Here's to a successful year...
England Cricket 2015
- Thread starter twentythreedom
- Start date
Well it couldn't get much worse
Don't say that
I've come to the conclusion that I don't like cricket much anymore
Oh, I love the game. It's the greatest game around. Four day FC cricket and five day Test cricket is amongst the very best uses of time that I know. But the state of the international game, run by money grubbing venal shitbags, the ICC subservient to the desires of the BCCI and their sidekicks the ECB, CA and the television networks. The fact that I cannot afford the sky high ticket prices to watch England play at home, nor the cost of a Sky subscription (not that I want one, nor do I think it's right that all international cricket is hidden away on pay TV).
The death of cricket outside private schools. The ongoing Pietersen circus. The fact that it's ANOTHER bloody Ashes series, just because they want to extract every last penny from the fans. The T20 overkill. Etc etc et-fucking-cetera
Bollocks to it. I may well follow England on another tour some day (my trips to SA and NZ with England have been truly memorable) but I can't stomach the rest right now. No more magazines, no more afternoons in the pub, no more poring over Cricinfo. I shall watch some Championship cricket at Nevil Road this summer and that's it.
I didn't leave Big Cricket. It left me and told me it wasn't interested in my support.
Oh, I love the game. It's the greatest game around. Four day FC cricket and five day Test cricket is amongst the very best uses of time that I know. But the state of the international game, run by money grubbing venal shitbags, the ICC subservient to the desires of the BCCI and their sidekicks the ECB, CA and the television networks. The fact that I cannot afford the sky high ticket prices to watch England play at home, nor the cost of a Sky subscription (not that I want one, nor do I think it's right that all international cricket is hidden away on pay TV).
The death of cricket outside private schools. The ongoing Pietersen circus. The fact that it's ANOTHER bloody Ashes series, just because they want to extract every last penny from the fans. The T20 overkill. Etc etc et-fucking-cetera
Bollocks to it. I may well follow England on another tour some day (my trips to SA and NZ with England have been truly memorable) but I can't stomach the rest right now. No more magazines, no more afternoons in the pub, no more poring over Cricinfo. I shall watch some Championship cricket at Nevil Road this summer and that's it.
I didn't leave Big Cricket. It left me and told me it wasn't interested in my support.
^^^ 
Spot on apart from the "not watching much cricket" bit
Spot on apart from the "not watching much cricket" bit
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Yeh.. I've tried to watch football again since being back in the UK and the timezones working, but.. well.. its just a bit shit. I used to be passionate about it but now god knows why. Leaving aside all the nonsense of the likes of Rooney being on 300k a week etc, its not actually a very entertaining game. Give me cricket or rugby any day. Hell, even curling seems more interesting than football to me these days.
Anyway, on topic. Bell's innings today was fucking brilliant. England actually shaping up pretty decently before the first game on Friday.
Anyway, on topic. Bell's innings today was fucking brilliant. England actually shaping up pretty decently before the first game on Friday.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
We'll see how they go now Cook's gone. Interesting to hear from Moeen Ali saying how it's important in modern odis to take risks at the top of the order. ie score like the wind or get out trying if you're an opener. That has to be right. The winners of the WC won't be a timid team. Freed to say that now Cook's gone, and maybe Bell will take it on board too, as I think he's capable of playing like Ali.
ferrelhadley
There is no love between us anymore.
As a participation sport (not spectator) cycling is becoming the unofficial national summer sport of the UK. 5 Years ago I would have the B roads on a January weekend day to myself and the cars. Now I will see many other regular cyclists. But what people participate in they tend to also watch. I would really not say it is nailed on but one day the ECB may wake up to more people watching events on Alpe d'Huez than Lords.
MrSki
Who am I to say you're wrong
0 for 2 after the first over.
Not looking too good.butchersapron
Bring back hanging
I think we're going to discover if we are entirely wasting our time over there in the Aus innings.
Lost by 3 wickets 
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I'm getting bored of one-dayers already.
Fuck, there's three more months of this.
Fuck, there's three more months of this.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I've said it before but I'll say it again. Numbers participating in competitive cricket are falling. That's a massively worrying thing, and I put it down largely to the disappearance of cricket from free-to-air TV. Giles Clarke and the others who sold out to Sky are the total cunts who are responsible for this. Ten years down the line from the sell-off, and these are the consequences that many of us foresaw. A whole generation of people like me who fell in love with cricket as kids by watching on TV lost from the game.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Excellent article by George Dobell on cricinfo about English cricket and the future of t20. He's spot on with this.
And a v good point about ticket prices.
They have got it very wrong charging more on the day. Surely, especially in England with our weather, you should be encouraging these spontaneous decisions. The night before, you check the forecast, then you decide to go.
And a v good point about ticket prices.
They have got it very wrong charging more on the day. Surely, especially in England with our weather, you should be encouraging these spontaneous decisions. The night before, you check the forecast, then you decide to go.
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
Absolutely, and it's not just that it makes them spontaneous decisions hard or expensive or a rare possible treat, but rather that it removes them from the list of potential spontaneous days out full stop - day/night at the cricket disappears as from the roll of things we could do as a group altogether.
there is a capacity issue in that pricing as well i am sure. i am not defending that price of £74 at all but if you have a venue that can hold 90,000 for test cricket versus 20,000 you can be a bit more creative with pricing.
And it shows, they had 37,000 in for the Melbourne derby on Saturday.
And it shows, they had 37,000 in for the Melbourne derby on Saturday.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Very very very few t20 games in England sell out. At Headingley, they got an average of under half full last season. The Oval has occasionally sold out. Lord's once, I think. Perhaps Taunton.
Dobell also got it right in another piece when he asked whether pricing should be done to maximise revenue short-term or to attract new audiences long-term. It's not just about pricing, though - it has to be on free tv too. Televise games live on, say, ITV4 (I'm sure they'd take it), and you'd see live audiences increasing.
That's the other thing that is missing from the comparison with Aus. All test cricket and all the big bash are free to air.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/jan/24/sport-tv-free-air-pay
With the new digital channels, old arguments about being compromised by breaks for news or horse racing no longer apply.
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butchersapron
Bring back hanging
Pretty much sold out every single game - with that around 8000+ without extra seating which we do get in for most forms of one day as they are still massively popular- sunday games esp - we'll easily sell out the 15 000 for each of them i think when the development is finished. But obv that's a lot less capacity than some places.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Success at places like Taunton and Hove in the 'small' counties, added to relative failure at places like Leeds and Birmingham in the 'big' counties, is another thing showing the nonsense of the idea of big-city franchises.
There are big questions to be asked. Why do Warwickshire get such miserable crowds? Around 5k average - one-fifth full - in the second biggest city with a large Asian population. Not good enough.
Even with a small ground, Somerset have out-sold most of the test-ground counties.
agree with this 100%. They dual broadcast as well with Fox and the free to air channel both showing home test matches iirc. Certainly that's the case when i've been over during an Ashes series anyway.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
Still the case, for all home tests.
Ticket prices are a small fraction of what they are here, too, as I'm sure you know.
Er, because cricket is a middle class/upper class game? Even I, as a kiwi, recognize that cricket is going to be more popular in the more affluent south.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
What?
Sorry but this is total nonsense. Cricket, historically, has been a game played across the classes, particularly in the North. You never heard of the Lancashire League?
