I must admit that I am not that big a fan of English county cricket, or as it is now known “The Kolpack Cup”. Don’t get me wrong I do watch some county cricket, especially the day/night games televised on Sky, it is just I prefer to watch international games where the non-British players at least have to hang around for a few years before playing for England... After a couple of weeks of glorious weather the first test at Lord’s has been greeted by grey skies and cool temperatures with today’s forecast (Saturday) not looking much better. The game itself was blessed by an impressive display of hitting by Brendan McCullum, whose 97 included a magnificent lofted extra cover drive for six, certainly one of the best shots I have ever seen. McCullum made 96 in his previous Lord’s Test innings – hopefully he will make that Lord’s century at some point.
The MCC World Cricket Committee has released seven statements about the game. This is a panel of ex-cricketers and although they have no official power the weight of their names must have some effect. You can read the full report here; the seven statements concern:
There should be two three-week periods in the year in which will accommodate events such as the IPL.
This seems a sensible suggestion
There is a trend for the bat to dominate over the ball
I think this is a really important issue. Bigger bats, smaller outfields and T20 has made for very exciting batting. However, we must ensure that ‘hitting a 6’ is still a noteworthy event. If we get 20 six hits an innings then I fear that T20’s gloss may fade and people will grow tired of it. People want to see a contest between bat and ball.
Players conduct
I have said plenty about this before
Slow over rates in Test cricket with run penalties if it does not improve
I am not convinced about run penalties but I suppose it may be worth a try.
Getting rid of the ban on home umpires for Test cricket
As all umpires are from the elite panel this makes a lot of sense.
Day/night Test cricket
I think this could be really exciting in countries where the conditions can allow it.
Use of technology in cricket
More technology is going to come; it is just a matter of when.
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2 comments:
thats some sense...
Nice post... my take...
There is a trend for the bat to dominate over the ball.
While this may hold true considering how well they have pampered the batsmen, the reality is in this era where there is so much for the batsmen, we still have an all-time leading wicket taker, the best spinner ever, the fastest bowler ever and the best fast bowler. So ironically, all these tough love for the bowlers have made them work harder, adjust to the conditions and excelled while in contrast, the batsmen are pretty ordinary as a trend.
The use of technology is inevitable :)
Cheers
Am adding you to my roll
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