Cricket, compared to some other sports, has been under-represented on celluloid, but there are still a number of cricket-based films, not least thanks to the endeavours of Bollywood.
The latest cricket film is Victory (“this is not a tennis ball – these things crack skulls”, says Brett Lee), but before that, there was Lagaan, a film which I am at a loss to describe, mainly because my non-Bollywood mind simply cannot process the concept of a cricket musical.
Closer to (my) home, there was the British film Wondrous Oblivion, in which cricket helped to bridge the Jewish – Jamaican divide in 1960’s London, and the sport has made a few cameo appearances in Hollywood films.
There have also been a few feature-length documentaries on cricket, such as Breaking Boundaries, the Irish 2007 World Cup documentary, and Out of the Ashes, about the Afgan side’s attempts to qualify for the 2011 tournament.
Also, there’s a Hanse Cronje film on the horizon.
You are right, there are not many cricket movies out there. I got a great idea, anyone got Spielbergs phone number?