If I was Lalit Modi I’d opt for South Africa rather than England to host this year’s IPL.
Although putting aside the unfortunate circumstances leading up to the relocation, on a personal level I’d love to see the IPL come to England. Like it or not Twenty20 represents the future, and the opportunity to see the world’s most exciting players lining up against each other in the shortest form of the game would be superb.
I don’t doubt that we’ve got the infrastructure to hold the tournament; we’ve definitely got the grounds; given the will there shouldn’t be any problem fitting the games into the domestic schedule; and I’m sure the public (both ex-pat / second generation Indian and ‘English’ cricket fans) have got the appetite to fill the stadiums.
But as the big shots at the IPL understand this isn’t really a tournament for live spectators, instead the long term success of the competition will live or die by TV money, and I just feel that South Africa will deliver a better televised spectacle.
Two reasons, both weather related, mean that a South African based competition will provide more exciting cricket. England in April and May means showers, and we’ve just seen in the West Indies just how unsatisfactory one day games that finish on the DL method can be. Equally unsatisfactory for the worldwide TV audience would be early season English conditions, great for traditional English seamers, but hardly conducive to the barrage of boundaries that Twenty20 thrives on.
That South Africa wins on both fronts is a real shame, as I’d love to Ishant Sharma coming in to bowl at Sehwag at the Oval, or Chris Gayle facing up to Dale Steyn at Trent Bridge...
Monday 23 March 2009
Wednesday 18 March 2009
Do we even want to win the Ashes?
Talk about all working in the same direction.
Kent continue to be a blight on English cricket. Not content with racking up countless mercenary Kolpak players with disregard to providing any kind of future England international players, they've now decided to take on Stuart Clarke for the start of the domestic season. Giving the Aussie pace man time to facilitate his rehabilitation from injury and grow accustomed to English conditions just in time to take us on in the Ashes. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that a team full of South Africans cares so little about the success of the England side, but all the same, Thanks. For. That. Kent.
The move follows on from Middlesex taking on of Phillip Hughes, the newest member of the Australian test side, who's made a very promising start to his career in South Africa, and as far as I'm aware has no first class experience in England. First class counties rely heavily on the England team (and the success of) for funding, so why are they so determined to undermine the national side for the sake of a few weeks performances. As Geoff Miller said, it would never happen in Australia.
If Giles Clarke wants to work on something why not work out a system of approval for overseas signings?
The ECB have already put us on the backfoot for the Ashes by ignoring the two test grounds that offer us the best match winning opportunities in favour of smaller stadiums with deeper pockets, now it's the club's turn to bite England on the backside.
Do we want to win the Ashes or not?
Kent continue to be a blight on English cricket. Not content with racking up countless mercenary Kolpak players with disregard to providing any kind of future England international players, they've now decided to take on Stuart Clarke for the start of the domestic season. Giving the Aussie pace man time to facilitate his rehabilitation from injury and grow accustomed to English conditions just in time to take us on in the Ashes. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that a team full of South Africans cares so little about the success of the England side, but all the same, Thanks. For. That. Kent.
The move follows on from Middlesex taking on of Phillip Hughes, the newest member of the Australian test side, who's made a very promising start to his career in South Africa, and as far as I'm aware has no first class experience in England. First class counties rely heavily on the England team (and the success of) for funding, so why are they so determined to undermine the national side for the sake of a few weeks performances. As Geoff Miller said, it would never happen in Australia.
If Giles Clarke wants to work on something why not work out a system of approval for overseas signings?
The ECB have already put us on the backfoot for the Ashes by ignoring the two test grounds that offer us the best match winning opportunities in favour of smaller stadiums with deeper pockets, now it's the club's turn to bite England on the backside.
Do we want to win the Ashes or not?
Tuesday 17 March 2009
Reflections on a tour
So I’ve managed to fulfil one of my lifelong ambitions – to watch an England test match abroad. And what better place to start than the Caribbean, and more precisely the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad? By all accounts the most picturesque ground in the West Indies, and certainly the stadium with the liveliest ‘calypso’ atmosphere.
So did the trip live up to my admittedly pretty high expectations of following England away in the West Indies? There were a few things that I was hoping for / expecting to get the most out of the experience... and it pretty much delivered on all counts.
1. Atmosphere
Growing up watching the great West Indian sides of the eighties and nineties, the one thing that always appealed so much about cricket in the Windies was the unique atmosphere created, a million miles from the G&T, don’t walk on the grass, reverential atmosphere of Lords et al, but that of passion, noise, character – a joyous celebration of cricket and life. The final day delivered that in spades... in retrospect a close fought West Indies series clincher was probably the best result possible, for a nation deprived of cricketing success in the last decade a rare series victory at home brought out the very best in the home crowd, with a busy Queens Park Oval bouncing to the sounds of the steel band, and fuelled b y local rum and coke, chanting and celebrating a morale boosting rear guard ‘victory’. I didn’t realise it before hand, but that’s exactly what I wanted to see.
2. Performances
The other thing I wanted was a memorable test match, one that gave me plenty of memories both of the game, and of the individual performances within it. Like much of the test cricket played recent months the pitch was too placid to deliver a perfectly balanced game of cricket, but England’s aggressive batting and declaration on the last morning did at least provide a tense and thrilling final afternoon climax, when Jimmy Anderson, Swann and Panesar all bowled excellently. The game also saw seven centurions including by both captains and the star batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Shiv Chanderpaul. So while the game wasn’t quite a classic it certainly delivered enough to be genuinely memorable.
So did the trip live up to my admittedly pretty high expectations of following England away in the West Indies? There were a few things that I was hoping for / expecting to get the most out of the experience... and it pretty much delivered on all counts.
1. Atmosphere
Growing up watching the great West Indian sides of the eighties and nineties, the one thing that always appealed so much about cricket in the Windies was the unique atmosphere created, a million miles from the G&T, don’t walk on the grass, reverential atmosphere of Lords et al, but that of passion, noise, character – a joyous celebration of cricket and life. The final day delivered that in spades... in retrospect a close fought West Indies series clincher was probably the best result possible, for a nation deprived of cricketing success in the last decade a rare series victory at home brought out the very best in the home crowd, with a busy Queens Park Oval bouncing to the sounds of the steel band, and fuelled b y local rum and coke, chanting and celebrating a morale boosting rear guard ‘victory’. I didn’t realise it before hand, but that’s exactly what I wanted to see.
2. Performances
The other thing I wanted was a memorable test match, one that gave me plenty of memories both of the game, and of the individual performances within it. Like much of the test cricket played recent months the pitch was too placid to deliver a perfectly balanced game of cricket, but England’s aggressive batting and declaration on the last morning did at least provide a tense and thrilling final afternoon climax, when Jimmy Anderson, Swann and Panesar all bowled excellently. The game also saw seven centurions including by both captains and the star batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Shiv Chanderpaul. So while the game wasn’t quite a classic it certainly delivered enough to be genuinely memorable.
3. Off the pitch
Watching cricket isn’t all about just the game, there’s so much more to enjoy, it’s about the build up, the anticipation, it’s about the banter, talking about everything and nothing. It’s about getting slowly toasted in the sunshine with friends. I enjoyed everything about the experience from a great hotel, to the delights of goat roti, or salt fish with rice in the ground, to that guilty pleasure of joining in with the bulldog element in the Barmy Army, through to long evenings on Carib beer in the local bars. A fantastic experience all round.
Wednesday 4 March 2009
Tragic times for cricket
Sport and politics never mix. It’s a statement often repeated, but the very tragic events in Lahore yesterday sadly once again underline the total and utter nonsense of that ideal.
The idea that professional cricketers (as well as officials and innocent bystanders) can be targeted in such a ruthless bloodthirsty manner is deeply worrying for the future of the game in Pakistan, and I fear wider into the subcontinent as a whole. The attack seems even more depraved when you consider that Sri Lanka were only touring Pakistan as a replacement for the planned visit of India which was called off following the Mumbai atrocities. The Sri Lankan team stepped into the breach offering home international cricket to a hugely enthusiastic nation for the first time in years. It will be even longer before anyone returns.
There’s very little way of protecting sports teams or officials against single minded terrorist attacks such as this, so the chances of any team agreeing to play in Pakistan in the near future are – absolutely understandably – nil. Instead the only option would appear to be for Pakistan to play ‘home’ fixtures at neutral venues, potentially in Dubai or the UAE.
I wouldn’t claim to know anywhere near enough about Pakistani politics to understand the wider implications of events yesterday, but for the time being thoughts deserve to be with the victims and their families, as well as thanks to those whose actions limited the number casualties to much fewer than could have been the case.
The idea that professional cricketers (as well as officials and innocent bystanders) can be targeted in such a ruthless bloodthirsty manner is deeply worrying for the future of the game in Pakistan, and I fear wider into the subcontinent as a whole. The attack seems even more depraved when you consider that Sri Lanka were only touring Pakistan as a replacement for the planned visit of India which was called off following the Mumbai atrocities. The Sri Lankan team stepped into the breach offering home international cricket to a hugely enthusiastic nation for the first time in years. It will be even longer before anyone returns.
There’s very little way of protecting sports teams or officials against single minded terrorist attacks such as this, so the chances of any team agreeing to play in Pakistan in the near future are – absolutely understandably – nil. Instead the only option would appear to be for Pakistan to play ‘home’ fixtures at neutral venues, potentially in Dubai or the UAE.
I wouldn’t claim to know anywhere near enough about Pakistani politics to understand the wider implications of events yesterday, but for the time being thoughts deserve to be with the victims and their families, as well as thanks to those whose actions limited the number casualties to much fewer than could have been the case.
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