A YANKEE at Old Trafford? An unlikely scenario, but one which took place recently when Josh McKoski, a 25-year-old student from Minnesota, dropped in to watch some cricket.

I asked Josh what he thought about the similarities between cricket and baseball. His answer was surprising to a degree:

`I would say that on the whole cricket is a lot more relaxing than baseball, though for an American sport baseball is not really high stress. The spectators, the players – everyone associated with the game (of cricket) – seem to be very laid-back, very friendly. There doesn't seem to be a lot of stress and tension in the game.'

We'd been watching the second day of the Britannic Assurance Championship match between Lancashire and Durham, and, in the morning session, had enjoyed the company of Harry Pilling, the former Lancashire opening batsman, who had kindly shown us around the ground and pointed up some of the general characteristics of the game to Josh. Only a thousand or so spectators had turned up to watch the antics of I. T. Botham (sadly out shortly before lunch for a handful) and the rest.

So what did Josh make of it on his first visit to an English county cricket ground, his first visit to any cricket `event'?

`To tell you the truth, it's interesting. I don't know the intricacies of the game yet, and that goes a long way in explaining what each individual on the field is doing, but, as an overlook, a whole lot of them don't seem to be doing a whole lot.'

`That may seem stereotypical, but that really is the way they come across. They'll go after the ball when it's hit near them but a lot of them just seem to be standing there and doing whatever.'

Harry Pilling introduced Josh not only to the cricket but to the mysteries of English mild ale in the members' bar. Josh was actually quite fascinated by the goings-on off the field of play.

American visitor Josh McKoski (right) learns some of the finer points of cricket from writer Simon Fletcher (left) and former Lancashire favourite Harry Pilling

`There are so many different activities going on, like reading the newspaper, drinking beer, having lunch; a whole lot of things which don't actually have anything to do with watching the game or worrying about how your team's doing. It's a very social atmosphere. It's very relaxing. It's easy to forget that there's a game going on when you're inside the pavilion.'

So would cricket catch on in America? `I guess that you can never rule out anything, but it would take a lot. The Americans have their set sports and I think for the most part it would be hard to introduce any new game. The game is so causal that it's very different for the Americans, especially for the Americans in the cities, where they're used to the rat-race, where everything's quick; they eat quick; they schedule everything into a little planner. Maybe in two or three generations it might take off, but who knows?'

So how would he go about explaining the game to his friends and family back home if they asked him about his day out at Old Trafford?

`Well, the game itself I'd try to steer clear of because I think it would be very hard to explain it without a game going on in front of you. It helps a lot to see what the guys are doing. When I think of cricket I think of England. It's an English way of life. It's very nice. Everyone's here to have a good time; everyone's pleasant. No-one's out of control. There are no fanatics.'

As we were about to head back into Manchester, shortly after tea, there was the only slightly unsavoury incident of the day when Gehan Mendis was rapped on the helmet by a lifting ball from one of the Durham quicks. Josh was again intrigued by the considerate manner in which the episode was handled.

So whatever the authorities may be getting up to to make the summer game a more attractive prospect to the masses, with coloured clothing on Sundays and the rest of it, there seems to be a timeless and authentic charm about English cricket … at least for one young Yankee abroad.

`A whole lot of them don't seem to be doing a whole lot'

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd