As the internet has taken giant leaps in the past few years, it has created a platform for meaningful interaction amongst its users. The influx of blogs and forums into mainstream internet highlights this very fact. Cricket is not very far behind when it comes to ruling the blogosphere. In countries where cricket is certainly more than a sport, these interactive forms of the media have given the fans a platform to express their view, discuss and debate them. What’s more, it has opened up opportunities for aspiring cricket writers to put their best foot forward and get noticed.






Cricket bloggers of Pakistan
cricket.bloggers.pk  

An offshoot of bloggers.pk, this blog is perhaps the biggest platform bringing together cricket crazy bloggers of Pakistan. The blog provides a good number of posts on the state of cricketing affairs in Pakistan. From humorous entries to serious discussions, this blog provides a variety of sub-topics to satiate every cricket lover’s appetite. The fact that the blog is updated almost everyday makes sure the readers are always in for a new post and well at par with the latest happenings on the Pakistani and world cricket scene.

Sundries
http://www.bloxster.net/zainub

A cricket-dedicated blog being maintained by a female Pakistani blogger is a pleasant surprise. However, this blog is not to be taken lightly as the blogger, Zainub Razvi, provides an updated view on the world of cricket. The blogging lady herself is and has been a part of various cricket blogs and is well-respected in the blogging circle. The writer’s knowledge and understanding of matters pertaining to world cricket are quite impressive and she presents very unbiased views, making this is a must-visit blog for all cricket lovers.



Omar loves cricket
omarlovescricket.blogspot.com 

Omar Haq, a cricket enthusiast from Pakistan gives his readers a 360-degree view on Pakistan cricket. The posts on this blog are written in a very conversational mode, that is, the author tries to set-up an interaction with his readers through the piece. In addition, the ability of the author to deal with serious issues in a lighter manner is impressive. Apart from containing highly Pakistan-centric pieces, the blog also deals with certain global cricketing issues of relevance, which is good from an overall perspective. The language used is one that the reader can easily comprehend, which makes the pieces more effective.




Cricket uncut
cricketuncut.blogspot.com

An extension of one of India’s most read blogs, India Uncut – this blog is put out by professional cricket writers working with the most renowned cricket website, Cricinfo. Amit Verma, one of the most recognised faces of India’s blogging scene puts out a healthy mix of humor, observations and serious cricketing pieces. As opposed to other blogs, the content of this blog is not necessarily Indian and provides a broad perspective on the cricket world.



 

The corridor of uncertainty
www.cricket.mailliw.com 

The Corridor of Uncertainty is a blog put out by a British cricket fan, Will Luke. A majority content of the blog is dedicated to English cricket and other teams do get a mention, but are not as prominent anyway. One of the plus points of this blog is that it gets updated everyday, so the author maintains the periodicity of the content. It uses snippets, newspaper references to the England team and thought provoking pieces to win over its readers. On the whole, it is a blog worth visiting over and over again, mainly for the language the author uses – a mix of formal and informal.



Cricket 24x7
cricket24x7.blogspot.com

This blog was started as an experimental venture by two Indians in April 2005. Today, it is in almost every cricket blogger’s blog-roll. Firstly, this blog provides an independent view on the game, with a tinge of tilt towards the Indian scene. Secondly, the amount of analysis that goes into their writing makes it more in-depth and surely justifies the amount of passion that goes in as well. With inputs from cricket bloggers all over the world, this blog certainly deserves to be rated high.



Rick Eyre
cricket.rickeyre.com

Rick Eyre, an Australian cricket writer attempts to pen down everything that pertains to the game in that country. So, if you ever check this site out, you can expect the hard-nut Aussie raving about the Ashes whitewash with a direct dash at the Poms, and also a naïve Aussie rejecting claims of the Commonwealth Bank defeat.



Cricket Web
forum.cricketweb.net

Perhaps the oldest cricket forum that has been doing rounds on the web, the Cricket Web forum is the place to be if you want to get noticed as someone with a good cricketing brain. It has people from all over the world, including countries where expatriates of the Asian countries are based, and receives close to a thousand posts a day. Some of the cricket writers that have emerged today have been a part of this lounge that offers you nothing but cricket! Unlike many other cricketing web portals, it scrutinises domestic cricket in every country wherever it’s played. So if you are a fan of the Lahore Lions or the Natal Dolphins, you’ve got to tag the Cricket Web forum.



World-A-Team
www.world-a-team.com

Another forum that is largely based on the lines of Cricket Web, the World-A-Team (WAT) forum mixes interaction with a difference. If you read it right, it is a forum where you discuss about the ‘A’ teams that come out of your respective countries. Apart from the A teams, the forum also allows you a free discussion on Test Cricket, with sub-forums dedicated to every test-playing nation. The one-day internationals (ODI) also follow a similar format. One of the areas where this forum differs from the rest is the presence of country-specific sections, to discuss a particular country’s cricketing affairs. Overall, it is a good forum to be a part of, and rant your patriotism to the biggest extent possible.



Pak passion
www.pakpassion.net

This forum claims to be the home of Pakistani cricket fans on the internet. Possibly yes. It is the oldest recognised Pakistani cricket forum going around. The kinds of discussions that take place in the forum are largely concentrated towards the controversies and the state of Pakistan cricket. Apart from cricket, the forum also aims to contribute to the overall sporting awareness in Pakistan about other sports like hockey, football and so on. On an overall scale, this is one place where every fan of Pakistan cricket must consider and exchange thoughts about their team’s progress.



Pakistan cricket forums
www.pakcricforum.com

A relatively new entrant into the forums scene, Pakistan cricket forum is attracting a good base of the internet audience, not just from Pakistan, but a decent chunk from the entire sub-continent. Looking at the design and the presentation of the website, one can understand its novice feel and highly youthful character. Again, the discussions on the website are largely national or regional than global, which could be a blip on the part of the webmasters. Even though, the forum is going through a rich phase as far as hits are concerned, it still remains to be seen if it can sustain this influx to compete with better managed forums like Pak passion.



With the growing number of blogs and forums it is evident that the popularity of these interactive forms of the media is increasing day by day. Due to increasing audience involvement, and acceptance to these new interactive platforms on the internet, one can safely say that this medium is becoming more constructive by the day. The sort of issues these websites deal with are also highly reflective of the practical and mature thinking the users resort to. On the whole, the blogging phenomenon has managed to help put cricket on the global scene as far as the internet is concerned.