My Favourite Hobby Essay


First of all, before discussing my new favourite hobby, I'd like to point out that I didn't choose it because I'm competitive or even particularly focused on the outcome. It's just something I want to do because I like the hobby. It's simply that the end result makes the hobby more worthwhile for me.


Sportsmanship


In addition, I would like to reiterate that I'm not competitive in any way, shape or form. This is all about enjoying the hobby and that the results don't matter for me. I would not recommend any sort of aggressive attitude to any sort of online experience and as far as the outcome is concerned, I would consider myself a reasonably patient person. Even if I were to win the league, which I can't, I would certainly not celebrate.


I'm a Highly Compatible Hobbyist


Well, I think I was quite clear on that one. The only thing that makes me look at a game differently is that I want to win. This, combined with the fact that I like both League of Legends and Hearthstone, has enabled me to recognise and appreciate some of the qualities that are associated with these particular games and their respective players.


Valve have made things a lot better in that regard in recent times, in particular by having a prize pool that you actually want to be in it for and by providing a welcome stress free environment. The casters in both cases are also quite good so there's a lot to like there as well.


I Don't Do Much Apart From League and Hearthstone


This could be seen as a negative, but this is definitely not the case. I actually do quite a lot apart from those two. I do enjoy the competitive element of both, but I don't do them regularly. I don't think it would be fair to say that I'm obsessed or that they're my life. However, I definitely enjoy them. I enjoy League more because I enjoy it more. Not the first thing I do every day. I also enjoy Hearthstone more because it's less competitive and I enjoy that more as well.


Not Wasting Too Much Time Playing Games


This is another advantage I have compared to a lot of my peers. I generally prefer the campaign in both games. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the competitive side of things, I do, but I do quite a lot of other stuff other than League and Hearthstone. So, I don't think I spend too much time doing either of them. Maybe I play a few hours every week, but I like to do other things as well.

    Cricket Australia's men's team manager for players' and game development Ben Amarfio has been in the country overseeing the draft, which sees three Tasmanian players selected, five from Victoria, and four from New South Wales.


Watson, the number one-ranked batsman in the world and in prime position to be picked in the first round, had a disappointing BBL08, with just two half centuries in his 13.

    Cricket essayist Kim Wheeler picks 10 things you may not know about our national sport


2 The sport was not known by this name until the 1860s


Australia has a cricket season of over four months and there are 18 teams in the domestic competitions at any one time. The sport, which is as much an education in geography as a sporting endeavour, can be played on any surface, be it sand, clay, mud, grass, concrete, or a lake – but in Australia they favour the Adelaide Oval or the WACA. The first Test match was played at the Oval in 1877, and the first women’s international was played at the Adelaide Oval in 1973. Australia’s record Test match win is currently 158-1 against England in 1948 – with the hosts taking the last six to one.


3 David Warner has the second-highest Test strike rate of any batsman in history


After scoring 766 runs in the three Tests against South Africa, Warner became the first man since Don Bradman in 1948 to score two centuries and average over 100 in successive Test series. Only Garfield Sobers (12), Len Hutton (11) and Sachin Tendulkar (9) have bettered the latter.


4 The Australian Test team are the most efficient all-rounders in world cricket.

   Best cricket essay

They bowl eight – or nine – different varieties of spin, they have top three batsmen in all three formats of the game, they can field anywhere, and they hold the world record for taking the most wickets in a single Test match with 19 in the Ashes series victory over England in 2015. Their opponents in last year’s Ashes series – England – were unable to play a spinner due to injury. In the last five years, only seven players have averaged more than Warner’s 75.89.


5 Ricky Ponting played 131 Tests and missed only 17 matches


Only Adam Gilchrist (202), Steve Waugh (199), Ricky Ponting (197) and Dean Jones (161) have played more Tests than the former captain. The great man played 31 of his 131 Tests as captain. Gilchrist’s record is the best for any batsman – a phenomenal 129 matches.


6 Glenn McGrath is the most successful bowler in Tests for Australia


No bowler has taken more wickets for Australia than this Australian great, who has taken 383. McGrath is just two shy .

 


Best Cricketer 


Highest Average in Tests


Worst Bowling Average in Tests


Best Strike Rate in Tests


Best Test Ranking 


Warner and his team-mates have achieved this statistic by taking two wickets a day, with each other cricketer managing to contribute just one. It also explains why the team are strong in batting (if not fielding) and bowlers, but have failed to progress the ball at the MCG.


5 Cricket is the fifth most popular sport in the UK


Data collected in 2016 has shown that 2.8m people in the UK play cricket. In Australia, it has even been said that the number of children who play the sport is the same as their number of children with cancer.


6 England players have a total of 173 runs fewer than the entire Sri Lankan team since Jan 2017


When England lost the first Test in the ill-fated 2016 Ashes series by an innings and 41 runs, it was their fourth defeat in five Tests against Australia, prompting Alastair Cook to remark that England were “ourselves again” after beating West Indies 4-0.