Two competitions begin this week, one ancient and one so modern it’s hardly out of its wrapper. I am of course writing about the County Championship and the much talked about Indian Premier League.
A lot of people write and talk a substantial amount of bollocks about the County Championship, (I’m thinking of Bob Willis in particular). There are those who see it as nothing more than a training academy for England players and indeed all efforts are to the national side’s benefit or detriment. This not only untrue, it is a competition in its own right, but such an attitude is an insult to the vast majority of county pros who never get to wear the three lions. The domestic game, with the exception of the Twenty20 Cup, may not be the most glamorous event(s) in the sporting calendar, but it is followed, passionately, by a large number of people, who either go to watch in person or more likely, keep up with things online, (i.e. those of us who have to work for a living). Personally, I go to watch county cricket to see Warwickshire win (no laughing at the back), not to see so and so from such and such a county who might play for England one day. The likes of Willis bemoan the Cork’s and the Hick’s of the game for carrying on for too long, as they won’t ever play for England again and are therefore holding back the next generation. But the likes of Hick have a wealth of experience (and 134 first class hundreds) to pass on to younger players, that if they were all kicked out of the dressing room at 35, would be lost.The domestic set-up is far from perfect, there are many obvious changes that could be made to improve it, but to treat it as nothing more than the play pen of the England team is disgraceful. Duncan Fletcher had no time for the county game. I seem to remember him trying to get Jimmy Anderson a game for Glamorgan, in order for him to get some match fitness! Peter Moores seems to be more aware of the county scene. His selection of Ryan Sidebottom, was inspired, and his willingness to allow his England players to play more for their counties is also very welcome.Whatever the naysayers may say, I’ll be at Edgbaston on Wednesday, hoping to see Warwickshire give Worcestershire a good shoeing! (It’s now Friday, this hasn’t happened, Worcestershire are 261 – 4, 295 ahead, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger...)
Whilst the County Championship begins its long, winding journey through another summer, in India, a six-week festival of money-making and cricket kicks off, in the form of the Indian Premier League. It’s all the talk in the cricket world. Lured by, in some cases, silly amounts of money, international players of the highest order have been recruited to play. Now I’m no bluff old traditionalist, whose idea of exciting cricket is 40-1 at lunch on the first day. I enjoy 20-over cricket a dam sight more than the 50-over stuff. It’s fast and furious, a lot of the games are close, kids love it, you can watch a whole game in 2 ½ hours after a day at work etc... but cricket is so much more than 120 balls of merciless slogging. All the things that make cricket the greatest sport are in the long version of the game; periods of attack, consolidation, defence, the mental toughness and physical bravery of the players, I could go on (and on and on...), I won’t but you get my point. Put it this way, however good the film is, the book is always better.
I bear no ill will towards the IPL, its’ players or funders, (or though it is slightly distasteful in my opinion that in a country where, for all the talk of an emerging superpower, there is still so much grinding poverty, that the rich and powerful should pour quite so much money into a sporting tournament, but there you go...) my worry is that Twenty20 cricket will simply beat test cricket out of existence and, to use the ICC’s turn of phrase, the iconic form of cricket will be lost. We’ll see...
Remember: Safety First.
A lot of people write and talk a substantial amount of bollocks about the County Championship, (I’m thinking of Bob Willis in particular). There are those who see it as nothing more than a training academy for England players and indeed all efforts are to the national side’s benefit or detriment. This not only untrue, it is a competition in its own right, but such an attitude is an insult to the vast majority of county pros who never get to wear the three lions. The domestic game, with the exception of the Twenty20 Cup, may not be the most glamorous event(s) in the sporting calendar, but it is followed, passionately, by a large number of people, who either go to watch in person or more likely, keep up with things online, (i.e. those of us who have to work for a living). Personally, I go to watch county cricket to see Warwickshire win (no laughing at the back), not to see so and so from such and such a county who might play for England one day. The likes of Willis bemoan the Cork’s and the Hick’s of the game for carrying on for too long, as they won’t ever play for England again and are therefore holding back the next generation. But the likes of Hick have a wealth of experience (and 134 first class hundreds) to pass on to younger players, that if they were all kicked out of the dressing room at 35, would be lost.The domestic set-up is far from perfect, there are many obvious changes that could be made to improve it, but to treat it as nothing more than the play pen of the England team is disgraceful. Duncan Fletcher had no time for the county game. I seem to remember him trying to get Jimmy Anderson a game for Glamorgan, in order for him to get some match fitness! Peter Moores seems to be more aware of the county scene. His selection of Ryan Sidebottom, was inspired, and his willingness to allow his England players to play more for their counties is also very welcome.Whatever the naysayers may say, I’ll be at Edgbaston on Wednesday, hoping to see Warwickshire give Worcestershire a good shoeing! (It’s now Friday, this hasn’t happened, Worcestershire are 261 – 4, 295 ahead, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger...)
Whilst the County Championship begins its long, winding journey through another summer, in India, a six-week festival of money-making and cricket kicks off, in the form of the Indian Premier League. It’s all the talk in the cricket world. Lured by, in some cases, silly amounts of money, international players of the highest order have been recruited to play. Now I’m no bluff old traditionalist, whose idea of exciting cricket is 40-1 at lunch on the first day. I enjoy 20-over cricket a dam sight more than the 50-over stuff. It’s fast and furious, a lot of the games are close, kids love it, you can watch a whole game in 2 ½ hours after a day at work etc... but cricket is so much more than 120 balls of merciless slogging. All the things that make cricket the greatest sport are in the long version of the game; periods of attack, consolidation, defence, the mental toughness and physical bravery of the players, I could go on (and on and on...), I won’t but you get my point. Put it this way, however good the film is, the book is always better.
I bear no ill will towards the IPL, its’ players or funders, (or though it is slightly distasteful in my opinion that in a country where, for all the talk of an emerging superpower, there is still so much grinding poverty, that the rich and powerful should pour quite so much money into a sporting tournament, but there you go...) my worry is that Twenty20 cricket will simply beat test cricket out of existence and, to use the ICC’s turn of phrase, the iconic form of cricket will be lost. We’ll see...
Remember: Safety First.
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