Cricket.

I love cricket.

Played it as a kid.

Firstly on Shepherds Cross Street fields as a small child who could barely lift a bat on wobbly wickets ploughed by the studs of Sunday League footballers.

Uneven and irregular bounce made sure that we watched the ball all the way down the track because the slightest slip in concentration meant that a straight ball could suddenly deal you a painful blow in the nethers, as it suddenly evilly veered of at an angle which would make Shane Warne proud.

(Even before we knew what the nethers were. Or indeed who Shane Warne was.)

I later went on to play cricket for my school (Smithills), Heaton CC, Birmingham University and latterly Roe Green CC (after a 25 year hiatus, two knee operations and a lot of thinking.)

So I'd like to think that I know my cricket.

Currently on Sky TV they're showing live coverage of two games - A test match between India and Australia and an ODI between New Zealand and South Africa.

Four of the top five teams in the world.

But the stands are empty. There's nobody there.

Is it too expensive or would people rather watch soap operas nowadays?

Or is it T20.....?

I've read in the past that the internet has had an impact on our collective ability to be patient and wait for a proper timely resolution to stuff because we all need a quick solution. Now!

I like T20 and I've been to OT a few times and loved every minute of watching Lancs destroying the opposition as their batsmen smashed sixes left, right and centre but I am starting to think that it's having a negative impact on the consciousness of your average cricket fan.

Discuss.

I fuckin' love cricket. It's like meditation.
Best cricket story?

Shared a house with a NY taxi driver who had moved to San Diego and become Big Blue computer manager in 1978 in the Middle East and tried to explain cricket to him.
He said:

"So they stand in a field?"
Yes
"For 5 days?"
Yes
"And it's a tie?"

A combination of all the factors you mention, Bread. It's great to watch biff/bash cricket, but it does not compare with the long, slow-burning  tension of an evenly fought test where the bowlers have a chance too. The ebb and flow of a 5-day game can be fascinating. 

I think that in the end  the dominance of the modern bat over ball makes for a duller spectacle where even edges go for six and genuine skill is unappreciated.
Cricket authorities have made the mistake of thinking that the only thing that will draw the crowds is to see the ball being crashed regularly over the boundary. Shorter boundaries, fielding restrictions, dynamic bats, white balls all make the contest uneven....and ultimately repetitive. 
The more subtle skills of swing, seam and spin bowling are being sacrificed. It's too predictably a batsman's game nowadays.

Cheer up lads.

I used to love playing Cricket but there's a big difference between playing and watching, and the fact is that watching a five day test match can be incredibly boring. When I was at school we used to have indoor nets in the sports hall and playing Cricket was part of the sports at school, alongside football and Rugby etc. Even at primary school we'd play quick cricket or whatever it's called as part of PE. I'm not sure how much Cricket is played in schools these days but if it's on the decline, then that could be part of the reason also.

still love a test match and have been to quite a few over the years at Old Trafford but it is expensive now, last time i went it was around £50. One dayers and especially 20/20 have been jazzed up to appeal to people who wouldn't usually go to the cricket and it has an effect on test matches.

There are even specialist one day and T20 players now who don't even play county or test matches like the English lad who's made a million signing up for the IPL (can't remember his name but he has a bad back and can only play T20)

There many reasons why cricket is shit, but lack of characters is one of the main ones. Where is the next Ian Botham or Freddie Flintoff to inspire the kids?

Joe Root might be a nice chap, but kids aren't going to pick up a bat because of him.

We should make Piers Morgan England captain.

Because he definitely makes me want to pick up a bat...

Natasha Whittam wrote:There many reasons why cricket is shit, but lack of characters is one of the main ones. Where is the next Ian Botham or Freddie Flintoff to inspire the kids?

Joe Root might be a nice chap, but kids aren't going to pick up a bat because of him.

Ben Stokes I would have thought was the natural successor to Botham/Flintoff.

I'm a big cricket fan and used to visit Old Trafford many times to watch both Lancashire and England, the most notable I guess being the day when Botham smashed his ton during the Botham Ashes series in 1981.

Even back then Country Cricket only had a tiny following and the first class county game depended on the redistribution of gate receipts from the English Cricket Board from Test Match ticket sales.

I think Test Match crowds are still strong in this country but other country's are probably in decline as the media (and hence the money) is in the one day format - particularly in India.

I love Test Matches and how they build over the days - I know people will think I'm crazy but cycling - in particular the three big 'tours' - is very similar in that respect of how the story (and hence the interest) is allowed to develop with all its little twists and turns, good guys and bad guys, failures and triumphs.

Like all things I guess, things move on.  Many these days love the crash bang, wallop of instant cricket, rather than the sedate journey of Test Matches.

Just as a bit of trivia, has anyone even heard of Tymal Mills.

He recently became one of England's richest cricketer ever by becoming a millionaire overnight on signing up for the Indian Premier League.

He can only play 20 over cricket because he has a bad back.

Good luck to him and all that but the 'big bash' sort of cricket is what most people want to see these days.

Hope there will always be room for Test cricket as well though.

thats him! see my post above, i couldn't remember his name

Bread2.0 wrote:We should make Piers Morgan England captain.

Because he definitely makes me want to pick up a bat...

Just imagine Nigel Farage opening for England.

Re-Farago opening for England, I wouldn't bother trying to hit him with a bouncer, I'd just continue my run down the wicket and punch him as hard as I could.

Repeatedly.

At least with a bouncer you'd find it impossible to miss his mouth.

I'm not a violent man, never have been - my preferred fighting technique has always been "run away as fast as you can" but I could happily go to town on Farage.

And not because he's an annoying, smug, self-serving prick - that's generally not a reason to punch someone.

No, it's because he's dangerous.

It may be a bit of a stretch to suggest that he's got Jo Cox's blood on his hands but he definitely played his part.

And the way things are going in the world, I can only see it getting worse.

He's certainly a catalyst. 

I remember as a kid,looking at pictures of Hitler and Mussolini,and thinking, 'Why didn't people just laugh?'

Dangerous times.

I wonder what the future holds for UKIP now, after the Stoke bi-election.

Paul Nuttall seems such an odious character that they hopefully look damaged beyond repair.