What we talk about when we talk about luck

81 All Out - A Cricket Podcast

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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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