Can We Guess What Position You Played in Cricket?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
6 min
Can We Guess What Position You Played in Cricket?
Image: Nazar Abbas Photography / Moment / Getty Images

About This Quiz

It is believed cricket dates back centuries, at the very least. Some historians have placed its arrival in England around the time of the Norman invasion, which would suggest it existed before 1066 AD. Cricket as we think of it was first recorded in 1598 as a game played by children, but within twenty years it was a sport played by adults, and recognizable by today's fans as the game they know and love. The obvious utility of cricket as a medium for gambling meant that the wealthy English aristocracy quickly became enamored of the sport, founding and funding cricket clubs with the aim of competing with each other and wagering on the matches. 1744 saw the official codification of rules, and soon those rules would include most of the details of the modern game, By 1800, bowlers were bowling overhand, and cricket bats looked like proper cricket bats as we know them.

With the spread of the British Empire, so too did cricket spread. Today, cricket is massively popular in almost every former colony except for America, as well as some of those former colonies' neighboring states. The best players in the world are a mosaic of nationalities, ethnic groups and religions, but they all share certain qualities because the rules of cricket are universal, and tend to mean positions will draw players with specific makeups, builds and talents. We think we can guess what position you played by dissecting those ancillary factors. "Test" our knowledge of the game and take this quiz!

How would you describe your age, when you played cricket?
I was grinding through the end of my peak years.
I was a little long in the tooth.
I was 18.
I was in my prime.

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How did you work out when you played cricket?
I did a lot of stretching.
I did a bit of weight lifting.
I played football.
I would just play cricket, really.

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When you were playing cricket, how often did you rewatch old cricket matches?
Frequently, but they were mostly matches featuring my opponents.
If I did that, it was only by accident.
Occasionally, with family
I did it frequently in order to study the masters.

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How do you cut a sandwich?
I cut them in half, from one side to another.
I don't cut them at all!
I cut them in half diagonally.
I cut the into quarters, usually from corner to corner.

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What do you do when you notice a moth in your bedroom?
I open the window and turn off the lights.
I ask my partner to kill it.
I snatch it out of the air and kill it.
I toss a balled-up sock at it, killing it.

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How do you prefer to get around when in a major city?
Taxi. I'm too old to walk around that much.
I prefer to ride the bus with the other elderly people.
I love to walk the city in order to really see it.
I like to take the train if there is one.

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What kind of clothing do you have the most difficulty finding in your size?
Gloves
Belts
Jackets
Shoes

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Which of these informal position titles are you most likely to have in an office workplace?
Fixer
Back office flack
Specialist
Closer

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As you aged, which part of your body started to break down?
My knees
My lower back
My feet
My shoulder

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What other sport did you enjoy when you were first becoming interested in cricket?
Rugby
Golf
Football
Darts

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Which is your preferred take-away?
Pizza
Kebabs
Burgers
A fry up

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What is your favorite kind of play to watch?
The effective use of a Yorker
A diving catch far out on the pitch
The ball caught off an edge
Stumping

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At what age did you become skilled at playing your position in cricket?
I got good at it when I was 17.
I never really got that good at it.
I was 12.
I didn't really get good at it until I was nearly 20.

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How likely is it that children fantasize about playing your position in cricket?
I'm sure that plenty of them do.
I doubt many of them do.
I think many of them do.
I think all of them do.

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How much of playing your position is a learned skill and how much is natural?
It's mostly skill, but some of it is natural.
Oh, my "natural gifts" are the primary reason I played my position.
I think it's about 60% natural, 40% skill.
It's nearly all skill, but if you don't have the natural gifts, you can't do it.

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In which of the following places do you least mind queueing?
The bank
My household bathroom
The post office
Public transport

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What sport did you take up after giving up cricket?
Does bridge count?
None
Tennis
Golf

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Of sports you've never even tried, what do you like to watch played?
Basketball
MMA
Skiing
Tennis

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What sort of parlor game do you like to play?
Bridge
Chess
Racing Demon
Pictionary

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What, if any American sport do you follow, even a little?
I haven't bothered.
I've watched American football.
I'll admit I have watched some baseball.
I follow basketball a bit.

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How do you stay in shape now that you do not play cricket?
I walk my dog.
I don't do much of anything.
I go to spin classes.
I have a rowing machine.

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What percentage of your family members are really mad about cricket?
Nearly all of them, though there are one or two holdouts.
About half of them are mad about cricket.
Only about 25%
100%

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Other than cricket, what is the most common sport activity where you come from?
Rugby
Cycling
Football
Fishing

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What sport would you encourage your children to take up, if they are more naturally athletic than you were?
Golf, so they could be one of the greats!
None really, as it's a low bar.
Track and field, since those talents are highly transferable.
Tennis, since there's a lot of money in it and you don't need to rely on your team to be any good.

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Where do you go to watch cricket?
My local pub
My friend's house
My massive television at home
I only like to see them live, or listen to games on the radio.

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Now that you don't play cricket anymore, how often do you study classic cricket matches?
I still watch certain classic matches out of sentimentality.
Now I know more about those old games than anyone.
I really don't watch them anymore.
I watch certain classic matches when I see them in the TV listings.

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How old do you think one should begin teaching a child to play cricket, in the event that one wants the child to be an expert at playing your position?
I would say not to begin until they're about 15, since you don't want to start abusing your body too early in life.
I don't think people trained for my position so much as they got stuck with it.
I would say to start with the attendant skills early on, but then start training for the position at the age of 13.
No earlier than 16 or 17, since it can injure young bodies.

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How much do you know or care about the history of the game?
I don't know much about the old history, just the recent history.
I know everything about the history of the game.
I know a lot about the game from a few decades ago.
I only know what's going on now, and the earliest origins of the game.

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How competitive do you get when playing games of any kind with friends?
I try to keep things interesting, but I don't put on my "game face".
I play to win no matter who I'm playing with, and I can be a sore loser. And a sore winner.
I try to play cooperatively, to volley if you know what I mean.
I play as if I don't care, because I do not.

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If you had the physical wherewithal to continue playing cricket, would you have continued to play?
Yes. I would have played until my body broke. In fact, I did.
No, I think I would have taken up another sport instead.
Yes, if they'd have let me.
No, I think I would have gotten out earlier.

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You Got: