Top 5 Reasons Why Cricket is a More Demanding Sport to Play Than Baseball

It's that time of the week, and this week we're looking at the Top 5 reasons why cricket is a more difficult sport to play than baseball:

5. Running With Protective Gear

In both baseball and cricket, the batsman has to physically run to score (home runs and boundaries aside). The fundamental difference, though, is that the cricketer has to do his running with the weight from all of his pads. We're talking leg pads, thigh guard, helmet, arm guard, gloves, box (that's a cup, to all you Americans), and, of course, the bat itself—all of which make running a difficult task.

In baseball, the batsman just hits the ball and makes a mad dash for first base - usually only wearing his helmet and box. And uniform, of course.

The maximum number of times a batter would have to run off one hit in baseball is four times—from home plate to home plate. In cricket, the batsman keeps batting (and running) until he's out—one run, or 300, all the while carrying the weight of his protective gear.

Trust us, it ain't easy going.

4. Number Of Ways To Be Given Out

There are twice as many ways to get out in cricket as there are in baseball, which means that a batsman has to be constantly on his guard.

In baseball, there are five ways to get a batter out—a strikeout, groundout (running a batter out), forceout (when a batter is attempting to steal base), flyout (getting caught), and tagout (tagging a batter between bases). So there are five things a batter has to be aware of when he's stepping up to the plate.

In cricket, there are ten ways a batsman can be dismissed. Getting bowled, caught, LBW (getting struck on the pads in front of the wickets), stumped by the wicket-keeper, hit wicket (accidentally striking the wickets with your bat), hitting the ball twice, obstructing the path of a fielder, handling the ball, or being timed out (taking too long to get out to bat). The batsmen need to keep all of this in mind while trying to score as many runs as possible.

Try doing that when you've got someone bowling at you at 96mph (154kph).

3. General Playing Conditions

Not only do cricketers have to contend with the rules of the game, they also have to contend with different playing conditions that can have a dramatic affect on the game.

An overcast day, for example, can change the way a game will be played by giving the ball more 'swing' through the air, making life tough for the batsman. Playing all day in the hot sun can drain a player, especially if he's out batting all day. A lot of cricket is played on the sub-continent, where temperatures during games regularly soar into the 40s (around 110 deg. F).

Remember all that gear from point five? Yeah, it makes us sweat just thinking about it too.

But it's not only the weather that can have an effect—the pitch conditions also have a major impact on the game. The groundsmen can prepare a pitch to be fast, slow, offer something to the swing bowlers, or give the pitch some turn, which helps out the spin bowlers.

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