Cricket

Doobs

The Messiah
We should have a separate thread documenting PTW's comebacks :lol:

Hope the banter isn't getting to you :p

Its all in good spirit :D
 

AURELIUS

Member
Btw, I didn't know you where a cricket fan too, AURELIUS. A very pleasant surprise. ;)

GiantKiller being English it is part of the DNA. ;) Though I have to say my interest in it has declined over the years. Cricket could be a global sport but it is still very much fixed in terms of the former colonies. The MCC for some hundred years and now the BCCI seem to have no real interest in developing it as a world sport.

Which is a shame as cricket was played in the 1850's in America, Holland, Germany and post war Argentina were very good at it as well. America unfortunately went down the baseball route dragging the likes of Cuba with it which was under their influence after the Spanish-American war into baseball and anti- English sentiment in Germany stifled it there and it never really took off in Holland.

I really feel for the associates and in particular Ireland. They have some excellent young players but how an earth are they going to move forward if they keep losing their talented kids like Dockrell and Stirling ? Instead of being rewarded for their sucesss they are being penalized.

In other countries like Kenya the abysmal organization has ruined the game with corruption and the less I say about Zimbabwe and it's evil despot the better. Nepal could do with a helping hand as well. They do pretty well in the u20 tournament yet seem to go no further.

I wonder if the BCCI could include them into the Ranji trophy perhaps. Can you imagine pace bowling at altitude in Kathmandu or hitting a hook shot ? Burma also has had to suffer despotism and so cricket has yet to develop there.

China has failed as with other team sports like rugby and football to make an impact despite introducing the sport into several areas. Papua New Guinea with Australian help look promising at this stage. In Japan baseball again under American influence post war is the king and it seems just the women there play the game.

There is a lot for administrators to do in order to propel the sport forward and make it truly competitive. At the moment it can be regarded like baseball as a minority sport in terms of country participation at the top level.
 

GiantKiller

New member
I wasn't so knowledgeable up until now about the history of the sport in its earlier periods and when I read that cricket was also played in post-war Argentina, I was surprised and disappointed (obviously would've loved it if cricket further developed in that country) in equal measure. Also, the emergence of T20 cricket lately may have been to make the sport more attractive and the recent shift in preference of many who are part of the global audience to the T20 format of the game could be a result of this.

However, I agree that more efforts could be made to make cricket a global sport by, for example, prioritizing to improve the standard of the game in other countries across various continents. One way this may be done by making use of the massive revenues generated by T20 leagues like IPL. To add to that, it looks as if Test cricket nowadays is being deprived of the attention it deserves and personally, I find it to be quite disappointing because the Test format is basically the essence of the sport and youngsters can learn a lot just by watching.

All in all, a very interesting post I have to admit. :)
 

GiantKiller

New member
So, Pakistan will be away to South Africa competing in a Test series that starts on February 1.

Will probably but things could get interesting if the team plays to its potential. :O
 
Last edited:
Pretty interesting first dayof the test, South Africa seemed to have been looking at a score above three hundred only to get bowled out for way below that, plus now thw pitch will favour the bowlers for the remaining few days
 

DonAK

President of FC Barcelona
Hopefully all the cricket fans have not disappeared :p

Waiting for Champions Trophy to begin :D
 

SEvolution

New member
Mouthwatering encounter tomorrow. India face off against South Africa in the opening game of the 2013 Champions Trophy.
India may have demolished teams in the practice games but the Proteas are a tough nut to crack. Could be anybody's game as far as I'm concerned.
 

DonAK

President of FC Barcelona
Mouthwatering encounter tomorrow. India face off against South Africa in the opening game of the 2013 Champions Trophy.
India may have demolished teams in the practice games but the Proteas are a tough nut to crack. Could be anybody's game as far as I'm concerned.


Yep!

Last Champions Trophy ever. Hopefully Pakistan will get it this time!
 

DonAK

President of FC Barcelona
Mouthwatering encounter tomorrow. India face off against South Africa in the opening game of the 2013 Champions Trophy.
India may have demolished teams in the practice games but the Proteas are a tough nut to crack. Could be anybody's game as far as I'm concerned.

Btw,

Steyn is a doubt for the game. If he doesn't play then it will be a massive boost for India!
 

Home of Barca Fans

Top