Big In Lithuania

I'm not sure how many websites which devote their entire content to the game invented by gentlemen but mastered by thugs can assess their web stats and brag that they are big in Lithuania. Like them, The Cricketragics has some ground to make up having only attracted two page hits in the past twelve months from the Baltic state to Poland's north but its pleasing to note they dropped in last August to a post named "Latest Poll Results" ... gee, I wonder why?

The blog stats are not so much flattering as they are full of mind-numbing mystery. For instance, in terms of all time hits, it comes as no surprise that Australia (957) tops the league table, nor that England (215) and India (123) drop in at third and fourth respectively. Fans in those three countries will read anything about the game with little consideration for style, quality or content. Why then is the good old USofA (534) holding second spot? Possibly the same explanation or just sheer weight of numbers creating an odd result but I'm even surprise that 537 views came from a population of 312 million!

Here after it gets really odd. France, Germany, Russia, The Netherlands, Slovenia and Israel round out the top ten. Imagine I gave you that list and asked you to tell me what topic it represents a top ten in. Your first answer would be a cricket website devoted to the sad and lonely cricket fans who fervently believe that cricket is a metaphor for western civilization and the mystic customs of the east. That's what you'd guess, right? Just this week, India leads the hits, perhaps understandable because of the impending World Cup but don't ask me to explain why Slovenia and Georgia are right behind them. One of the referring sites has jenniferaniston in the web address and it looks like a site selling maths tutoring programs for students. Go figure, that teaching stuff just follows me doesn't it?

The most popular page was the description of play on day one from the Boxing Day test. Nearly a hundred of you have hit on that post.

All of this is boundary material. Out in the middle, The Cricketragics will soon pass 3000 hits and looks forward to more support. Perhaps readers might pass on the addy to others of like mind in need of an occasional laugh and the desire to stand behind Ricky on the apex of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, flags flapping and they with an explosive sneeze imminent.

Regardless of these number, my thanks for the loyalty of some readers, especially those like Ian Charlton who take the time to respond to posts with their comments. I will try ever so hard to take the World Cup seriously and provide some input on most days.

Cheers to all you Latvians!