In More Intelligent Life, Stephen Hugh-Jones wonders why the British managed to spread their sports all over the world. Good question. I have no idea, but I’m sure someone is going to come up with a blindingly clever answer. That said, I’ve never seen a rugby match in my life and I barely know the rules of cricket. Football, on the other hand…
As to cricket, everyone ought to see the wonderful film Lagaan, one of the best sports films of all time, in which a group of boys from a small Indian village desperately stake their future on a game of cricket against the chaps from the British regiment that is stationed nearby. Guess who wins!
