by Jaimela King

Created on: July 12, 2009   Last Updated: July 14, 2009

The Cricinfo.com website is the first site you will want to visit if you are interesting in learning more about the game of cricket, if you are a cricket fan, or if you want up to date information about cricket games in progress and scores. The site is relatively new; it was started in 1993 by a British researcher, Dr Simon King and Dr Badri Seshadri. The site has grown to what it is today largely with the help of volunteers and only became fully staffed in the year 2000.

When you enter the Cricinfo site, you immediately get the feeling that you are in a familiar place. It is a great place for cricket fans who are no longer living in countries that traditionallysupport and play cricket. The site keeps you up to date on everything cricket related. If you are unable to watch a cricket match on TV, Cricinfo aptly fills the gap, allowing you to see live streaming photos and live scores.

As of June 2009, Cricinfo introduced its new look website and has added ESPN in front of its name. Below is a review of some of the Web site's features:

Appearance: The home page is very colorful with easy to see and read highlighted scores, news, videos and features. From reading articles to shopping, it is makes navigation very easy for even the novice cricket enthusiast or the technologically challenged individual.

News: There are several cricket related news links that you can access from the home page. The news items include reports on the current cricket matches, newsworthy happenings in the field of cricket and personal stories about the cricket stars.

Blogs: Daily blogs is a popular feature of the site and allows fans to read about different angles on any cricket related item. The blog home page highlights featured blogs which discuss anything from the apathy of some cricket fans to exposing what is viewed as counter productive to the game of cricket. You also have an extensive archive of old blog posts to peruse at your leisure.

Videos: Nothing beats being able to see the highlights of your favorite team or cricket match played out. So you didn't get to see the match but you can view short featured video clips about games like the World Twenty20 2009, interviews and commentary. However, one should not bet on always being able to actually see a video since error messages are common.

Photos: One of the best features of the website is their photo library. You can view current photos of your teams at play anytime. The photos are usually very well done, clear and vivid. These photos give you an up close and personal peek at the plays, the players and the highs and lows of the game.

Scores: This is perhaps the main reason many of us visit the site; to get the live cricket scores . The online scoreboard is divided into International, Domestic and Others. There is also a link to the live scores pages where you can get up to the second scores as your favorite test or other major cricket match is played.

Cricinfo has grown by leaps and bounds since it became a limited company in 1996. The company has survived mergers and was acquired by ESPN in 2007 from the Wisden group. The financially sound company now has offices in Australia, London and Bangalore. While there are intermittent bandwidth problems with the site, Cricinfo.com offers a wealth of information to cricket fans everywhere.

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