Tag Archives: cricket

Tendulkar retires: a player of a lifetime, not just a generation

October 11, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

The biggest news in cricket circles this week, indeed probably this year, is the impending retirement of Sachin Tendulkar from all cricket. As a cricket fan, it oft discussed who is the best player in the world, who is the best player of the generation and who is the best player ever.

I will never be convinced that there has ever been a player better than Bradman. Numbers don’t lie and Bradman’s average will never be replicated, particularly now with the ever weakening of techniques that arises from T20 cricket. The fact is that, by the same premise, it is pretty clear that Sachin Tendulkar is, easily in my view, the best player of the last 25 years. As I said above, numbers don’t lie,and Tendulkar’s numbers, in an era where first class cricket has taken a back seat, are nothing short of phenomenal.

Forget the batting records for a minute here and consider this: Tendulkar has been playing test match cricket since he was 16. His debut was in 1989. Simply, Tendulkar’s presence in the game can not be considered with reference to just one generation because he transcends generations. For goodness sake: Australia’s captain when he debuted was Allan Border. That era of Australian cricket seems like a lifetime ago doesn’t it? Indeed, in my respectful opinion, that fact alone makes him the player of our lifetime. Because, much like Bradman, his records will never be broken AND he played for so long.

It is just not Tendulkar’s longevity that sets him apart though. For the purist there are many images that one thinks of when reminiscing about what they love about the game. For me there is a Ricky Ponting hook shot, Glenn McGrath vs Mike Atherton and Allan Donald in full flight. However, as images go there is has been none purer in the last 24 years of cricket watching for me than a Sachin Tendulkar on drive.

That’s what I will miss the most in Tendulkar’s retirement: that on drive that has tormented bowlers of all types around the world.

It is a fallacy to consider who will be the next Tendulkar because, just like the search for the next Bradman has been fruitless, such a search will likewise be fruitless. As fans the world over we should simply bask in the joy that was Tendulkar at the crease these last two test matches because there will never be another player like him.

Cricket: Everything wrong with Australian cricket in one quote …

October 4, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

George Bailey has been quoted in today’s press thusly:

“They made it really clear that doing well on this Indian tour, scoring runs over there will be looked upon in the same regard as the guys that are staying back and playing the first couple of rounds of Shield cricket,” Bailey said.

“I don’t think there’s any excuses for guys to be worried about what’s ahead.”

The “they” referenced in that quote are John Inverarity and Darren Lehmann. I seem to be saying this a lot at the moment when speaking about Cricket Australia and its administration of the game: are you kidding me?

Can anyone explain to me how playing 7 ODI games in India versus India could possibly be considered the equal of playing first class cricket in Australian conditions over more than 50 overs when it comes to preparation for the Ashes?

I just don’t understand the mind set or the thought process that elevates playing in conditions the reverse of a test match to first class preparation on local wickets. Then again I have not understood much of what Cricket Australia has done of late.

Cricket Australia and Radio Rights: the quest to destroy domestic cricket continues

October 4, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

It is rare that a piece of news makes me so angry that I can not bring myself to write about it. That happened yesterday though when I read about Cricket Australia’s changes to its media rights deal for radio. Having reflected on it overnight, my anger remains but I am also left with an empty feeling. That feeling has its genesis in the realization that what I thought might be true is coming to reality: Cricket Australia is killing the domestic game in this country.

For those who missed it amongst the all of the focus on Michael Clarke’s back and Buddy Franklin’s contract, here is a potted summary of the new arrangements that will be in place henceforth for the broadcast of cricket by radio in Australia:

1. A commercial radio group will have joint rights with the ABC to broadcast Test Matches.
2. All internet streaming of cricket in Australia will be controlled by Cricket Australia.
3. The BBL will be broadcast on an FM network.
4. The Sheffield Shield and Ryobi Cup will NOT be broadcast by anyone.

Taking the first three points first: I still have the option to listen to the ABC for the test matches so I am not all that bothered by these changes. I will never listen to a BBL broadcast on the radio because frankly I have better things to do and why would I stream the cricket when I have a perfectly good radio?

It is the fourth point above that both angers and saddens me. Gone, it would seem, are the days of the ABC broadcasting Sheffield Shield cricket. Are you kidding me Cricket Australia? Actually that is a hyperbolic question because we all know that you are not. After all, broadcasting the Sheffield Shield on the ABC, indeed any cricket on the ABC for that matter, makes you no money because the ABC is banned from advertising on its broadcasts. Once again the dollars lining the pockets of Cricket Australia has trumped what is good for the game.

Why though is the broadcast on the radio of the Sheffield Shield so important you ask? It is simple: short of going to the ground (or watching the live stream without commentary on the Cricket Australia website) there is no other way of engaging with the domestic game in this country. I, for one, was introduced to the game at the top level as a child by listening to Grandstand while working in the yard with my Dad or by listening to the coverage whilst nervously waiting to bat myself at the grounds around Ipswich.

This year, all of those kids that love cricket out there will get from their governing body at a domestic level is hit and giggle nonsense. More to the point if you were a playing of first class cricket in this country at the moment would you not be feeling more than a bit like the metaphorical ugly bloke with bad acne and body odour standing alone in the corner at a school dance? First the Ryobi Cup competition is made into a regional cricket carnival that no one can attend and now the pinnacle of the domestic game, the Sheffield Shield, has essentially been made inaccessible to the fans.

I am all for a business operating profitably. I am all for making money: hell I work in insolvency so I am more than aware of the importance of cash flow. However, is it not the case that Cricket Australia is the steward of the game in this country first and a profit centre second??? This decision is just another example of how that position has flipped.

A final point: it strikes me that it is now time for the fans of cricket in this country to rise up and regain control of the game that we love from those in control at Cricket Australia Towers. The only way to do that is to vote with our wallets and feet and turn the wave of profitability into a mill pond. So I pledge here and now that I will not spend another cent (I have already paid for my Ashes tickets) on anything Cricket Australia related until we see institutional change at the top of Cricket Australia. Now you may scoff at that gesture but having spent close to $2,500 on my obsession with cricket in this country in the last calendar year (I added it up and you should too: tickets, travel, merchandise, food etc adds up) if I could get 10,000 fans to sign up to this campaign that would leave a $25 Million hole in the pot of gold at the end of the Cricket Australia rainbow. That is something that might make them think don’t you think?

Ashes Countdown Day 49: Now the Captain is hurt!

October 3, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Michael Clarke has been quoted today, when asked about his prospects of playing in the first test at the Gabba on 21 November 2013:

"There is certainly no guarantee at this stage," Clarke said. "It’s hard for me to say that because I’m trying my best not to look at it like that. I’m always positive. If you ask me I’ll say "Oh, I’ll be fit in a week’s time’. But if you ask [Australian physio] Alex [Kountouris], who knows me very well, I’d imagine he’d certainly say that there’s doubt that I won’t be right.

"Where I sit right now is I don’t know when I’ll be back playing cricket. We have no idea how long it’s going to take."

Well isn’t this magnificent?!?

Off the back of Australia’s drubbing in England this year we face the prospect of losing our premier batsman and captain for the first test. Actually, read the quote from Clarke again for moment: this problem could last longer than just until the first test. Simply: he does not know when the injury is going to be good enough to play again.

Therein lies another problem: Clarke’s preparation, even if he is fit, is going to be horribly underdone. This, obviously, is not a good thing for Clarke or the Australian team particularly given the already truncated preparation many of Australia’s players are going to have because of the ridiculous scheduling decisions made by Cricket Australia for this summer of domestic cricket.

I hope Clarke is fit and I hope he is fit in time to play in at least one of the first class games scheduled before the Ashes start. If he is not than Australia will be further on the back foot than it already is because of poor scheduling.

Domestic Cricket in Australia: time to look to England as the model?

September 22, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , 2 Comments

I tweeted last night how impressed I was with the ECB after watching the draw for its 50 over competition in 2014. It got me thinking about the Australian domestic cricket set up and confirmed for me that a very real reason that cricket in this country is lagging behind the “old enemy” is the treatment presently being meted out to the domestic game by Cricket Australia.

We are all aware of the travesty that is the new Ryobi Cup competition for 2013. It has been made to be a 3 week carnival held all in the Sydney suburbs on non-first class grounds. We are all aware that Cricket Australia is chasing the dollars that comes from the Big Bash League. If you like hit and giggle cricket then you will love December and January in Australia. Finally, we are all aware that the Sheffield Shield competition is no longer a nursery for the next cricketers coming into the Australian set up. How could it be when the players in the test team do not deign to play in the competition? Or are not allowed to?

Something has to give with all of this: the reality is that Australia has become, in recent years, a second tier player in the international game across all forms. A thrashing in the Ashes, a thrashing in the Champions Trophy and being completely ineffectual in T20 are all the indications one needs to know that. I have already called for the head of James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia CEO, but it would seem that so long as the profits are rolling in no one at Cricket Australia Towers wants a bar of that. So what else then can be done?

Rather than filleting the domestic game in this country in favour of overseas tours that mean nothing and the BBL irrelevance, my proposal would see more domestic cricket being played rather than less. The ECB has set the benchmark for using its domestic competition to procure players ready for the top flight because they play more domestic cricket over there. That was Sam Robson’s reason for moving over there and, thinking about it in reverse, when was the last time an English domiciled cricketer played in Sheffield Shield? Graeme Hick for Queensland is the name that comes to mind.

The County Competition is played between the middle of April and the end of September and they manage to fit in 16 first class games within that span. All whilst (in 2013) fitting in 12 40 over games (to be 50 overs in 2014) and 10 T20 games. Conversely in 2014, Australia’s domestic cricketers will play a maximum (if not making the finals) of 10 first class games, 5 50 over games and 7 T20 games in a span that runs from October through March.

It is simple to say but it is striking just how little cricket is available to Australia’s domestic cricketers when compared to those plying their trade in England over a not dissimilar period of time. I know that historically cricket in this country has tried to wedge itself between the start and the end of the AFL and NRL seasons however, if that is the reason for Australia’s truncated number of domestic games, surely the English experience shows just what a fallacy that approach is. In England little care is given for the fact that Premier League Soccer has already started and still the domestic cricket season chugs away.

I, for one, see no reason why, noting the weather in Australia in September, the Australian domestic season could not start in September and hinge upon a Sheffield Shield program that runs for 15 games rather than 10. Now before I hear the mantra “that is too much cricket” consider this: even allowing for a 42 day carnival of irrelevance (BBL) a 24 week season window would still have 18 weeks in which to play proper (non carnival) cricket. In 18 weeks why shouldn’t professional cricketers be tested with playing 15 games of FC class cricket with an extra day of play tagged on for 50 over cricket?

We have the climate and the wickets to play more domestic cricket in this country. We also have the time to do so. An obvious flow on from playing more domestic cricket is the greater opportunities playing so much would present to those already in the Australian team to return to the Sheffield Shield and play for form or to nurture the next lot of talent coming through. All of this raises the question: why not play more domestic cricket? To that the only answer I have is that it costs money.

Historically cricketers in this country have made light of the County system and yet some of our best players continue to spend Australia’s winters in England playing the game and developing into test standard players. It was good enough for Messrs Chappell, Border, Waugh, Hayden, Langer and Hussey afterall. Now is the time to look at what is going well in English cricket and a big part of that seems to be the amount of cricket they play domesitcally.

Unfortunately, I am talking about a “perfect world” scenario here where the river of money flowing into Cricket Australia’s pockets is no impediment to the structure of the domestic game in this country. We all know that Cricket Australia will not do anything to effect its bottom line so this strategy will never see the light of day. How long though must Australia stay in the doldrums before the dollar is not the principal KPI to success? One can only hope it is not too long. Otherwise the current malaise over the game is going to last for a while longer me thinks.

Ashes 2013/14 Countdown Day 62: DRS madness!!!

September 20, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

The ICC announced yesterday that their solution to issues surrounding the use of the Decision Review System that came to a ahead in the Northern Hemisphere portion of the Ashes is to implement a trial during the upcoming Southern Hemisphere return series that sees two (2) additional reviews given to each team (assuming that team has exhausted its review allocation) after an innings reaches the 80 mark.

This is nothing more than a bandaid for a broader problem isn’t it? The issues that arose with the DRS in England were not that there weren’t enough reviews but a mix of poor technology, poor umpiring and limited understanding of what the laws actually say about the review process.

What happens in the coming series, for example, when there is a technology failure or when, after 57 overs and two failed reviews there is another “Broadesque” clanger? The same vitriol and negativity about the process would seem the obvious answer.

There is no quick fix for the problems that the Decision Review System has because the system is hamstrung by limitations in technology and, now, negative perception.

Instead of applying a bandaid, it is incumbent on the ICC to stand up and make the only decision really available which is to scrap the whole thing and go back to the onfield umpires being the sole arbiters of whether a batsman is in or out. Either that or institute a system whereby the system is used in real time to review every system.

One final thought: is the premier series of test cricket in the game really the right forum to test a “new” theory of how to fix the DRS? Seems like a recipe only for more disaster to me!