonard Cohen photo
Murasaki Shikibu photo

“Ceaseless as the interminable voices of the bell-cricket, all night till dawn my tears flow.”

Source: Tale of Genji, The Tale of Genji, trans. Arthur Waley, Ch. 1

W.B. Yeats photo
Ian Smith photo
Anil Kumble photo
Tom Wills photo
John Lennon photo

“I was looking for a name like the Crickets that meant two things, and from crickets I got to beetles. And I changed [to] B E A because … B E E T L E S didn't mean two things, so I changed … the E to an A. And it meant two things then. … When you said it, people thought of crawly things; and when you read it, it was beat music.”

John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter

Pop Chronicles: Show 27 - The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!: The U.S.A. is invaded by a wave of long-haired English rockers. Part 1 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19782/m1/#track/4, 24 August 1964 http://www.jpgr.co.uk/pro202.html.

Joe Root photo

“We tried not to be too greedy, and to play smart cricket and take it deep. It sets it up nicely for the group stages.”

Joe Root (1990) English cricketer

Quoted on The Guardian, "Joe Root leads the way as England record stunning World Twenty20 win" http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/18/england-south-africa-world-twenty20-match-report, March 18, 2016.

G. H. Hardy photo

“If I knew I was going to die today, I think I should still want to hear the cricket scores.”

G. H. Hardy (1877–1947) British mathematician

Source: Quoted in The Joy of Cricket (ed. John Bright-Holmes, 1984)

Eoin Colfer photo
George Bernard Shaw photo
Libba Bray photo
Brian Andreas photo
Jacqueline Woodson photo
Laura Ingalls Wilder photo
Cynthia Kadohata photo
Eoin Colfer photo

“We lost the crickets.”

Eoin Colfer (1965) Irish author of children's books

Source: The Last Guardian

Virat Kohli photo

“I would like to thank the crowd, it was unbelievable, the support helps you push through those tough times. You need challenges in every game, they improve you as a cricketers…I don't know what to say, I am overwhelmed by”

Virat Kohli (1988) Indian cricket player

After guiding India to the World T20 semifinals, quoted on sports.ndtv, "Virat Kohli Proves His Era Has Begun, After Guiding India Into World T20 Semifinals" http://sports.ndtv.com/icc-world-twenty20-2016/news/256920-virat-kohli-proves-his-era-has-begun-after-guiding-india-into-world-t20-semifinals, March 27, 2016.

Anil Kumble photo

“I have no regrets. Whatever happens, happens for good. I have done everything I could on a cricket field. 10 wickets in a match… A century… 600 wickets… Captaincy… I have done everything.”

Anil Kumble (1970) Former Indian cricketer

Quoted in Kumble Calls It A day: Quotes... For and By Kumble..., 20 December 2013, Zee News India http://zeenews.india.com/kumble/story.aspx?aid=480775,

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh photo

“If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?”

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921) member of the British Royal Family, consort to Queen Elizabeth II

Said in relation to the proposal to ban firearms in the UK following the Dunblane shooting, as quoted in "48 of Prince Philip's greatest gaffes and funny moments" https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/04/48-prince-philips-greatest-gaffes-funny-moments/, The Telegraph (2 August 2017)
1990s

Rahul Dravid photo

“I would like to announce my retirement from international and domestic first-class cricket. It is 16 years since I played my first Test match for India and today I feel it is an time to move on. Once I was like every other boy in India, with a dream of playing for my country. Yet I could never have imagined a journey so long and so fulfilling.”

Rahul Dravid (1973) Indian cricketer

In press conference announcing retirement from Test cricket, quoted in " After 16 yrs, Rahul Wall Dravid retires from intl cricket "in Indian Express (Indianexpress.com) http://www.indianexpress.com/news/after-16-yrs-rahul-wall-dravid-retires-from-intl-cricket/921750/0

Jonathan Miller photo
Bill Bryson photo
Anthony Burgess photo
Bill Bryson photo

“Cricket as a passion is distinctly contagious.”

David Frith (1937) cricket writer and historian

England v Australia (1981)

Geoffrey Howe photo
George William Russell photo
Talbot Baines Reed photo

“Things never turn out in cricket as one expects.”

Talbot Baines Reed (1852–1893) English author

The Fifth Form at St. Dominic's (1887).

“Cricket is quite a gentle, harmless game, but he is a lucky man who has not to sweat some blood before he's done with it.”

John Snaith (1876–1936) British cricketer (1876-)

Willow the King (1899)

“Colly doing a good, no-frills, manful job for England here, just one from the over. He is to cricket what Jim Taggart is to detective work.”

Ben Dirs journalist

England v Sri Lanka, 2007-04-04, BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/6521515.stm,

José Maria Eça de Queiroz photo

“A strange people, for whom it is out of the question that anyone can be moral without reading the Bible, and strong without playing cricket, and a gentleman without being English! And it is this that makes them so detested. They never fuse, they never lose their Englishness.”

Estranha gente, para quem é fora de dúvida que ninguém pode ser moral sem ler a Bíblia, ser forte sem jogar o críquete e ser gentleman sem ser inglês! E é isto que os torna detestados. Nunca se fundem, nunca se desinglesam.
"Os Ingleses no Egipto"; "The English in Egypt" pp. 159-60.
Cartas de Inglaterra (1879–82)

Edmund Blunden photo

“Cricket to us, like you, was more than play,
It was a worship in the summer sun.”

Edmund Blunden (1896–1974) English poet, author and literary critic

Poem Pride of the Village (1925)

Evelyn Waugh photo
MS Dhoni photo

“I focus on Cricket it's something i am good at. After retiring, i want to serve in the army. It has always been about serving the nation.”

MS Dhoni (1981) Indian cricket player

In dhoni's own words: it's always been about serving the country. https://www.scoopwhoop.com/sports/ms-dhoni/

Sachin Tendulkar photo
Norman Tebbit photo
Kumar Sangakkara photo
Pramod Muthalik photo

“Could Sania not find any eligible bachelor among 100 crore Indians, which includes 15 crore Muslims? It is India, which is responsible for her fame and by choosing a Pakistani cricketer as her life partner, she is insulting all Indians. We totally oppose the move.”

Pramod Muthalik (1963) Indian politician

On Indian tennis player Sania Mirza's marriage to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, as quoted in " Sania should not be allowed to play for India: Muthalik http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sania-should-not-be-allowed-to-play-for-india-muthalik/article1-526359.aspx", Hindustan Times (2 April 2010)

Narendra Modi photo
Aubrey Faulkner photo

“Humbleness and effeminacy are not things that a great cricketer can afford to have.”

Aubrey Faulkner (1881–1930) South African cricketer

Cricket: Can it be Taught? (1926), ASIN: B000XTEYX2

Matthew Hayden photo
Anil Kumble photo
Rana Bhagwandas photo
Matthew Hayden photo

“Well it’s quite obvious Cricket Australia don’t give a damn; the selectors don’t give a damn. The Australian cricket team has an X-factor that no other team in the world has. The others look at us with envy. It’s about the culture of the team and you can’t mess with that. The lack of empathy that has been shown to Brad Haddin after the trauma he has gone through over the past two weeks has messed with the team culture; I have no doubt about it”

Matthew Hayden (1971) Australian cricketer

Quoted on The Daily Telegraph (July 30, 2015), "Matthew Hayden fears Australian team culture could be affected by dropping of Brad Haddin" http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/cricket/matthew-hayden-fears-australian-team-culture-could-be-affected-by-dropping-of-brad-haddin/news-story/08a3e9ac471abf5418d8dd3a34deff82

Anil Kumble photo
Arthur Waley photo

“Ceaseless as the interminable voices of the bell-cricket, all night till dawn my tears flow.”

Arthur Waley (1889–1966) British academic

Source: Translations, The Tale of Genji (1925–1933), Ch. 1: 'Kiritsubo'

André Maurois photo
Anil Kumble photo
Anthony Burgess photo
Charlie Brooker photo

“In many ways, Big Brother is the present day equivalent of a 1980s Club 18-30 Holiday - flirting, sunbathing, silly little organised games, and lots of people you'd like to remove from the genepool with a cricket bat.”

Charlie Brooker (1971) journalist, broadcaster and writer from England

The Guardian, 10 June 2006 http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/columnists/story/0,,1793019,00.html
Guardian columns, Big Brother

“Cricket's all right in spite of the newspapers, but the trouble is that three quarters of us don't know how to use our own gifts.”

Dudley Carew (1903–1981) English journalist, writer, poet and film critic

The Son of Grief (1936)

A. P. Herbert photo
Anil Kumble photo

“…not just cricket, but the success of athletes in other sports have helped India become a sporting nation.”

Anil Kumble (1970) Former Indian cricketer

India became a sporting nation in the last decade: Kumble

Anil Kumble photo

“Long ago I discovered that there was more to life than cricket, and more to cricket than runs and wickets.”

David Foot (1929) Canadian economist

Cricket's Unholy Trinity (1985)

Mahela Jayawardene photo

“There is so much uncertainty in cricket. One day you can get a hundred, the next day you can be dismissed for a zero. It makes you become practical about things. Teaches you to accept both success and failure. I think I have learnt a lot about life from cricket.”

Mahela Jayawardene (1977) Former Sri Lankan cricketer

Quoted in S. Dinakar, " I have learnt a lot about life from cricket http://www.hinduonnet.com/tss/tss2438/24380360.htm," Sport Star, vol. 24, no. 38 (2001-09-22).
Quote

Mahela Jayawardene photo
Matthew Hayden photo
Rahul Dravid photo
Danish Kaneria photo
C. L. R. James photo
Navjot Singh Sidhu photo

“This cricket is like a burger, you can have it once a week but for a whole meal, you need to return to Test cricket. More than once a week, and it will give you a tummy ache.”

Navjot Singh Sidhu (1963) Indian cricketer and politician

On Twenty20 cricket, in "Twenty20 game is 'underwear' cricket: Sidhu" in Daily News and Analysis (17 July 2006).

Daniel Radcliffe photo
Anil Kumble photo
MS Dhoni photo

“The coolest man in world cricket, MS Dhoni delivers when it matters the most.”

MS Dhoni (1981) Indian cricket player

Michael Vaughn https://www.scoopwhoop.com/sports/dhoni-quotes/#.ttnzmcqgv

Daniel Handler photo
Anil Kumble photo
Kapil Dev photo

“If I can do something for the game and the young cricketers through the ICL, I will not budge”

Kapil Dev (1959) Indian cricketer

Quoted in "Profile: Kapil Dev".

Edward Lear photo

“On a little heap of Barley
Died my aged uncle Arly,
And they buried him one night;—
Close beside the leafy thicket;—
There, his hat and Railway-Ticket;—
There, his ever-faithful Cricket;”

Edward Lear (1812–1888) British artist, illustrator, author and poet

But his shoes were far too tight.
Incidents in the Life of my Uncle Arly http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/pw/arly.html, st. 7 (1895).

Alan Ayckbourn photo
Anthony Burgess photo
Harold Pinter photo

“I tend to believe that cricket is the greatest thing that God ever created on earth.”

Harold Pinter (1930–2008) playwright from England

Pinter on Pinter in The Observer (1980)

K. S. Ranjitsinhji photo
Mahela Jayawardene photo

“Mahela is a class player so it would be great to have him back and in the form he was in before he got injured [injured his thigh during a cricket game]”

Mahela Jayawardene (1977) Former Sri Lankan cricketer

Wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Ludeman of the Adelaide Strikers, The Advertiser (January 19, 2016), "Adelaide Strikers may roll the dice on star import Mahela Jayawardene" http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/cricket/adelaide-strikers-may-roll-the-dice-on-star-import-mahela-jayawardene/news-story/120958219581e550e2750ca5e45bc479
About

Douglas Bader photo
Steve Smith (cricketer) photo

“I don't actually like watching cricket that much and would prefer to be out there batting and just getting the job done.”

Steve Smith (cricketer) (1989) Australian international cricketer

Steve Smith after scoring 23rd test century. https://www.cricket.com.au/news/steve-smith-century-australia-england-ashes-mcg-boxing-day-video-highlights-bradman-ponting/2017-12-30%3fmode=amp, 30 December, 2017.

Bernard Lewis photo
Anil Kumble photo
Tom Stoppard photo
Harbhajan Singh photo

“Interviewer: You and Australia have had quite a relationship over the years. This will be your first trip there in eight years.
Singh: There are lots of memories, and they are all quite fresh. Good and bad. I will start with the good. Winning the Perth Test was probably the key point of my Test career, even though I didn’t play that match. But in the context of the series, we fought really hard and won a match in which Australia were favourites. And of course winning the CB series by beating Australia was very satisfying. It is like winning a mini World Cup. The bad memories include the Sydney spat, of course. It should have been handled better. It should have been stopped. Whatever happened there didn’t help anyone, neither Australian cricket nor us. We (Andrew Symonds & I) should have just sat like two mature people and spoken about it and sorted it.
Interviewer: This realisation that you should stop rushing through things has come about recently?
Singh: It’s not that I have just started doing this now. I have been told by a lot of my senior bowlers, “Take your time. Don’t rush.” Maybe I was not getting the idea sometimes. That was missing in between. Sometimes I was heeding to that advice, sometimes I was not. Then you make mistakes. Then you come back to the same thing, “Ok, take your time, boss. Relax.” It’s been there, but lately it’s come to the fore more because I have become calmer.
Interviewer: When you see guys like Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, who came into international cricket after you, retire, what kind of effect does it have on you?
Singh: That was up to them. They know what’s going on with their body and mind. They need to plan their lives. Their decision should not put anyone else under pressure. Till I’m playing with my full energy, I will continue to play. Aisa toh nahi ho sakta bhai ki ek ka raasta doosre ke liye theek hai. I am enjoying what I’m doing.”

Harbhajan Singh (1980) Indian cricketer

Interview with Indian Express http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/i-always-say-i-am-the-best-harbhajan-singh/, January 25, 2016.

Anil Kumble photo
Alfred Denning, Baron Denning photo

“In summertime village cricket is a delight to everyone. Nearly every village has its own cricket field where the young men play and the old men watch. In the village of Lintz in the County of Durham they have their own ground, where they have played these last 70 years. They tend it well. The wicket area is well rolled and mown. The outfield is kept short. It has a good clubhouse for the players and seats for the onlookers. The village team plays there on Saturdays and Sundays. They belong to a league, competing with the neighbouring villages. On other evenings they practice while the light lasts. Yet now after these 70 years a judge of the High Court has ordered that they must not play anymore. He has issued an injunction to stop them. He has done it at the instance of a newcomer who is no lover of cricket. This newcomer has built, or has had built for him, a house on the edge of the cricket ground which four years ago was a field where cattle grazed. The animals did not mind the cricket, but now this adjoining field has been turned into a housing estate. The newcomer bought one of the houses on the edge of the cricket field. No doubt the open space was a selling point. Now he complains that when a batsman hits a six the ball has been known to land in his garden or on or near his house. His wife has got so upset about it that they always go out at weekends. They do not go into the garden when cricket is being played. They say that this is intolerable. So they asked the judge to stop the cricket being played. And the judge, much against his will, has felt that he must order the cricket to be stopped: with the consequence, I suppose, that the Lintz Cricket Club will disappear. The cricket ground will be turned to some other use. I expect for houses or a factory. The young men will turn to other things instead of cricket. The whole village will be much poorer. And all this because of a newcomer who has just bought a house there next to the cricket ground.”

Alfred Denning, Baron Denning (1899–1999) British judge

Miller v. Jackson [1977] QB 966 at 976.
Judgments

Kapil Dev photo