Those that don't understand cricket, ignore
When I was 22 I was temporarily given the captaincy of a reasonably-good Midlands League cricket team.

Boo, boring, you may say, but in that context it was the most mind-challenging thing ever given to me.

It's not like John Terry/Steven Gerrard shouting at players to get their arse together, it's like a complicated chess game played with real people where the pieces have varying ability. Even the chessboard isn't level.

To keep 11 cricketers together and focused, you have to choose your batsmen, bowlers, field placings, optimise the best people at the best time and place, and all the while field/bowl/bat like your game is the last you'll ever play. Coordinate and motivate the team and keep things running like clockwork, whilst keeping within the laws of the most complicated outdoor game ever devised.

After each game I was physically and mentally exhausted.

I'm now designing IT systems for a 2 billion pound project (no not the NHS) and it's a relative breeze.

Flame on.
(Dr Teeth Who asked you, you fuckin' hobbit?, Thu 8 Jul 2010, 19:34, Reply)