Cricket & Climate Quiz
How well will you fare, facing an ‘over’ of 6 questions?
The Next Test’s recent outreach session was at the England v New Zealand women’s ODI, on Wednesday 3rd July 2024. It was part of our Community Climate Action Project, in collaboration with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership. In addition to our usual interactions, we created a 6 question quiz to help gauge spectator’s awareness of topical issues related to cricket and climate.
We wondered if the public’s average answer would be close to correct, or would we find a gap between perception and reality? Each answer is a higher ‘number’ than the previous one, and people noted the irony of question 5, about cricket lost to rainfall, as our overs on the day were reduced due to rain! See how you do, as the answers are revealed further down this page.
The Questions
Question 1 – Extreme heat affects our ability to cool down through sweating. What is the core human body temperature in Celsius?
Question 2 - What temperature Celsius was reached in Pakistan at the end of May 2024?
Question 3 – Pakistan’s women’s cricket team played in England in May, but how hot are these flames in Celsius?
Question 4- How many miles is it to ship products by sea from Australia to the UK?
Question 5 - How many County Championship overs have been lost to rain the past 10 seasons?
Question 6 - How many vehicle miles are travelled on UK roads each year?
The Answers
How did you score? Find out below…
Answer 1 – The human body temperature is typically 37°C. Our respondent’s average answer was 36.46°C, very close to correct.
The NHS classifies a body temperature of 37.8°C or higher as a ‘fever’, and the ‘Hit for Six’ report highlighted that just 33-35°C air temperature is when heat is gained instead of lost. No wonder cricketers are suffering from heat related ailments!
Answer 2 – Pakistan recorded 52°C in the province of Sindh, and our average spectator’s answer was 48.10°C.
The highest guess was 57°C, but a fifth of respondents thought it was just 42°C. Apart from adversely affecting education, farmers cannot grow crops, and glacial melting creates devastating floods!
Answer 3 - An orange flame is 1,000°C. The fans' average answer was 314.6°C, far below the reality released into the atmosphere.
It was fascinating to see groups discuss this, but they related to stovetop gas flames with a blue colour; any orange flames are hotter; and ‘white hot’ is hottest. People said they can feel the heat in the crowd, and the real answer of 1,000°C provoked some unpublishable reactions as to why cricket allows these.
Answer 4 - Sydney to London by sea is 13,500 nautical miles (or 15,500 miles) over 56 days. The fans average answer was 10,775 miles.
The UK trade agreement with Australia in 2023 was met with dismay by British farmers, as the impact assessment acknowledged a negative impact on the UK agri-food sector. Our climate concerns are the greenhouse gas emissions; energy used for refrigeration; damage to ocean life through pollution; and road transportation in both countries. It’s important to know your food miles!
Answer 5 – A total of 132,644 overs were lost to rain across the County Championship in ten seasons. The fans average answer was 49,636, a good guess for an unusual question.
We did not expect anyone to know the answer, but the GAME CHANGER II report noted the cumulative problem, effectively 3,316 innings of 40 overs each.
Answer 6 – A total of 330,800,000,000 vehicle miles (330.8 billion) were travelled on UK roads. The fans average answer was 21,275,500,000 (21.2 billion) miles, a big underestimate of the emissions generated.
A few people asked if this was British or US billions, but the UK government has used the international standard since 1974. People were astounded at the real answer, and this does not include hundreds of motor sports practices or races throughout the year!
How did you do on the quiz, and what can you do to help drive climate action in cricket?
Our outreach sessions reveal that cricket fans feel they have little empowerment to change things. But imagine if everyone cut down 10% of their travel, shopping, and deliveries, saving 33 billion miles of UK emissions per year? Or if people stop running their engines while stationary when looking at directions, phones, eating, or waiting? A sobering fact is that air pollution contributes to 28,000-36,000 deaths per annum in the UK, something which can be prevented.
Cricket fans could also contact MPs in the new UK government, suggesting approaches to energy policies; reach out to cricketing authorities if you see things they should improve for sustainability; be aware of what you are buying and where it comes from; and find out if your pension funds are investing in fossil fuel companies. These are just some of the simple things people can do to feel empowered and take action to create a better future.
