England wins the Ashes series

OK, I thought it was going to be closer, and more exciting. (The second Test was pretty astonishing.) But clearly Australia needs what they call in American sports, a rebuilding season. I wonder, demographically, how many cricket players Australia has compared to England. (I also, wonder, demographically, how many more cricket players India might have than either of them). I tried some quick Google searching but couldn't find an answer. Clearly it's a popular sport in some countries, especially those rich with tradition (like England, or India) and also which have sufficient number of cricket grounds to field world-class teams.

I think one of the critical problems is money; like the difference in getting top-class athletes to compete in less-rewarding sports like track and field compared to basketball in the USA, obviously a young UK boy can aspire to a lot bigger paycheck playing football (soccer) compared to cricket, and one thing England has is a lot of football teams).

I also wonder where the West Indies rank these days. They used to be ranked way up high, especially when Brian Lara was playing for them. (Just checked and they're currently 8th).

But given the tradition and the fact that it's just plain fun to watch, I'll keep up with cricket.

Recaps:

Ashes 2011: England win series 3-1

The post-series celebration