Letters
The Cricketer, Court House, Cleaver Street, London SE11 4DZ
email: [email protected]
On April 13 the fi rst full round of
Championship commenced. The
‘Beast from the East’ was still around,
it was freezing, with green wickets and
damp outfi elds. The excuse for this
early start was the cramped fi xture
schedule. Advance six weeks and it is a
Bank Holiday weekend with a nation at
leisure and warm weather widespread.
Unfortunately this cramped schedule
could not feature a single fi rst-class
domestic match on either the Saturday or
Monday. What a lost opportunity to play
Championship cricket in ideal conditions
and the certainty of above-average
attendances.
Stephen Lockwood, ChichesterFull sets of Royal London One-Day
Cup matches on Friday May 25 and
Sunday May 27. Another seven covering
Tuesday May 29 and Wednesday May
30; but nothing at all on Bank Holiday
Monday May 28 (a beautiful, warm,
sunny day) when most people are home
from work and available to watch a day’s
cricket. Is the ECB run by real human
beings or robots?
Brian Baker, PeterboroughWhy must we have thumping, tuneless
musak in 50-over games? This should
surely be confi ned to nightclubs. I
attended the Durham Riverside game
against Yorkshire, meeting an old friend
for much ‘catching up’. Our conversation
was interrupted – sometimes in mid-
syllable – while we waited for the infernalcacophony to fi nish. Looking around the
ground, the vast majority of spectators on
a Friday were at or above Shakespeare’s
fi fth stages and I suspect their level of
appreciation of the racket was similar
to mine. I thoroughly enjoy going to the
Riverside and will continue to attend and
support Durham but this was my fi rst
attendance at a one-day game and it is
my last.
John Moorley, via emailTesting times
Writing to you on the morning after
Pakistan’s drubbing of England in the
fi rst Test, I don’t think I’ve ever been so
worried about the future of the long-
form game in this country (and that’s
including the dark days of the late 1990s).
We have a batting line-up that appears
ill-prepared, unable or unwilling to
construct long innings. Our bowling looks
woefully one-dimensional, albeit with the
arrival of a new o -spinner (Dom Bess)
who clearly has lots of ‘character’ but also
appears to possess a fl awed action. We
aren’t taking our catches, don’t seem to
know where to put our best fi elders and
our coach and captain are so laidback as
to be almost horizontal. If you were a fan
of conspiracy theories, you might say that
all this is being set up by the ECB to rush
through the absurd 100-ball concept.
They’re forgetting that this great game’s
popularity was built on Test cricket.
Matt Phillips, LondonWhen Michael Vaughan called forStuart Broad to be dropped, I thought,
fi nally someone has the guts to say
what has been obvious for a long time.
The mainstays of the team have had it
far too easy and cushy. Broad said the
comments “were not justifi ed”. Er, you
keep telling yourself that, Mr Broad. Then
look at England’s last 12 Tests. Bowling
out Pakistan’s youth team cheaply at
Headingley is hardly substantial proof
of improvement.
Rich Snowdon, Astley BridgeAt Lord’s watching Alastair Cook bat
against Pakistan, having paid £90 for
the privilege (though I’m no longer
part of Tom Harrison’s ‘corporate’
demographic). The sun came out and
at lunch I read the pieces on Denis
Compton. Oh how I wish I had seen him
bat, oh how we need him now, oh how
I wish we still had the strength in depth
of when I fi rst watched Pakistan at Trent
Bridge when Graveney, Dexter and Parfi tt
made hay between the showers. Yes,
all three in one team and plenty more
backing them up. What on earth are
England to do when Cook goes back to
his farm?
Ian Oddie, via emailWriting at tea, when we are about to
lose the fi rst Test, it occurs to me that
the rot set in with the sad retirement
of James Taylor, the most natural No.5
we have turned up for ages. With him
in place and Bairstow at No.7, we would
only have needed to fi nd a properStar letter
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How to save county cricket
Any businessman looking at attendances for county
matches would tell you that Championship cricket
is a failing business. They would further tell you that
one of the best ways of reviving a failing business is
to contract its output, leading to: (a) a reduction in
overheads and (b) an increase in both quality and
demand. Three divisions of six teams, each playing 10
matches, starting on a Friday and fi nishing Monday,
would make each match a real occasion and still leave
plenty of time for one-day competitions. It could also
mean a reduction in sta and ground overheads. Who
knows – it might even attract terrestrial broadcasters,
on whom the future of the game’s popularity depends.
John Newth, WarehamGETTY IMAGES | thecricketer.com