Whilst still refusing to throw in my lot with the 'cricket is tactically superior' crowd, I would like to point out that one element - the state or condition of the pitch, is vital in cricket, whilst much less important in baseball since the point there is never to bounce the ball towards the batter.
The 'equivalent' of the bunt might be considered to be the concept of 'keeping the strike' at the end of an over, where the better batsman in a partnership is concerened with changing ends on the 5th or 6th balls, so as to reduce the chance of his less able partner having to face a full over.
That fielders appear to jod instead of run is, IMO, attributable to two reasons:
1. Most games are not played in the spirit of high athleticism. When played at the club level, cricket should only be a little more energetic than gold. The key element is the sandwiches in the high tea that divides the innings!
2. Most experienced players have a very good idea of how many runs, in principle, a certain shot might produce. If two is the safe limit, then there is little point in the fielder pouncing on the ball to try to 'prevent' it. Chances are the two is safe, while any attempt at three would be suicidal. To that extent, the fielder and the batsmen, are playing the percentages.
Neither of these considerations should, or do, apply in international cricket at the highest level, where athleticism and sharpening of the percentages, is taken for granted. In one day cricket today, you will see singles taken that would never have been contemplated by professional cricketers 30 years ago. Similarly, you will see fielding agility, form an entire team of fielders, that was once the preserve of perhaps one man in an entire generation (a Colin Bland, say).
Finally, to end this long post, and to address an earlier one in this thread (from tsuwm?), cricket has been blessed with a long and vigorous tradition of fine writing. Perhaps the most famous of all cricket writers is the late Neville Cardus, but more recent wwriters have also performed well with the pen - John Arlott and others.
In fiction, I have yet to find descriptions of cricket matches (or golf, for that matter) to amtch those of Wodehouse. The great Pelham Grenville's school stories, based on the fictional Wrykyn, are unsurpassed in that aspect.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
