How much would you spend on a cricket related e-book?

[Shutdown Corner]

Always wondered how popular e-books related to sports are these days. Nowadays everyone has a kindle or iPad or other such e reader.

Would you consider buying cricket related material and what is a reasonable price to pay?

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

I've spent a lot of money on cricket in general.....

Last year along I spent around $100 on various cricket books (The Uniquest Ones, White of Green and Wounded Tiger and a few other publications) while this is the sort of budget I would normally keep aside annually for cricket literature reading. Mostly I buy stuff related to Pakistan cricket so the budget never really realistically exceeds this amount.

Then comes online streaming deals, tournaments and other subscriptions such as cricket gateway, Astro deals (Since I am currently located in Far East) and tournament packages such as World Cup/CT/PSL/WT20. Normally if I average out the cost of these then on a monthly basis my expense is $13.5 a month which comes to another 100+ figure annually.

The last bit and this is the most expensive of the lot is the amount I spend on cricket playing equipment, I was just recently associated with a club in Kuala Lumpur and I would normally keep a very updated kit bag.

Furthermore, the overseas Pakistani club players who play here are not that well off since they work in construction and are mostly labor which means that although they are very talented and are highly motivated the lads don't necessarily have the means to pursue their passion. For this reason I took it upon myself to make sure that at least the basic cricket playing equipment was available to my peers and these boys can follow the game to their heart's content.

I am by no means a sponsor or anything, I unfortunately don't have such a financial clout to sustain a sponsorship but I try to help them however I can by purchasing equipment and helping these lads share bats, keeping gloves, batting gloves, chest guards etc etc however I can.

Normally on an annual basis I have an expense of $700-$800 annually for this.....

 

[Shutdown Corner]

Interesting...thanks for the toughtful response. I ask because I'm looking into publishing things via apple store or amazon. Got one major project I'm working on but will take a really long time to finish. I figure I might as well try and make money off something I've done for personal pleasure all this time.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Interesting...thanks for the toughtful response.

You're welcome brother

I ask because I'm looking into publishing things via apple store or amazon. Got one major project I'm working on but will take a really long time to finish. I figure I might as well try and make money off something I've done for personal pleasure all this time.

That sounds greats brother I too have 3-4 projects lined up by the end of this year. Although my projects are technical in nature (cricket related with a lot of Data Structures, Bayesian Calculations etc etc) I would not be charging any propriety fees on the subject matter - I am more of an open source kinda person.

However, I will hope some publication is willing to back me based on a revenue sharing model that comes from ad based generation via corporate sponsorship !! I've started working on it as of now... Let's see how it goes....

 

[Shutdown Corner]

You're welcome brother



That sounds greats brother I too have 3-4 projects lined up by the end of this year. Although my projects are technical in nature (cricket related with a lot of Data Structures, Bayesian Calculations etc etc) I would not be charging any propriety fees on the subject matter - I am more of an open source kinda person.

However, I will hope some publication is willing to back me based on a revenue sharing model that comes from ad based generation via corporate sponsorship !! I've started working on it as of now... Let's see how it goes....

Thanks for your kind words.

My area of interest is also in analytics, particularly in finding the most meaningful way to quantify the quality of teams/players/performances. Its difficult because while numbers never lie, its impossible to ever get them to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Multiple metrics allow you to get as close to the "real" answer as possible.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Thanks for your kind words.

My area of interest is also in analytics, particularly in finding the most meaningful way to quantify the quality of teams/players/performances. Its difficult because while numbers never lie, its impossible to ever get them to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Multiple metrics allow you to get as close to the "real" answer as possible.

In my personal and professional opinion numbers never, and I mean NEVER lie bro. If you quantify them correctly and impartially then every time they would reinforce a given notion no matter which way you might look at it - People who say otherwise are either:

a) Not equipped to comprehend the subject matter in a objective or choronological manner

OR

b) Have preconcieved rigid notions about the subject matter

That's the entire Crux of the argument....

Coming to your other point; at the moment the biggest hurdle for me isn't whether my results are impractical or unbiased (I know they are 100%) but the accuracy of the data sets being used and completion of data that I am feeding in my regression models to come to a conclusion.

Many a times historic data is prone to human error which can lead to a bad regression model and incorrect data sets (This is the biggest problem I am facing right now) plus PCB records online and everywhere are a complete mess - They can't even maintain basic spreadsheets on their websites

 

[Shutdown Corner]

Well maybe you should create the spreadsheets for them!

Yes I agree numbers lie. However, our ability to analyze them are imperfect.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

I've spent a lot of money on cricket in general.....

Last year along I spent around $100 on various cricket books (The Uniquest Ones, White of Green and Wounded Tiger and a few other publications) while this is the sort of budget I would normally keep aside annually for cricket literature reading. Mostly I buy stuff related to Pakistan cricket so the budget never really realistically exceeds this amount.

Then comes online streaming deals, tournaments and other subscriptions such as cricket gateway, Astro deals (Since I am currently located in Far East) and tournament packages such as World Cup/CT/PSL/WT20. Normally if I average out the cost of these then on a monthly basis my expense is $13.5 a month which comes to another 100+ figure annually.

The last bit and this is the most expensive of the lot is the amount I spend on cricket playing equipment, I was just recently associated with a club in Kuala Lumpur and I would normally keep a very updated kit bag.

Furthermore, the overseas Pakistani club players who play here are not that well off since they work in construction and are mostly labor which means that although they are very talented and are highly motivated the lads don't necessarily have the means to pursue their passion. For this reason I took it upon myself to make sure that at least the basic cricket playing equipment was available to my peers and these boys can follow the game to their heart's content.

I am by no means a sponsor or anything, I unfortunately don't have such a financial clout to sustain a sponsorship but I try to help them however I can by purchasing equipment and helping these lads share bats, keeping gloves, batting gloves, chest guards etc etc however I can.

Normally on an annual basis I have an expense of $700-$800 annually for this.....

That's a lot of dedication and effort to follow the game in Malaysia. I was in KL and one of the islands for the past 2 weeks, I got the impression the locals weren't into sports, let alone cricket. Kudos for you guys playing cricket in that heat and humidity.

This is not related to topic but I was intrigued as to why so many if not all Muslim Malaysian women wear hijab in public? Is it compulsory for Muslim women? I know the Chinese and Indians and other non Muslims didn't wear it.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

That's a lot of dedication and effort to follow the game in Malaysia. I was in KL and one of the islands for the past 2 weeks, I got the impression the locals weren't into sports, let alone cricket. Kudos for you guys playing cricket in that heat and humidity.

Genetically Malays (The original locales) aren't sporty at all, they play Football, Badminton / Field Hockey here and there but I haven't really come across any fan that would be a nitty gritty follower of sports in general. The population naturally is quite laid back so sports isn't something that is given priority in general.

We (Us Pakistani Boys) play cricket whenever we get the chance; although I am not in Kuala Lumpur (most of the time) since my work and business is linked primarily with Singapore I do however make do whenever I get the time and spend a few hours, twice a week at games that are held by the clubs there.

This is not related to topic but I was intrigued as to why so many if not all Muslim Malaysian women wear hijab in public? Is it compulsory for Muslim women? I know the Chinese and Indians and other non Muslims didn't wear it.

It's a cultural thing, not mandatory at all. I have many female Malay friends that do not wear the Hijab in public and no one has any problem with it whatsoever. As much as people mock the far east for being what not, this part of the world is probably the most progressive and welcoming place I've ever lived in. The people are friendly, everyone respects each other's religion & culture while there is no harrasment (most of the time) based on the color of your skin.

This was also one of the major reasons why I choose to settle down here or in Oceania than in the west.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

Genetically Malays (The original locales) aren't sporty at all, they play Football, Badminton / Field Hockey here and there but I haven't really come across any fan that would be a nitty gritty follower of sports in general. The population naturally is quite laid back so sports isn't something that is given priority in general.

We (Us Pakistani Boys) play cricket whenever we get the chance; although I am not in Kuala Lumpur (most of the time) since my work and business is linked primarily with Singapore I do however make do whenever I get the time and spend a few hours, twice a week at games that are held by the clubs there.



It's a cultural thing, not mandatory at all. I have many female Malay friends that do not wear the Hijab in public and no one has any problem with it whatsoever. As much as people mock the far east for being what not, this part of the world is probably the most progressive and welcoming place I've ever lived in. The people are friendly, everyone respects each other's religion & culture while there is no harrasment (most of the time) based on the color of your skin.

This was also one of the major reasons why I choose to settle down here or in Oceania than in the west.

Thanks for the info. Really interesting how they have integrated women into every sphere of life. From what I saw, Malaysia is run by women!! Police, security guards, shop keepers..... something for Pakistan to look into and follow.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Thanks for the info. Really interesting how they have integrated women into every sphere of life. From what I saw, Malaysia is run by women!! Police, security guards, shop keepers..... something for Pakistan to look into and follow.

Precisely !! and one of the reasons why I think it's much better here and in the Far East in General. Pakistan should seriously model their socio economic policies from here.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

Precisely !! and one of the reasons why I think it's much better here and in the Far East in General. Pakistan should seriously model their socio economic policies from here.

well for that to happen, you need sincere, capable and visionary leadership. If Malaysia had Pakistan type leadership, it wouldn't have gotten far. Unfortunately Pakistan is cursed with the lowest of the low....

The empowerment of women was not just limited to KL, it was on the islands too. I saw more women driving cars and motorbikes in langkawi then men! It seemed like men mostly drove taxis, and women did most other things...

 

[karthikc]

I can't afford to spend too much money on buying books since most of my salary goes away in paying loans and rent. I download them. Have many of the cricket ebooks. I know piracy is bad but...The ones I bought with money are Sunil Gavskar Omnibus and Out of my comfort zone - Steve Waugh