English cricket thread

AshRK said:
Just read somewhere he is a commentator with PSL as well. Can see the bitterness now and whyhe specifically targeted IPL. Very childish if you ask.
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Tbh I think you’re reading way too much into that one, IPL is often used fairly synonymously over here with franchise T20 what with being by far the biggest example, especially with older generations.

Obviously I could be wrong it is targeted, but there’s a strong chance it isn’t. They’re blaming franchise T20 in general because it’s the easy bogeyman for the issues we have in English cricket and admitting that the system that’s been in place since time began isn’t fit for purpose, and (especially for ex pros) attacking that probably feels to them like it devalues what they’ve done in their own careers so they avoid it at all costs where possible.
 
Something I don't get - why isn't red ball cricket on terrestrial TV? I don't know if BT or whoever show all of it but if they do I'm sure nobody watches. If it were on ITV or channel 4 (even just one game a week) I think they'd get loads of viewers. Might as well give the product away really given it's not worth much and it would make it the biggest name competition because it would be the only one everyone would be able to watch.
 
TwoSheds said:
Something I don't get - why isn't red ball cricket on terrestrial TV? I don't know if BT or whoever show all of it but if they do I'm sure nobody watches. If it were on ITV or channel 4 (even just one game a week) I think they'd get loads of viewers. Might as well give the product away really given it's not worth much and it would make it the biggest name competition because it would be the only one everyone would be able to watch.
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Are you talking about County Cricket or England? Sky have sewn up the England domestic rights and they do show some County games as well. I don't think they would then allow it on terrestrial but I know some of the counties were showing live streams of their games last season.
 
TheGame said:
Are you talking about County Cricket or England? Sky have sewn up the England domestic rights and they do show some County games as well. I don't think they would then allow it on terrestrial but I know some of the counties were showing live streams of their games last season.
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County. I know they've already robbed us of England but why not at least show some red ball on terrestrial to get kids interested. It's cheap programming as well, I don't believe somebody wouldn't go for it. The whole thing smacks of accountants wringing their hands and saying "how do we make county cricket less loss making?" It needs to be written off from that viewpoint and looked at as "how do we get more fans?"
 
TwoSheds said:
County. I know they've already robbed us of England but why not at least show some red ball on terrestrial to get kids interested. It's cheap programming as well, I don't believe somebody wouldn't go for it. The whole thing smacks of accountants wringing their hands and saying "how do we make county cricket less loss making?" It needs to be written off from that viewpoint and looked at as "how do we get more fans?"
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Yep, they only show like the roses match or if there was a match at the end of the season to win the championship. I know it would cost terrestrial but they could perhaps show it via stream or the red button.
 
Pretty much every county airs every game live at this point via YouTube, which is good. The obvious problem is the quality of that coverage is *vastly* inferior to what viewers expect to see from just about every sport.

The thing with terrestrial is you need to sell to them that county cricket can be a draw, which is a difficult sell given the majority of match have crowds of about 8 and that’s including the dogs that a couple of the old lads bring. Obviously airing more would likely lead to increased crowds but selling that to tv station shareholders won’t be easy, they’re just looking for the quick advertising buck.
 
Come on, what shite on ITV2, 3 or 4 draws millions of viewers? At the very least with county cricket you could hope to get retired folks, maybe some British Asians, few Aussies/Saffers if one of their big names is playing, students...there's definitely a market there somewhere, why not give it a try?
 
Would hate to see the Championship cut down to franchises, for me there are a couple of simple things that would help such as more red-ball cricket in the summer and neutral groundsmen who are employed by the ECB and not the counties.

If you had to go down the franchise route then why not make that something that gets played abroad during our winter? You could have a tournament with 6 teams completed in 5-6 weeks in the UAE, South Africa or West Indies.
 
Isn't it mad not so long ago alot of people were calling for cook to be dropped.
 
TwoSheds said:
Come on, what shite on ITV2, 3 or 4 draws millions of viewers? At the very least with county cricket you could hope to get retired folks, maybe some British Asians, few Aussies/Saffers if one of their big names is playing, students...there's definitely a market there somewhere, why not give it a try?
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It’s a lot cheaper to throw out whatever repeat you feel like than to do the work to improve the coverage of the county championship to the standard required.

It’s easy to say why the cricket side should push towards something like that, and I agree; but they have to convince private companies in many cases to take what would be a massive risk.

zing said:


Who is he talking about?
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He’s probably finding a way to blame Jofra, he usually does.
 
Utd heap said:
Yes kill this one with fire please.

I fly to the Windies for the Barbados test in a few months.
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Bridgetown is a great place and the locals are fantastic. I was there in 1986 and got to see some of the all time West Indies greats: Richards, Marshall, Garner, Holding, Greenidge etc... Of course we lost but as you say I was in Barbados so I wasn't too upset.

As an aside, Barbados is the only place I've ever sunbathed in the rain. I think the rum had something to do with it, but it was a long time ago. ;) One of the best places I've ever been to.
 
TheGame said:
Article on possible names for Test squad contention. Don't agree with all of the names on the list but certainly Clarke, Bohannon and Parkinson need to be given a go.

After Ashes thrashing, which county players could break into England's Test team? - BBC Sport
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Clarke is an interesting one. I think he's got the technique to make the step up but he had a couple of bad years when he had his off-field issues. Not sure he's even considered for selection yet because otherwise you'd assume he would be involved with the T20 squad for the series starting at the weekend.

Bohannon's record stands out but with Bairstow's century there isn't really a spot in the middle order right now. He's batted at 3 at times for Lancashire but you'd rather he came in lower down initially.

Jake Libby is one that's impressed me in the last couple of seasons averaging around 60 opening for Worcester, was disappointed he didn't get selected for the Lions this winter.
 
Don't worry english lads, with the state that we're in these days you can't even guarantee us chasing down a total like this
 
I had said at work that the problem was that we were concentrating on the short form of the game that we were miles better at 20/20 or 50 over. Proves me wrong.
 
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