# Is Cricinfo the greatest website for a specific Sport of all? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 17, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276 "2010-02-17T01:41:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/1 "2010-02-17T01:41:33Z")
While watching Bangladesh slump to 211/6 chasing New Zealand’s 553/7 declared on my desktop it struck me that [cricinfo](http://www.cricinfo.com/) is the best sport website I’ve ever come across. Let me list the ways: 1. Live, ball by ball coverage of every international game throughout the world (and many domestic ones as well) - [This page](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/scores/live.html) shows the fifteen games covered today - from Abu Dhabi, to Melbourne to Hamilton to Kolkata. 2. Match reports of the same (Want to find out how Afghanistan did against Canada in World Twenty20 qualifying? [Here you go.](http://www.cricinfo.com/afghanistan/content/current/story/448608.html)). 3. Comments, analysis and interviews from past and present greats of the game. 4. A complete, searchable database of all international matches since the first test in 1876 [here.](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/stats/index.html) Oh, did I mention you can seach individual player records as well? Or by ground, umpire or team? Want to find out which left arm bowler has the best results in tests at Rawalpindi? [Pervez Sajjad took 8 for 47 against New Zealand in 1965](http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?bowling_hand=2;class=1;filter=advanced;ground=337;orderby=wickets;template=results;type=bowling;view=ground). It’s just stunning. So, I ask again, does any sport have a better website out there? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/2 "2010-02-17T02:10:33Z")
And now it has all the hawkeye stuff you can look at all the graphics you get on TV coverage. Even the trajectory of every ball bowled. At least you could for last Friday’s ODI. We were looking at work. Funnily enough I was trying to keep up with the Super Bowl online as I had backed New Orleans, and found it almost impossible to get decent live updates like I am used to on Cricinfo. Rarely enough every time they enhance the site it is actually better. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/3 "2010-02-17T02:14:23Z")
All statistics (such as batting averages, records, etc) appear to be updated live, too. I’ll never forget a year or so ago when a one day match was finished. Something happened during the game (a really fast 100, or something similar) and my friends and I who were watching wanted to know what the fastest hundreds ever scored in one day matches were. We logged on to Cricinfo to check the records… and there was the record from the match that only finished about 20 minutes prior! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/4 "2010-02-17T02:17:33Z")
Ah yes Hawkeye is there for [South Africa v India](http://www.cricinfo.com/indvrsa2010/engine/current/match/441826.html). Must check out Tendulkar’s innings. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/5 "2010-02-17T03:27:44Z")
Huh, didn’t even know about the Hawkeye option - seems to only before the really big games by the looks of things. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head **don’t ask** ; Cricinfo is one of the rare examples where each improvement actually makes things better… Oh and in the Hawkeye section they even keep track of the betting sites odds live as well ('win likelihood"). ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/6 "2010-02-17T09:31:21Z")
Yes, Cricinfo is amazing. I live in a non-cricketing nation, and I use the site almost daily to keep track of current events. Live updates, hawkeye, and the Statsguru search makes it a comprehensible resource on everything cricket. The only sports website I can imagine would be better would be if something as all-encompassing as Cricinfo existed for football (soccer). ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/7 "2010-02-18T15:17:16Z")
Its the greatest website in the world, and in the top three of the greatest things since creation. Statsguru, if you were a girl, I would marry you. All those statistic. Challenge for dopers. What are the most amount of successive ODI’s Waqar Younis played in in which his team one. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/8 "2010-02-18T15:55:55Z")
^ Make that “won” ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/9 "2010-02-18T18:50:57Z")
Ten. From Apr. 27th 1990 (vs India) to Nov. 13. the same year (West Indies). The last 6 matches were also successive in the way that no other ODIs were played in that period (ODIs # 636-641). [Search result here](http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/team/7.html?class=2;filter=advanced;player_involve=1935;template=results;type=team;view=innings). Let me repeat: Cricinfo is _amazing_. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/10 "2010-02-19T01:20:43Z")
Well I guess it’s unanimous then. Cricinfo is the greatest sport website. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/11 "2010-02-19T01:29:39Z")
Statsguru is just brilliant. It is simultaneously powerful and easy to use; it is exactly what a web application should be. I’m just amazed ESPN haven’t fucked it all up yet. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/12 "2012-10-05T05:57:28Z")
Bump to reinforce the sentiments expressed in this thread. This time to appreciate the surfer blog, which collects links to cricket writing in other publications. It’s how I found the [funniest piece of cricket writing](http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/mar/03/cricket.australiacricketteam) I have come across(slightly out of date). Cricinfo really does rock. I’m a little pissed that they changed the name to espncricinfo, but I suppose they have to do what they have to do. Does anybody know cricinfo’s story? Who started it, how etc? ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/13 "2013-07-23T21:43:28Z")
I came here to post an answer to my own question from last year - Cricinfo is running a series of special articles on their 20th anniversary. Here’s the [one](http://www.espncricinfo.com/cricinfoat20/content/site/cricinfoat20/timeline.html) that lays out the timeline/story of how cricinfo came to be. [Here’s](http://www.espncricinfo.com/cricinfoat20/content/story/637331.html) the story of how ball by ball updating got started, might be of particular interest to those who find themselves at the intersection of the techie and cricket lover sets. Worth reading, both of these. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/14 "2013-07-25T23:03:48Z")
So cricinfo predates the World Wide Web? The ball by ball story is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/15 "2013-07-26T02:50:43Z")
Can I use it to watch live video of cricket matches? ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/16 "2013-07-26T07:58:54Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > So cricinfo predates the World Wide Web? The ball by ball story is awesome. I don’t know about predates, but it’s definitely been right at the cutting edge. They launched a mobile edition in 1995! I don’t even know how that’s possible. Was the internet accessible through mobiles in 1995? And yes, the ball-by-ball story really is brilliant. Zaltzman’s article on Statsguru is hit and miss, like much of his other stuff, but also fun. Quite a lot of the artices repay attention actually. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Can I use it to watch live video of cricket matches? I’m…not sure. I know some matches have been broadcast live on cricinfo, but also that all are not. I just never end up using the site for their video or audio features, which they have plenty of, but that’s entirely a personal preference. Maybe someone else will tell us more. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cricinfo-the-greatest-website-for-a-specific-sport-of-all/529276/17 "2014-07-13T22:44:37Z")
And another bump to ask the cricinfo devotees if they’ve been following the (relatively) new #report and #politeinquiries sections. In the #report they tell the story of the match by collecting funny tweets and putting them in context. They did it for the World T20, and they’re surprisingly interesting to go through. The #politeinquiries is Jarrod Kimber and George Dobell taking questions and generally being funny. How is cricinfo so good? For so long? It’s incredible.