What we talk about when we talk about luck

Explicit content warning

12/16/23 • 97 min

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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Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

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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

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.

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

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)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (recently republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Previous Episode

A World Cup that had so much (and could have had so much more) - Rahul Bhattacharya interview

We are thrilled to have novelist and cricket writer Rahul Bhattacharya to talk about his experiences from the World Cup.

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking points:

Cricket writing v cricket analysis - and how each is a specialised job
Does the BCCI care for what is written about them in the press?
The antipathy towards Indian and foreign fans throughout this World Cup
The staggering amount of money people were willing to pay for tickets
The experience of covering a match at Ahmedabad
India v Pakistan - and how the discourse seems to be war minus the shooting
Jasprit Bumrah - what can't he do?
The electricity of India's fast bowling trio
Maxwell's fantastical night
Rohit Sharma - the dada batsman
Virat Kohli's fitness - and his Djokovic-level fitness
Australia's perfect game in the final
Travis Head and his Gilchrist-like audacity
The 'anyone but India' sentiment pervading much of the cricket world

Participants:

Rahul Bhattacharya

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

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Related:

What the World Cup means - Rahul Bhattacharya - Hindustan Times
Many shades of the Indian cricket fan - Rahul Bhattacharya - Hindustan Times
With a skip and a stutter, Bumrah conjures up another miracle - Rahul Bhattacharya - Hindustan Times
They turn up to watch India bowl - Rahul Bhattacharya - Hindustan Times
Rahul Bhattacharya's Hindustan Times columns
Pakistan fans a glaring absence at India Cricket World Cup clash - Rahul Bhattacharya - Al Jazeera
Indian hype for Cricket World Cup will grow but fans come off second best - Rahul Bhattacharya - Guardian
Shiv on the Shore - Rahul Bhattacharya profiles Shivnarine Chanderpaul - The Cricket Monthly
Pundits from Pakistan - Rahul Bhattacharya - Amazon
Sly Company of People who care - Rahul Bhattacharya - Amazon
Buy War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee - Amazon
Buy Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward - Amazon

Next Episode

India level series after shootout in Cape Town

We review the two-Test series between South Africa and India - which ended 1-1 after a bowler-dominated shootout in Cape Town.

Support 81allout on Ko-Fi

Talking Points:

India's missed opportunity to finally win a series in SA
Why the Cape Town pitch backfired on South Africa
India's lack of fast bowling depth - a sign of more struggles in future away series
Mohammad Siraj's dream spell on the first morning in Cape Town
Dean Elgar's century: a tale of plays-and-misses and cashing in on poor bowling
Aiden Markram's astonishing attack
Where Rabada and Bumrah showed their class: figuring out the conditions
Rohit Sharma's comments about the pitch - and potential double-standards
Are these short Tests harming the format? Or are they ideal for entertainment?

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Ashoka (@ABVan)

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack | ESPNcricinfo page

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Buy The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh (republished by 81allout)

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

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Related:

India prove their golden age has plenty of kick left - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo
Mean Reversion - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview - Substack
Newlands pitch the tip of WP’s iceberg of problems - Telford Vice - Wordpress
On the ICC pitch evaluation system - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview - Substack
Crime and punishment: warnings, fines, bans and let-offs - Alok Prasanna Kumar - The Cricket Monthly