5) SCANDAL

This is probably my favourite area of comparison, and it highlights our cultural differences in such a stereotypical way. Ticket-selling superstars have a personal habit of getting themselves in the limelight for all the wrong reasons. Barry Bonds - central to the BALCO Scandal - is not so much remembered for his prolific record-breaking home run total, but for his alleged drug use (‘The Cream’ and ‘The Clear’) and the purported effect it has had on his performance. You Americans and your drugs tests, huh?

Here, we’ve had two successive England cricket captains in trouble with the England Cricket Board (ECB). The first - the infamous Andrew Flintoff (known as Freddie to most people here, as his surname resembles that of one Mr. Flintstone) - was caught up in the “Fredalo” incident that resulted in his loss of his vice-captaincy. Basically, he got really drunk, tried to ride a pedalo, fell in and had to be rescued. Us Brits and our alcohol, eh?

The second and more recent incident involved Paul Collingwood, England’s current captain, who did the damnedest thing when attending a strip club for a couple of beers. Fined £1000, he didn’t realize it was a strip club until a full half an hour of attending. If naked women on poles didn’t catch his attention, it probably stands to reason why he was out on his first ball the next day against South Africa in the World Twenty20 Championship - obviously the bowler didn’t catch his eye either.

6) Us against them

Cricket and baseball both find themselves with a fan base that is surprisingly militant in their following. Cricket was, a few years ago, full of old people who were very prim and proper, obsessed with tradition and, well, British. Very British. It’s opened up in recent years, where five-day games (two innings, unlimited overs - an over amounting to six balls) would attract the “Barmy Army,” hardcore young Britons who dress up, sing, play marching band music from the stand, everything. It’s rejuvenated the sport.

Baseball is, and always has been, like that. From the stereotypical organ through the tannoys to the hilarity of Steve Bartman, baseball fans always get involved one way or another. However, the fans of these sports have a group mentality, and it leads back to the original point; baseball and cricket are, in the eyes of the masses, boring as hell.

Call it the lack of contact, the length of the game or the irregular stand-up-and-dance involvement, baseball and cricket fans tend to follow their sport and no other. I like that: it shows true fan identity. Besides, why buy a beer when you have no time to drink it? Why wait for tickets that cost a stupid amount of money when it doesn’t last? Length of a game doesn’t matter in the grand scale of things - not with other priorities in life, like getting drunk.

7) Tradition

Baseball seems to be a very British sport in America. Everything seems to stay the same, from team logos to outfits to helmets to batting styles to everything. Chief Wahoo and Mr. Met are still going strong, for example; other sports seem to tire of these facets of identity quite quickly, although I don’t think anybody can blame the Braves for dropping Chief Noc-A-Homa. You’d get shot for suggesting something like that these days.

Regardless, American baseball iconography has a huge place in popular culture and is going strong outside the USA - I don’t know of anybody who can’t recognise the Boston “B” or the Yankees’ “NY.”

British identity lies in the county you were born in. My family, for this very reason, has strong bonds with Durham County Cricket Club, the youngest team in the County Championship (formed in 1992) and winner of their first two trophies this year. Everything tied in with that is very old-fashioned - club crests are usually the county coat-of-arms, and the colours - if worn (cricket players usually wear white) - depend on those on the crest. And finally…

8) The future of the sport

Although this seems like a bit of a throwaway comment, or an obvious one to say the least, the future of both of these sports is through youngsters. Children form the backbone of the future success of both cricket and baseball - whether it’s the little leagues in America or the local clubs of the villages and towns in England. Fan bases of both sports are very family-orientated, more so than other sports. As it’s more relaxed, frequent and lasts longer, you get a better bang for your buck and a good day out.

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The great irony of this comparison is possibly one of home culture: I love cricket, yet I just can’t watch baseball. I truly cannot. I suppose when you’re indoctrinated to the ways of the cricketer from birth, there’s no avoiding a love for cricket; maybe I dislike bat-and-ball sports but just feel compelled to watch it due to family allegiances. Having said that, I’m a Red Sox fan on account of having a tour of Fenway Park.

I find myself drawn to the NHL and NFL due to their emphasis on contact - the forms of sport I’ve always personally engaged in. I probably only like the NBA because young upstarts like Carmello Anthony always guarantee a bench-clearing brawl every now and then.

Still, without cricket and baseball, both British and American sports would find themselves lacking the alternative chilled out approach to competition. They both represent the traditions and balance sport needs to thrive and, to a certain extent (and particularly in the move-happy USA), survive. It’s just a bonus that to their fans, other sporting disciplines simply do not compare, and I can see exactly why - fans of these sports are a different breed; in most respects, much better.