"How do you solve a problem like Bangladesh?"
sung to the tune of "How do you solve a problem like Maria" from The sound of music.
What can the ICC do to get some genuine competition from Bangladesh. A test nation since 2000, the scorecard for this country of over 150 million people is rather bleak!
It is rather easy for people to cry out and say that Bangladesh should have their test status denied through lack of results- probably many were the same that said Sri Lanka shouldn't have got their status in 1981... look how competitive they have become! So with that thought in mind, why are people so quick to right off a Bangladeshi test side becoming successful?
Given the desperately impoverished state of the majority of the population, surly the onus for serious cricket development goes back to the ICC? The Global Cricket Academy is a good start as long as it offers world class training without world class costs incurred to people attending.
http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com/development/global-cricket-academy.html
Then there is the ICC development plan and High Performance Program ( http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com/development/development.html ) both honourable objectives with long term outcomes. But the problem for Bangladesh is the lack of results NOW!
In the tradition of Sri Lanka, they have got an ex-first class cricketer from Australia as coach [Jamie Siddons] but for a team with only one win in forty seven tests, something more needs to be done.
It is great that the ICC has a swag of countries interested in more serious membership (104 Member countries including 10 Full, 34 Associate and 60 Affiliate Members), but let's not forget those that are holding up the bottom end of the test ladder, instead of just mashing more sides into the fray. If real dedication to advancement was applied by the ICC for Bangladesh, 150 million people would serve as a bloody deep pool of player talent!
I prefer the west side story.... i feel bangy, oh so bangy and gay!
ReplyDelete150 million of em but none own a tv!!! there is no consumerism yet in Bangladesh, once they get their shite together (tv advertising) then we will see money been pumped in to cricket.
glad you are back on line to give an opinion bloke... yet to see your top aussie team!- as per Ponsfords post.
ReplyDeleteis that it? that the Banga's are not competitive because they don't have enough tv's and therefore ads? it is certainly an avenue i hadn't addressed, and worthy of thought. but i thought the purpose of this site was to ask what authority is doing about the preservation- and advancement of cricket.
not to promote crap Broadway plays that are bastardised versions of the bard... remember the bard?
surely cricket is all the better for having more countries competitive- am i wrong?
don't we want to see more competitive matches?
if the ICC is so keen as to give Bangladesh test status, isn't there some obligation to ensure that the team can at least be competitive?
i know i want that. am i on my own with that wish?
in regard to tv and advertising, maybe i should be more upset with the fact that a 1mtr sea level rise would sink 50% of Bangladesh!
but because i can only do the little i do to prevent that, i'd rather at least address an issue that maybe i can affect- their cricket team. the ICC need to advance cricket in this country asap, if they want cricket to develop
simple
i want 20 to 30 world sides, not 10; and the best way to do this- i feel- is to ensure that each new side is competitive.
do you have any better suggestions?
OK i will get my dream team up....getting on line is not all about blogs and porn you know, sometimes i do use the bloody thing for work (lol)
ReplyDeleteon the Bangladesh side, you are correct the ICC is responsible to make sure that funds are distributed to help all cricket playing nations (hell i am sure the yanks get a slice of the pie). i am not sure if the icc is responsible for setting up academies, milo cricket etc. in individual countries, the board of control would be responsible for that. Maybe the bangladesh cricket board is corrupt and the money does not filter down to grass root level. we are lucky here because talent is identified early (that's if afl or nrl does not get the good kids first) and are given all the help that it needs. if you are a Bangladeshi kid your main priority/motivation would be to stay alive.
My earlier posts' point been is that the almighty rupee rules cricket and Bangladesh don't have much avenue of earning any. if they (the advertisers) knew that the Bangladeshis loved a beer, car, cigarettes, mobile phones etc then sponsors would flock to pump money in to their cricket, as i see it, they are very much a third world country (nothing wrong with that except kids die early) and therefore they have no money. India has a massive middle class with money so that is why they rule the game and not us or the poms.
Give them time and money and they will do OK. patience my son.
yes the bard, will always remain with me, more coffee?
20-30 world sides. your kidding right? look at soccer, the most popular sport in the world. the top 5-10 teams can only win the blood world cup. The Socceroos Australia are ranked around the 40s, they have no hope of wining the thing. they have an ordinary record against the top sides.
ReplyDeletemy point is the gap between the best teams and the ones ranked say number 25 is too big.
problem with test cricket rankings or world championships is that a test game last 5 days and it is a game that needs to be played in summer. so there is not enough time(days) in the year to get a gauge of how a team is going or how good they are at a particular time.
leave test cricket as that TEST cricket. it is the purest form of the game, a game between bat & ball with no fielding restrictions etc, the most enthralling form of game. Let the top test teams play each other more often, and the Bangladeshis or Kenya less often. when these teams start being more competitive then you can play them more often.
keep your bloody 2020 or ODI for boof heads with short attention spans.
call me a ludite, but keep test cricket as it is. who cares about the other crap
i TOTALLY agree with what you have said in these posts... thanks for the effort.
ReplyDeletei suppose when i said 20-30 (30 is way too much for sure)test teams, i was thinking about a 2 tier competition where relegation and promotion is possible. the only thing different would be the need to play every other team (in the other division)at least in a one off test, every -whatever works best- years, 3 years maybe if there was 20 teams.
i feel this would give countries a standard to play to/for, as well as expanding the game at a manageable rate/size. these are just ideas and i think the levelling of the playing field should be first priority for the ICC. it would be in their interest to ensure newer countries boards are follow best practices for development (and are accountable for any grants!) so as to stop the constant negative attitude toward under performers.
it is hard to imagine ODI surviving at any reasonable level as T20 grows, i have another blog entry simmering on this topic for a future date.
stoph verismo
downthewicket