Monday 1 June 2009

Today, the past, and the future!

Lefty and Nospmas, a big thanks for your ongoing contributions.
i'm sorry about my lack of major involvement lately, dare i say it... Mac problems!

now that the burnt out HDD is gone, and the new (BIGGER one) is in the mail, i should be more seriously back on line by next week end. Talking of weekends, Nospmas, i'm sorry i didn't follow up on a hit 2 w/ends ago, i got tonsillitis and was laid up seriously for a week (lost 4kg though!). Big apologies to you there though, i was looking forward to being smacked around!

Personally, and i know you two are the same, the T20 world cup holds little interest to me, and i am seriously awaiting the cricket... in England- starting in Wales! But if over the next few days either of you want to address the T20wc i will get involved in the smaller window of opportunity i have on other computers. It may be fast food, but it is still cricket!

Realistically, if we assess it, we are at a crux in crickets history, the game needs 2 formats, for its own survival. ODI proved unsatisfactory at providing the "other form", maybe (and i think it is the case) T20 is the right alternative. Fast food for the focally challenged!

As i've said before, ODI is dead in the water, "let them eat cake!"
We don't have to love it, just take out of it what serves our needs... the secret lies in how players ultimately perceive the value of (Test) cricket.

stoph verismo
down the wicket

8 comments:

  1. What i meant to ad was- are you two interested at all in ODI? If so, it sort of backs my point- ODI provided only a quick fix to those that already liked cricket. I say that with a lot of self assessment, and asking other members of my family who feel the same.

    we accepted that ODI was part of the game, and so it was. it wasn't test, but...

    But because we accepted it so easily, maybe it wasn't accesible enough for the general public, this is what t20 does do.

    mostly i want to eat a meal, soooo much more satisfying, but sometimes a snack is good too. let's let the plebs snack!

    stoph verismo
    down the wicket

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  2. I have a foot in both camps. I tried watching some of the IPL and in parts it looked as formulaic as the 25-40 over mark in 50 over cricket - just knock it around for ones and twos. The only appeal to me is blokes like McCullum who simply smash for their entire innings. I thought that was what 20/20 is all about! When few guys actually do that it loses the only thing it had going for it. For almost 100 years there was only one kind of cricket. Any makeshift version of the game will only ever have a certain lifespan before it is redundant. Perhaps ODI is there now and 20/20 will be there after a period too. Therefore I don't care what the ICC, BCCI or anyone does to sidetrack minds from real cricket. I don't think World Series Cricket was born out of a need for a new version of it. Maybe Aus doing so badly at the time had more to do with it. So then we have a new version that grows on alot of people, players work out the most effective way to win (not necessarily the most entertaining way) and everyone gets sick of it. So let's make it shorter - make it 20 overs each. Great! How about we just make it one over then? The thing is I don't think 20/20 brings 'new' lovers of the game forward at all. If you only like cricket because it goes for 3 hours and players wear bright colours and there's a lot of sixes hit then test cricket will ALWAYS bore you. The only reason most people are compliant with the 20/20 takeover is because of the money.

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  3. I just can't bring myself to care for 20/20...I dont care. If its on telly when I click through the channels then I might watch a bit of it, a bit.

    The fact that this version of the game holds my attention so little and test matches so much, to me, speaks volumes.

    I prefer watching the "legends" play beach cricket.

    Outside Sledge
    Down the Wicket

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  4. I vote we get t-shirts made up with 'Say no to 20/20' on the front with downthewicket written on the back. What really scares me is the potential for selectors to pay any attention to what happens in this rubbish when selecting touring squads and teams. We saw with Hussey that abbreviated versions of the game did not equate to test performance. If it did, why not put Ferguson in? He can probably play reverse sweeps well against a swinging Duke!

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  5. I like the idea of the t-shirts. Maybe "Don't let Twenty20 ruin OUR game".
    I think I have made myself clear with my rants on T20.
    T20 form means nothing. Warner is testament to that. A half century every 5 knocks might mean something in the joke format but even in 50 over cricket it's not good enough.
    There is a reason why there a distinct temas for each format which took a couple of decades to catch on. Remember one day cricket used to be the test side?
    And Stoph I might caution you to be on the look out for shadey characters in your area. I might have hired some goons and they have lost their phone.....

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  6. i like the idea of the T's guys...

    goons with phones NL?

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  7. Mac problems! ha! i was talking to the mac re-seller rep at a trade exhibition we were exhibiting at, he was also having Mac problems on our stand, so I bring up that little ad, you know hello mac, hello pc; did I get an almighty snear, look down, how dare you look. Mac problems!lol, you guys are deluded...

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