County cricket season begins.

My nephew was in India to see England play.  Saw the pictures, very poor crowds and that surprised me.  But it seems more and more want the excitement and razzmatazz of the short game.  Even a touring England team didn’t generate much excitement.

Cant remember the last county game I went to. Players can make a living from county cricket but the reality is the short form of the game puts bums on seats and money in the coffers.  If the short form didn’t happen county cricket would just die away due to lack of interest. So the perfect game as you call it survives only on the back of the white ball game.

The purists, like me to a degree, can enjoy and appreciate a game of say good batters competing aginst class spinners or the odd great shot in an otherwise quiet day and a breed that gets smaller.  

The hundreds by contrast, if I don’t get my tickets soon they may be sold out. Not classic cricket but it’s exciting to watch even for those who don’t understand the finer points of the game.  Dont need to know the difference between a leg break and Yorker to enjoy.  

Shame in some ways.

I’m Essex. Though living where I do my local is the Ageas bowl or whatever it’s called now. So watch Hampshire.

Great to see how their stadium has evolved. From a new ground with the addition of a hotel and a golf course and better parking. Nice place to watch cricket. Good food and drink booths for the bigger games.

Still enjoy Lords but not so much the oval. Don’t know if Chelmsford has developed. Been there, don’t like.

Can really understand your dislike of franchise cricket.  “It’s cricket Red but not as we know it”. To quote star-trek. But if cricket is going to survive it’s a necessary and quite entertaining evil.  Entertaining if you don’t expect some of the finer points, but still hugely skilful.  I’ve seen Boycott and Botham and I know who I prefer to watch bat. Boycott was by far the more technically gifted, Botham entertained.

But whilst franchise cricket helps financially, puts bums on seats, attracts TV audiences and grows interest it can’t be all bad. I enjoy the hundreds for what it is, batters going for it, bowlers trying to keep runs down and athletic fielders.  

I may pop down to the Ageas bowl for a county game this season. I’ll be interested to see how many spectators there are. My guess it’s not enough to support 22 full time professionals, their coaching staff the ground staff and rent and rates. Even Orient struggle to maintain a full complement of staff without losing £2m a year. Not sustainable and no matter how much some of us love a game, money is needed. No money, no game. Players too need to earn a living. County cricket alone just won’t do it and we could end up with semi-professional players and very modest grounds.

Just the way it is. Clubs need money and relying on the odd test match series just won’t generate enough funds. I think this issue is not the white ball game but the amount of one day cricket. Once upon a time it was just the Gillette cup. Now it’s the 20/20. 100s and I think another competition that escapes me. The 100s provide great income for a few, the rest probably lose out, it not being aligned to a county.

When was the last time a county game ever attracted 20,000 people, TV coverage, massive sponsorship deals? Families going together for a days entertainment.

What’s more important? The finer points of cricket that is appreciated by not many or a game that lacks some of the technical aspects but brings in the crowds. For me the real question is why cricket exists at all. For me the answer is simple. It exists for the spectators and not the players. The spectators have spoken.

As much part of my life as Leyton Orient,I have followed and played cricket longer than I have supported Orient.Three out of four brothers to play the game and listen to TMS in days back when.
Just seen in the DT online Aggers is leaving TMS.I listened to his first broadcast.