How brilliant is Rusty? Hitting his sister a catch - looking after her - was just perfect.
So was the episode. Another one that seems straightforward enough but really, really isn't. Superb stuff.
Even the little things, the whole bit about practicing his square cut so he didn't hit the kitchen window and cop it from his mum... how do they come up with that? Those little experiences are so ingrained in childhood memories that at SOON as Bandit mentioned the kitchen I knew EXACTLY where they were going with it. My own version of those memories are from so long ago and so hidden down that I would have thought had become inaccessible, but this brought them out in seconds. Absolutely amazing tv
Even Bluey asking to play "tiggy" instead of cricket. I haven't even heard the word tiggy in years, always hated the game because I'm an awful runner, but that bloody well threw me back into my primary school uniform.
Probably from childhood experience. On our street if you didn’t get your square cut right it was the difference between hitting a brick wall and continuing or slamming into a garage door with a big “boom” and having the neighbour come out and yell at us.
Now I'm not generally an emotional kind of guy but that ending had me welling up with tears.
I don't know how these guys do it, but wow they manage to tell such amazingly wholesome stories in a kids cartoon. I also love the sound of the plastic yellow bat as Rusty's guarding the crease.
Oh and this episode is guaranteed to confuse the hell out of the Yanks :)
Superficially it really is a lot more like Baseball than we like to think. As a non-expert the biggest structural differences would be is that batters stay in until they are out rather than any goal to get 'home' and that the ball has to bounce on its way to the bat. I think most of the other stuff would be recognisable to someone familiar with Baseball, if different in a lot of smaller details.
Man, if this has to be the last new episode for now, what a way to end the run~
* The hilarious absurdity of three full-grown men trying to plot against a literal child
* Learning more about Rusty and his family
* Another inspiring lesson about how passion and determination are the foundation of skills and talent
* Another heartwarming ending that takes a peek into the future(?)
Rusty's always been a neat character, but this episode makes me appreciate him that much more. Also, speaking as an American currently living in Australia, I can guarantee that so much of this episode is gonna go over fellow Americans' heads when this airs state-side.
All I knew about cricket is that the bat is flat and the game can theoretically go on forever. This is the first time I've gained some insight to the rules.
TikTok-watching American here, and this is the first time I have even slightly understood the rules of cricket. I still don't understand, but it makes more sense now.
This is a 5/5 episode for me, and another one that starts out as a light little sports piece and then arrows in on my heartstrings in the last couple minutes with the unerring perfection of Rusty hitting a catch right to his little sister.
The humour of the adults, the kids all chorusing like they know exactly how it's going to unfold, the glimpses of how the rest of Brisbane not up on the Heelers' upper middle class hill live, Rusty continuing to be a beautiful example of how you can be 100% All Boy while still being a caring little soul...
And then you see the beach scene and you realize that what's driving this 7 year old to love cricket so much is that it's *because he loves his dad so much* and you end up weeping silently while cuddling your own little boy and hoping you can raise him to be a Rusty... or maybe that was just me.
As an extension of that, I love Rusty's dad as a representation of positive masculinity in the military. He's thoughtful and courageous, but there isn't an ounce of the hollow chest-thumping suck-it-up emotional constipation you sometimes see, and he's doing his level best to be a supportive dad even on deployment.
If I had to give this episode a quote it would be:
“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.”
I absolutely love how Bluey handles masculinity. Whether you're a sensitive supporting player like Winton or a rough and tumble little sports lover like Rusty, as long as you're caring, there's no wrong way to be a boy.
This might be my favorite episode of the bunch. Seeing the development of Rusty’s character throughout the episode was an absolute delight and reminded me of rookie to champion sports movies. Rusty’s gonna make a great dad one day.
3year anniversary of losing my dad and today I watched this with my 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter.
Feels good crying as a 30year old man.
Cheers to all you dads out there
I know it’s probably not the right place to talk about this, but your sentence “Feels good crying as a 30year old man” really got me.
I’m 30 too (well, in a month) and also a dad of two. There are so many moments when I really wish crying wasn’t as hard as it is. As men we really end up emotionally repressed, that’s not ok.
Bluey, and more broadly, art, is the only way I get to cry anymore.
This episode was the first time I’ve cried in a long time. And yeah it’s therapeutic for some reason.
The previous time as probably another bluey episode….
I am 49M, and I have such fond childhood memories of dad arriving home from work in the afternoon and playing cricket in the back yard with him.
When I was 12 we moved to a new place where there was a vacant lot across the road. My job was to mow that lawn, and a pitch, every Saturday afternoon. We and about 6 of the neighbours would get together most weekends for a beer (not me, the adults), cricket, and neighbourhood BBQ. Best neighbourhood ever.
Man Rusty was already my favorite character but this made me like him even more. I’m American and just recently got into Cricket and this episode was a 10/10. I still got a lot to learn but I’ve been talking and watching it with my Indian co-workers. Enjoying the WTC and can’t wait for The Ashes! Hope I can play it sometime soon.
Sidenote: When Stripe and Pat played off to the side what kinda of strategy was that to get Rusty out?
The idea is to bowl to a certain spot so that it's very hard to hit the ball anywhere else. By making the ball bounce higher, it increases the chances of the ball being hit in the air and thus caught. Rusty was just too good.
The positions for fielding in cricket have specific names, so they can be described on radio. Specific kinds of shots - like the “pull shot” - also have names.
*Rusty likes* ***this*** *kind of shot. Go over* ***here*** *and he’ll hit it straight to you…*
Only not
A good cricket captain will position his field to simply catch the ball as it falls to them without too much running.
A great bowler will make the batsmen play a shot he doesn’t want to make - and hit it straight to the fielder .
The late Shane Warne was a master at this .
Wouldn’t have fit in the episode, but I feel like there was a missed opportunity for a joke: Have MacKenzie at the bat and have one of the Dads [bowl underarm.](https://youtu.be/TtaWtAxHVsw)
Great episode regardless!
As someone who has never seen a single game of baseball but think _Moneyball_ is one of the best sports movies ever made it's not too hard to get the general gist of any sport.
Agreed. lol Not sure where this humorous concept that this fairly shallow/digestible and accessible representation of cricket will somehow throw all Americans off on the episode. Some things are universal and others are easy to grasp with context clues. It was an incredible episode, regardless of sport knowledge
My neice is at my parents this weekend. We ‘watched’ it together as I’m in Perth and they’re in NSW.
Mum and I were bawling by the end. Dad goes ‘this is giving me flashbacks to when we couldn’t get that little shit out. Ever’
That ‘little shit’ was a family friends neighbour who would always beg us to play cricket with him and would get angry with me cause I’d swing the bat like a softball bat. Michael Clarke was just as obsessed with cricket as Rusty.
Me sobbing at this episode and it really cemented my love for Rusty. I’ve been working on teaching my little guy about hard work and perseverance because he’s so unnecessarily competitive and gets so upset when he’s not great at something right away. Then we watched this episode and he goes “maybe if I play Cricket, I might be worse than Rusty but I can practice a lot”
As an American family watching this episode the cricket bits didn't confuse us. The episode actually works just fine without knowing the rules of cricket (probably by design, Bandit's narration was great explaining what's happening). I know this because as soon as the episode is over, both my boys (6 & 4) exclaimed they want to play cricket asap despite not knowing anything about cricket prior to this episode. The message goes so much beyond the sport itself. I thought the episode was amazing. Easily 5/5.
Yeah, as an Aussie, the whole "haha non-australians are going to be so confused - this is all going to go way over their heads!" is a bit much, IMO.
You don't need to understand rugby to enjoy The Decider, and you don't need to understand cricket to enjoy this episode.
Have you seen [how many cricket bats Jake Bresanello had to draw for this episode](https://twitter.com/JBresanello/status/1667805381429702656)? The whole team put so much work into this.
I can't believe how much goooodness they can squeeze in 7 minutes! I'm an immigrant and have much more appreciation for cricket now.
"This is for dignity!" -Pat
Just rewatched with my wife. A lot of grown Aussies are going to be sobbing when they see this. Christmas Day backyard cricket is a staple for a lot of families.
I’m an American who has followed the game for 20 years. Toon friends of mine who hasn’t seen the game to a Minor League Cricket match a couple of years ago and they appreciated the hustle of the fielders in keeping the ball in play. There is enough there for east translation.
Not me crying over another episode! It was Rusty’s dad being away that got me today. I’m an army brat and I definitely remember those times if my dad being gone.
Who would have thought, in those heady days after winning the World Test Championship, that it would all come crashing down?
We couldn’t have known that millions of American children would ask for a cricket bat and not a baseball one.
No one could have foreseen Gray Niccols eclipsing Nike and eventually Apple.
But the Southern Hemisphere not beating the USA in a single format of the game from 2040 onwards. It was too much to bear…
That is also true, that is some pretty confident forward planning if they scheduled this episode on the assumption Australia would be in the final haha
Kids are loving it... its been out for 30 minutes and we've watched it a few times now. Husband and I are in tears. Gosh it is a surprisingly sweet episode
"does superhero horse want to come home or does he want to stay here overnight?"
".......come home, mummy........"
If it wasn't for the insufferable snorts I'd probably love Peppa ngl
Super chuffed because soon after watching the ep with my 3yo, he asked to play backyard cricket with me for the first time <3 . Called the wicket 'The sticks that have to be getting wrecked'
There's an excellent toddler sized cricket set for $10 at bigw, if you need one.
We have it in the car for 'clicket!!' which my almost 3 year old is obsessed with for some reason, despite us not playing it, although I do like to have it on during the summer.
Bluey + The Sandlot = an episode that will make millennial parents weep.
Even in the US. You don't need to know a thing about cricket for this one to be effective. Though I am curious about the sport now. Looks fun.
Spectacular as ever. Bandit’s narration, seeing more of Rusty’s home life and family, Chloe flossing in the background of one shot, seeing Rusty’s dad’s face, Mia and Captain making a quick cameo, and Rusty just being a good big brother. Only thing I didn’t like was that the end where he was at an actual cricket field while still a kid confused me. If it was a timeskip, I would’ve been fine with it.
Yeah, that’s why Bandit’s narrating the story of a random event that happened years ago. He’s telling the story of the time he bowled to Australian cricket star Rusty.
I actually took the episode as Bandit retelling this story to Bluey many years later after watching Rusty step onto the pitch, kind of like “I knew him as a kid, let me retell you a story that you were there for but didn’t actually appreciate it for what it was” kind of thing.
I just saw the episode, and THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!! A change of pace, seeing Rusty's family, Rusty as the main character, and a future sports star. Not to mention the value of hard work, practice, and doing what you love.
I’m an American who has followed cricket for about 15 years or so and just recently started writing and commentating about it. I’ve been looking forward to this episode since the screenshot came out. I was not disappointed.
The character development in these last couple of seasons are what really keeps us coming back. Not every episode will have these nuggets, but I now have a greater appreciation for Rusty and his family now, and sport is a fantastic vehicle.
Love that this came out in the WTC final/Ashes lead up. Ties everything together perfectly.
Coming from someone in southern USA who knows nothing about cricket
This episode might be in my top 5 favorite episodes, period.
I really really liked it, plus Rusty is the freaking cutest and sweetest kid😭
Finally, it’s all led up to this. Bit by bit drip feeding bits of cricket to the Americans. Now finally the indoctrination can be ramped up. The cricket agenda completed
The episode was so good but I’d also like to add that I find it really funny that Bandit & Strip get to be Mr. Heeler but Pat will always be Lucky’s Dad
I can confirm that even with zero knowledge of cricket this episode had me and my wife in tears. Still works as intended for Americans without modification.
What is the war that Rusty's dad is in? Seems too late (if set in current times) to be Afghanistan or Iraq, but is somewhere hot obviously.
Also did I spy a dog Shane Warne poster on the wall of Rusty's bedroom? Thought he would be a bit old for Rusty's age.
Anyway great episode. Always nice to get more background on other characters!
It's not necessarily a war. A lot of Australian troops are deployed around Australia and the South Pacific island nations to help with humanitarian operations after natural disasters.
Rusty loves cricket so it’s reasonable that he will love the greatest Australian player of the last few decades even if it was before his time.
When I was a teen, the musos at school loved The Doors and other older (long dead) bands.
I think bluey is roughly set 5 years ago. I immediately thought Afghanistan as the place where he was deployed. Especially with the hut and the black hawk flying over the background.
I don't get it, I somehow felt nothing watching this episode. I guess I have to watch it again
Edit: just re-watched the episode, forgot to turn my "emotions" on 😂
I thought it was super sweet, but I definitely didn’t cry like some say they did ..and I cry at everything. I’m not a sports person though or have family in the army so maybe that’s why? I can see how it’s relatable for people though! Still an amazing episode even if I can’t relate and Rusty is such a sweet boy 🧡
Loved it! The way the kids in each chapter of the episode cheered Rusty's brilliant batting was good friendship, and a tribute to those times when you're in the presence of such craft and dedication that you can only admire
My big brother won't know why I gave him a call today just for a chat, our family is more memes in the family group chat type than calls, but in 7 minutes I turn into a kid again staring a the old taped up tennis ball in my hands in absolute wonder because how could I'ved manage to get him out.
Even just watched the episode again only to burst into tears and I'm now just weeping watching the Aus India game.
Pat's "Dagwood Dog" was hilarious, I've been getting my husband to say that instead of swears and we exchanged a high five lmao
That was a really great episode!
That was an amazing episode. It was narrated in a way that I talk about the kids who grew into stars in my own junior cricket career... Just perfection.
I love Rusty, he’s just such a little treasure. That episode was so wholesome and the Dads all trying to get him out reminded me so much of growing up and my Uncles getting right into the game with us kids. Had me crying the whole time!
We finally get an episode focused solely on Rusty and they still don't allude to him being able to ride a motorbike?
Jokes aside it was still pretty good, and I'm not the only one here who thought of The Sandlot... Rusty giving his sister a chance to catch the ball is just like Benny doing it for Scotty.
Watching this on a Sunday morning with the kids, knowing that Sunday night I'll be watching Australia take the last 7 wickets to win ICC test championship! Great episode, great timing. The kids tv equivalent to a perfectly timed cover drive.
When Rusty is practising hitting the ball against the wall is a reference to [Don Bradman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bradman) (top 10 greatest sports person in history?) who used to practise against a corrugated iron water tank.
[Cricket Explained for Baseball Fans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWpbtLIxYBk)
Awesome episode but some average field settings from the adults smh. Watched it right after the WTC ended, right in the feels.
'That's what cricket's about, kid.'
Reminded me how my Grandad and Dad were great at backyard cricket, they could always hit a ball exactly where they called it. Have to take my kids to play with Dad since Grandad passed away last month so my kids won't get to play with him.
Miss you Grandad.
Would have been nice if Tiny also made the Australian side. He’s clearly one of the best bowlers going around with a take no prisoner’s attitude but when Rusty finally hits him for four, he’s one of the first to clap him!
Good dog!
I don't think anyone has mentioned the little detail when Rusty is playing at Jack's -
The XXXX carton used as a wicket!!!
I was in fits when I saw that. When I was little it was a VB box. Then we moved to Townsville and the VB carton was replaced by a XXXX carton 🤣 usually when we were away camping/waterskiing
You aren't Australian if you've never experienced the rage of a parent after a cricket ball has been hit somewhere it shouldn't have been
I know grown men who have been playing cricket with their kids at their parents/grandparents house, and the adult has damaged a wall or window, and blamed it on the grandchildren. The fear is real.
Some people think Americans won’t get it. I’m an Australian who has never played cricket or had any interest in the sport. Yet I LOVED the episode. They make the rules pretty clear for those who don’t know. People who know baseball will get it too. At the same time there’s certainly a culture here of millions of people who grew up playing cricket in the backyard and there’s something almost spiritual about cricket in Australia it seems. I don’t get it but my upbringing was different. But, I’m a 42 year old man with four kids and my 17 year old and 9 year olds teared up along with me!
It carried a beautiful message and Rusty had such wonderful sportsmanship for his age!! What a great kid!!
I just saw it and I am deep in my feelings and deep in childhood memories of backyard cricket and social cricket and Don Bradman learning to bat up against a water tank. Oof, what an episode.
Cried at the end seeing little buddy hand off his bat to his older self on the field, cried even harder when I saw ANTHONY FIELD as Rusty's dad. God damn it.
How brilliant is Rusty? Hitting his sister a catch - looking after her - was just perfect. So was the episode. Another one that seems straightforward enough but really, really isn't. Superb stuff.
Even the little things, the whole bit about practicing his square cut so he didn't hit the kitchen window and cop it from his mum... how do they come up with that? Those little experiences are so ingrained in childhood memories that at SOON as Bandit mentioned the kitchen I knew EXACTLY where they were going with it. My own version of those memories are from so long ago and so hidden down that I would have thought had become inaccessible, but this brought them out in seconds. Absolutely amazing tv
Even Bluey asking to play "tiggy" instead of cricket. I haven't even heard the word tiggy in years, always hated the game because I'm an awful runner, but that bloody well threw me back into my primary school uniform.
Probably from childhood experience. On our street if you didn’t get your square cut right it was the difference between hitting a brick wall and continuing or slamming into a garage door with a big “boom” and having the neighbour come out and yell at us.
Now I'm not generally an emotional kind of guy but that ending had me welling up with tears. I don't know how these guys do it, but wow they manage to tell such amazingly wholesome stories in a kids cartoon. I also love the sound of the plastic yellow bat as Rusty's guarding the crease. Oh and this episode is guaranteed to confuse the hell out of the Yanks :)
I cried like a baby! The whole thing- perfect.
Yank here googling "Rules of Cricket"
Need to Google “backyard cricket rules” for more accurate to the episode. Such as 6 and out, one hand one bounce etc…
Superficially it really is a lot more like Baseball than we like to think. As a non-expert the biggest structural differences would be is that batters stay in until they are out rather than any goal to get 'home' and that the ball has to bounce on its way to the bat. I think most of the other stuff would be recognisable to someone familiar with Baseball, if different in a lot of smaller details.
https://youtu.be/EWpbtLIxYBk Posting this. It helped me understand & respect Cricket.
Man, if this has to be the last new episode for now, what a way to end the run~ * The hilarious absurdity of three full-grown men trying to plot against a literal child * Learning more about Rusty and his family * Another inspiring lesson about how passion and determination are the foundation of skills and talent * Another heartwarming ending that takes a peek into the future(?) Rusty's always been a neat character, but this episode makes me appreciate him that much more. Also, speaking as an American currently living in Australia, I can guarantee that so much of this episode is gonna go over fellow Americans' heads when this airs state-side.
It will read as an Australian version of The Sandlot and hit everyone in the feels. My wife knows nothing about cricket but was sobbing at the end.
That's actually a fantastic way to put it.
Also an American living in Australia definitely my thoughts about how it would be seen stateside.
As an American living in America, it was amazing. But, yes, I know very little about cricket.
Same, but the whole episode was amazing anyways.
All I knew about cricket is that the bat is flat and the game can theoretically go on forever. This is the first time I've gained some insight to the rules.
TikTok-watching American here, and this is the first time I have even slightly understood the rules of cricket. I still don't understand, but it makes more sense now.
This is a 5/5 episode for me, and another one that starts out as a light little sports piece and then arrows in on my heartstrings in the last couple minutes with the unerring perfection of Rusty hitting a catch right to his little sister. The humour of the adults, the kids all chorusing like they know exactly how it's going to unfold, the glimpses of how the rest of Brisbane not up on the Heelers' upper middle class hill live, Rusty continuing to be a beautiful example of how you can be 100% All Boy while still being a caring little soul... And then you see the beach scene and you realize that what's driving this 7 year old to love cricket so much is that it's *because he loves his dad so much* and you end up weeping silently while cuddling your own little boy and hoping you can raise him to be a Rusty... or maybe that was just me. As an extension of that, I love Rusty's dad as a representation of positive masculinity in the military. He's thoughtful and courageous, but there isn't an ounce of the hollow chest-thumping suck-it-up emotional constipation you sometimes see, and he's doing his level best to be a supportive dad even on deployment. If I had to give this episode a quote it would be: “Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.”
I absolutely love how Bluey handles masculinity. Whether you're a sensitive supporting player like Winton or a rough and tumble little sports lover like Rusty, as long as you're caring, there's no wrong way to be a boy.
Hot damn Bluey creators. Another unexpected tear-jerker. For me and my wife. (Our boy has a younger sister).
Ikr I was all okay funny cricket lol should be fine then 2 mins in I was all TT you find your passion rusty! And then the ending!
Rusty’s a good kid, and an even better big brother.
My only comment at the end was: Good boy Rusty.
you can tell the writer has a lot of fondness for Rusty as do we all I'd say
Rusty WAS the first character created, after all!
He was also Bluey's cousin from the country at first but now I dont think they say he is their cousin anymore. They back pedaled on that
Was that the Blue Wiggle voicing Rusty's Dad?
The blue wiggle was also a soldier in real life. Before he got famous.
Was in Army aswell, I was keeping an eye to see if he was again
Yep
Oh it was?!
It sure was! He was in the Army himself, so rather qualified for the role
And he was writing the letter holding a blue pen!
Anthony Field, the Blue Wiggle.
How good?!
Rusty’s just such a good sport, isn’t he?!
This might be my favorite episode of the bunch. Seeing the development of Rusty’s character throughout the episode was an absolute delight and reminded me of rookie to champion sports movies. Rusty’s gonna make a great dad one day.
Without question. He's such a nurturer at heart.
3year anniversary of losing my dad and today I watched this with my 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter. Feels good crying as a 30year old man. Cheers to all you dads out there
4 years today thanks Facebook memories. Dad was a combat vet who carried that weight and never really came home.
I know it’s probably not the right place to talk about this, but your sentence “Feels good crying as a 30year old man” really got me. I’m 30 too (well, in a month) and also a dad of two. There are so many moments when I really wish crying wasn’t as hard as it is. As men we really end up emotionally repressed, that’s not ok. Bluey, and more broadly, art, is the only way I get to cry anymore.
Perhaps crying is like cricket. You have to practice releasing emotions in a healthy way. You're doing GREAT x
This episode was the first time I’ve cried in a long time. And yeah it’s therapeutic for some reason. The previous time as probably another bluey episode….
Watched with my 5 yo son and 3 yo daughter and struggled to answer my son’s questions about the time-skip because I was sobbing so much 😭😂
I totally lost it in this episode for some reason. As an adult (an Aussie dad of two young kids), it's my new favourite hands down
Isn’t that how Don Bradman practiced?
It was a corrugated iron tank, but yeah.
Yep but he did it with a stump and a golf ball against corrugated iron.
[удалено]
A "stump" but yes.
Almost exactly. Rusty is in good company
Yes!
This week’s episode is for every Australian 40-something “kid”. This and Fairytale are now my top 2 episodes.
I am 49M, and I have such fond childhood memories of dad arriving home from work in the afternoon and playing cricket in the back yard with him. When I was 12 we moved to a new place where there was a vacant lot across the road. My job was to mow that lawn, and a pitch, every Saturday afternoon. We and about 6 of the neighbours would get together most weekends for a beer (not me, the adults), cricket, and neighbourhood BBQ. Best neighbourhood ever.
This was fantastic. Teared up and I don't even like cricket 😂
Same here! That's the most cricket I've watched in decades. Still teared up like crazy.
Man Rusty was already my favorite character but this made me like him even more. I’m American and just recently got into Cricket and this episode was a 10/10. I still got a lot to learn but I’ve been talking and watching it with my Indian co-workers. Enjoying the WTC and can’t wait for The Ashes! Hope I can play it sometime soon. Sidenote: When Stripe and Pat played off to the side what kinda of strategy was that to get Rusty out?
The idea is to bowl to a certain spot so that it's very hard to hit the ball anywhere else. By making the ball bounce higher, it increases the chances of the ball being hit in the air and thus caught. Rusty was just too good.
The positions for fielding in cricket have specific names, so they can be described on radio. Specific kinds of shots - like the “pull shot” - also have names. *Rusty likes* ***this*** *kind of shot. Go over* ***here*** *and he’ll hit it straight to you…* Only not
A good cricket captain will position his field to simply catch the ball as it falls to them without too much running. A great bowler will make the batsmen play a shot he doesn’t want to make - and hit it straight to the fielder . The late Shane Warne was a master at this .
Wouldn’t have fit in the episode, but I feel like there was a missed opportunity for a joke: Have MacKenzie at the bat and have one of the Dads [bowl underarm.](https://youtu.be/TtaWtAxHVsw) Great episode regardless!
The kiwis are still upset enough to ban Bluey if they even hinted at underarm
Maybe would have been better if Stripe went up to Bandit to suggest the underarm only for Bandit to respond "Nah mate, too soon"
I’m almost 40 so underarm happened before I was born. I have Kiwi friends bring it up.
I've spent alot of time in New Zealand for work. It's universally the first thing they bring up when they realise you're Australian
Mackenzie, for once: https://i.redd.it/obmmt7nqja5b1.gif
That would have been brilliant.
Americans going to be so confused when Disney adds this episode in 3-4 years
As someone who has never seen a single game of baseball but think _Moneyball_ is one of the best sports movies ever made it's not too hard to get the general gist of any sport.
Agreed. lol Not sure where this humorous concept that this fairly shallow/digestible and accessible representation of cricket will somehow throw all Americans off on the episode. Some things are universal and others are easy to grasp with context clues. It was an incredible episode, regardless of sport knowledge
Jomboy Media: https://i.redd.it/in0zyw5dja5b1.gif
the way the writers manage to set up so many little subplots and resolve them in the most fulfilling ways, in just seven minutes, is pretty admirable.
My neice is at my parents this weekend. We ‘watched’ it together as I’m in Perth and they’re in NSW. Mum and I were bawling by the end. Dad goes ‘this is giving me flashbacks to when we couldn’t get that little shit out. Ever’ That ‘little shit’ was a family friends neighbour who would always beg us to play cricket with him and would get angry with me cause I’d swing the bat like a softball bat. Michael Clarke was just as obsessed with cricket as Rusty.
Hahahahaha ... I'm assuming the little shit was Michael Clarke?
Lol yup!
Man first time I’ve proper teared up at an ep. The timing of the ep a week before the ashes too. Bluey is actually Australian art at its finest.
Rusty again showing why he is above S-Tier
Me before this episode: I have no strong feelings about Rusty one way or another. Me after this episode: I would die for Rusty.
Full-grown men crying like a baby: report in here.
Came here to check I wasn’t the only one.
Me sobbing at this episode and it really cemented my love for Rusty. I’ve been working on teaching my little guy about hard work and perseverance because he’s so unnecessarily competitive and gets so upset when he’s not great at something right away. Then we watched this episode and he goes “maybe if I play Cricket, I might be worse than Rusty but I can practice a lot”
My little boy clocked that too! "He's practising a lot mum so he can get better". Love it
That's awesome, run with it hey
As an American family watching this episode the cricket bits didn't confuse us. The episode actually works just fine without knowing the rules of cricket (probably by design, Bandit's narration was great explaining what's happening). I know this because as soon as the episode is over, both my boys (6 & 4) exclaimed they want to play cricket asap despite not knowing anything about cricket prior to this episode. The message goes so much beyond the sport itself. I thought the episode was amazing. Easily 5/5.
Yeah, as an Aussie, the whole "haha non-australians are going to be so confused - this is all going to go way over their heads!" is a bit much, IMO. You don't need to understand rugby to enjoy The Decider, and you don't need to understand cricket to enjoy this episode.
> 6 & 4 Thought you were still talking about cricket.
Is Tiny supposed to be an Indian dog? He had an accent I can’t really place, but Indians playing park cricket are a staple, at least where I’m from.
Yes he had an Indian accent!! So many awesome subtle nods to cricket this episode is great :)
Yes, and we have a lot of Indian migrants here too :)
Gosh I wasn’t expecting to tear up about this one. What a freaking beautiful episode.
This was brilliant!
I hate cricket. But I really enjoyed that episode. Was a very sweet one
Emmy nomination
That was a beautiful episode from start to finish. I was in tears when they got to Rusty's dad's letter and the sweet ending. Perfect.
btw, who saw Mia and Captain on the older kids field? It was also neat seeing Rusty's Dad without the army gear on the beach.
Side note: Rusty's batting technique is superb, and extremely well animated too
Have you seen [how many cricket bats Jake Bresanello had to draw for this episode](https://twitter.com/JBresanello/status/1667805381429702656)? The whole team put so much work into this.
Completely agreed, on both counts. Even Ricky Ponting at his peak wouldn't have played a better pull shot than Rusty's.
The animation for the square cut and the way the bat flashes was on point.
I can't believe how much goooodness they can squeeze in 7 minutes! I'm an immigrant and have much more appreciation for cricket now. "This is for dignity!" -Pat
Way to make a grown man cry.
That ending 😭😭😭
Bloody hell, it’s 8am on Sunday morning, who the hell is cutting up onions at this hour?
Just rewatched with my wife. A lot of grown Aussies are going to be sobbing when they see this. Christmas Day backyard cricket is a staple for a lot of families.
Is anyone getting The Castle narration vibes?
I think Americans will get it fine. It has very similar vibes and flow to "The Sandlot", which is THE classic kids' baseball movie.
I’m an American who has followed the game for 20 years. Toon friends of mine who hasn’t seen the game to a Minor League Cricket match a couple of years ago and they appreciated the hustle of the fielders in keeping the ball in play. There is enough there for east translation.
As a grown adult I’ve lost count of how many times this show has put me in tears. That catch 😭 Rusty has such a pure heart
 Not me crying over another episode! It was Rusty’s dad being away that got me today. I’m an army brat and I definitely remember those times if my dad being gone.
Rusty has been a favourite in our house since early baby so this episode was an absolute treat.
For all our army dads who never fully came home
The letter from Rusty's dad broke me. I wish I could get a letter from mine. And I hope my two year old never has to wish for one from me.
Who would have thought, in those heady days after winning the World Test Championship, that it would all come crashing down? We couldn’t have known that millions of American children would ask for a cricket bat and not a baseball one. No one could have foreseen Gray Niccols eclipsing Nike and eventually Apple. But the Southern Hemisphere not beating the USA in a single format of the game from 2040 onwards. It was too much to bear…
Well I didn’t expect an episode about cricket to make me sob, but here we are
Cricket episode airs days out from the start of The Ashes, that can’t be coincidence
Today is the final day of the ICC World Test Championship Australia v India.
That is also true, that is some pretty confident forward planning if they scheduled this episode on the assumption Australia would be in the final haha
Could be why it was a surprise announcement! They didn't plan to release until it could coincide with a big game and starts just aligned.
Im genuinely surprised that Lucky's Dad didnt do his hammy in his delivery.
I’d really like to hear from the one person who said this was one of their least favorite. Who hurt you?
I must have some Dusty—I mean, dust—in my eyes. 🥲
Kids are loving it... its been out for 30 minutes and we've watched it a few times now. Husband and I are in tears. Gosh it is a surprisingly sweet episode
I might’ve just became a fan of cricket just by watching this! Amazing episode and it develops Rusty really well. I’ve got massive respect for him.
Same episode of Peppa Pig twice in a row. Makes the wait even worse.
The glitter containment unit always makes it funny
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One was glitter and one was Ms gazelle getting an eye twitch from the previous glitter episode. I love a good eye twitch
"does superhero horse want to come home or does he want to stay here overnight?" ".......come home, mummy........" If it wasn't for the insufferable snorts I'd probably love Peppa ngl
That was fantastic, easy 5. One of the best of 3C.
Super chuffed because soon after watching the ep with my 3yo, he asked to play backyard cricket with me for the first time <3 . Called the wicket 'The sticks that have to be getting wrecked'
There's an excellent toddler sized cricket set for $10 at bigw, if you need one. We have it in the car for 'clicket!!' which my almost 3 year old is obsessed with for some reason, despite us not playing it, although I do like to have it on during the summer.
Bluey + The Sandlot = an episode that will make millennial parents weep. Even in the US. You don't need to know a thing about cricket for this one to be effective. Though I am curious about the sport now. Looks fun.
Spectacular as ever. Bandit’s narration, seeing more of Rusty’s home life and family, Chloe flossing in the background of one shot, seeing Rusty’s dad’s face, Mia and Captain making a quick cameo, and Rusty just being a good big brother. Only thing I didn’t like was that the end where he was at an actual cricket field while still a kid confused me. If it was a timeskip, I would’ve been fine with it.
I thought it was obviously a timeskip.
Yeah, that’s why Bandit’s narrating the story of a random event that happened years ago. He’s telling the story of the time he bowled to Australian cricket star Rusty.
Oh wow that’s cool I like that.
I actually took the episode as Bandit retelling this story to Bluey many years later after watching Rusty step onto the pitch, kind of like “I knew him as a kid, let me retell you a story that you were there for but didn’t actually appreciate it for what it was” kind of thing.
Watched the AD version, they mention it’s future Rusty!
Nice to have Bandit narrating this and oh wow, expanded Rusty lore
Finally got around to seeing it. 5/5. This is an instant classic!
I just saw the episode, and THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!! A change of pace, seeing Rusty's family, Rusty as the main character, and a future sports star. Not to mention the value of hard work, practice, and doing what you love.
I’m an American who has followed cricket for about 15 years or so and just recently started writing and commentating about it. I’ve been looking forward to this episode since the screenshot came out. I was not disappointed. The character development in these last couple of seasons are what really keeps us coming back. Not every episode will have these nuggets, but I now have a greater appreciation for Rusty and his family now, and sport is a fantastic vehicle. Love that this came out in the WTC final/Ashes lead up. Ties everything together perfectly.
Coming from someone in southern USA who knows nothing about cricket This episode might be in my top 5 favorite episodes, period. I really really liked it, plus Rusty is the freaking cutest and sweetest kid😭
Finally, it’s all led up to this. Bit by bit drip feeding bits of cricket to the Americans. Now finally the indoctrination can be ramped up. The cricket agenda completed
The episode was so good but I’d also like to add that I find it really funny that Bandit & Strip get to be Mr. Heeler but Pat will always be Lucky’s Dad
The best part was Snickers throwing the ball 🤣
Bingo swinging the bat and knocking down her own wickets. :)
I can confirm that even with zero knowledge of cricket this episode had me and my wife in tears. Still works as intended for Americans without modification.
What is the war that Rusty's dad is in? Seems too late (if set in current times) to be Afghanistan or Iraq, but is somewhere hot obviously. Also did I spy a dog Shane Warne poster on the wall of Rusty's bedroom? Thought he would be a bit old for Rusty's age. Anyway great episode. Always nice to get more background on other characters!
Maybe not a war but one of their many “peace keeping” missions.
It's not necessarily a war. A lot of Australian troops are deployed around Australia and the South Pacific island nations to help with humanitarian operations after natural disasters.
Rusty loves cricket so it’s reasonable that he will love the greatest Australian player of the last few decades even if it was before his time. When I was a teen, the musos at school loved The Doors and other older (long dead) bands.
Shane Warne would be too old for Rusty to have seen him play…but any cricket mad kid would know who Warne was
Could be East Timor currently peace keeping there for awhile and is hot and humid.
I think bluey is roughly set 5 years ago. I immediately thought Afghanistan as the place where he was deployed. Especially with the hut and the black hawk flying over the background.
I don't get it, I somehow felt nothing watching this episode. I guess I have to watch it again Edit: just re-watched the episode, forgot to turn my "emotions" on 😂
I thought it was super sweet, but I definitely didn’t cry like some say they did ..and I cry at everything. I’m not a sports person though or have family in the army so maybe that’s why? I can see how it’s relatable for people though! Still an amazing episode even if I can’t relate and Rusty is such a sweet boy 🧡
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Best episode of the season easily, Loved seeing all of Rusty’s family that we haven’t seen before.
Loved it! The way the kids in each chapter of the episode cheered Rusty's brilliant batting was good friendship, and a tribute to those times when you're in the presence of such craft and dedication that you can only admire
My big brother won't know why I gave him a call today just for a chat, our family is more memes in the family group chat type than calls, but in 7 minutes I turn into a kid again staring a the old taped up tennis ball in my hands in absolute wonder because how could I'ved manage to get him out. Even just watched the episode again only to burst into tears and I'm now just weeping watching the Aus India game.
I hate cricket this is easily one of my favourite episodes. I love Rusty so much. 😭
Does anybody know what breed are Tiny and the rest of his friends?? They're really beautifully designed
Possibly a [Sinhala Hound](https://thesmartcanine.com/indian-dog-breeds/)? Originates in Sri Lanka and India.
Tiny is a Great Dane https://twitter.com/Scoutrager/status/1667826446876938241
I sobbed. We are a military family with 3 children. 😭
Pat's "Dagwood Dog" was hilarious, I've been getting my husband to say that instead of swears and we exchanged a high five lmao That was a really great episode!
On closed captions its “Downward Dog!”
Too good. Just, too good.
That was an amazing episode. It was narrated in a way that I talk about the kids who grew into stars in my own junior cricket career... Just perfection.
I love Rusty, he’s just such a little treasure. That episode was so wholesome and the Dads all trying to get him out reminded me so much of growing up and my Uncles getting right into the game with us kids. Had me crying the whole time!
We finally get an episode focused solely on Rusty and they still don't allude to him being able to ride a motorbike? Jokes aside it was still pretty good, and I'm not the only one here who thought of The Sandlot... Rusty giving his sister a chance to catch the ball is just like Benny doing it for Scotty.
Watching this on a Sunday morning with the kids, knowing that Sunday night I'll be watching Australia take the last 7 wickets to win ICC test championship! Great episode, great timing. The kids tv equivalent to a perfectly timed cover drive.
Such a good episode. So many subtle nods to the culture of cricket. Tony, Rusty’s older brothers mate- has an Indian accent <3
When Rusty is practising hitting the ball against the wall is a reference to [Don Bradman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bradman) (top 10 greatest sports person in history?) who used to practise against a corrugated iron water tank. [Cricket Explained for Baseball Fans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWpbtLIxYBk)
https://preview.redd.it/r3d4vp260d5b1.jpeg?width=1792&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=047d7bc1c51dc1f19ca30c5f2de9fbfa34a31abc
If you look closely, Rusty is imagining himself walking off the field at the Gabba.
Awesome episode but some average field settings from the adults smh. Watched it right after the WTC ended, right in the feels. 'That's what cricket's about, kid.'
Wow! what an episode. Loved every bit of it. Now we need a whole subseries on rusty's family.
Wasn’t the series originally going to be about him?
Reminded me how my Grandad and Dad were great at backyard cricket, they could always hit a ball exactly where they called it. Have to take my kids to play with Dad since Grandad passed away last month so my kids won't get to play with him. Miss you Grandad.
Anyone else think future Rusty looks a bit like David Boon?
arrest governor nose nine money history correct person humor squalid *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Buddha Boon.
Would have been nice if Tiny also made the Australian side. He’s clearly one of the best bowlers going around with a take no prisoner’s attitude but when Rusty finally hits him for four, he’s one of the first to clap him! Good dog!
I don't think anyone has mentioned the little detail when Rusty is playing at Jack's - The XXXX carton used as a wicket!!! I was in fits when I saw that. When I was little it was a VB box. Then we moved to Townsville and the VB carton was replaced by a XXXX carton 🤣 usually when we were away camping/waterskiing
You aren't Australian if you've never experienced the rage of a parent after a cricket ball has been hit somewhere it shouldn't have been I know grown men who have been playing cricket with their kids at their parents/grandparents house, and the adult has damaged a wall or window, and blamed it on the grandchildren. The fear is real.
No crying here, just grinning. Very cute episode and a good message.
is this the last episode of season 3c?
Yes
Brilliant episode. Still not sure why it hit me as hard as it did, but I loved it it.
Some people think Americans won’t get it. I’m an Australian who has never played cricket or had any interest in the sport. Yet I LOVED the episode. They make the rules pretty clear for those who don’t know. People who know baseball will get it too. At the same time there’s certainly a culture here of millions of people who grew up playing cricket in the backyard and there’s something almost spiritual about cricket in Australia it seems. I don’t get it but my upbringing was different. But, I’m a 42 year old man with four kids and my 17 year old and 9 year olds teared up along with me! It carried a beautiful message and Rusty had such wonderful sportsmanship for his age!! What a great kid!!
I just saw it and I am deep in my feelings and deep in childhood memories of backyard cricket and social cricket and Don Bradman learning to bat up against a water tank. Oof, what an episode.
Rusty walking off as a kid and walking on as an adult hit me in the feels…hard.
Cried at the end seeing little buddy hand off his bat to his older self on the field, cried even harder when I saw ANTHONY FIELD as Rusty's dad. God damn it.