Cricket Thread - Warning

[Stumpy Tim]

What do people think of this Premiership idea? - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/3242538.stm

Six Premiership teams (including Sussex) & then two Division 1's (North & South) with most counties being merged with minor counties! Smells fishy to me

 

[Brovion]

Can't make the link work but I'm agin it. However it is nice if Sussex are being treated as a top county, usually in these re-orgs we're told to merge with Hampshire.

 

[Seagull over NZ]

Something has to be done to improve the standard of first class cricket here - too far away from test matches.

However, probably better to get counties consolidated so that they all have a say in the make up of their region.

It is ridiculous that we have so many county trundlers earning good money from cricket when all they do is bring down the general standard of the game.

 

[Brovion]

You're right about the Country trundlers SoNZ, however I don't think consolidating counties into regions is the way forward. I'd like to see counties having NO playing pros, instead I'd have them all playing League cricket. The county teams then become more like representative sides (like football and rugby). To reduce the county matches I'd like to see the maybe 3 divisions with clubs playing each other only once.

The clubs will become the centres of excellence, and hopefully with better players (as they won't be playing county cricket) the overall standard will rise.

 

[Brixtaan]

Sussex and Hampshire, MERGE THEM!

 

[Trigger]

Rumour has it that Kent are to become Surrey's feeder team.

 

[Pavilionaire]

This is all about raising the standards of those players breaking into the Test team so that England can be more competitive.

The only way this will happen is if there is a lot more money in the top division of cricket, as opposed to the lower division(s).

You will never get big gate money for 4-day county cricket, and the only way I can see any sort of big cash coming in is if Sky decides to pump a lot of money in this new cricket premiership. I don't think that is going to happen for various reasons, and if there is cash to be invested I'd stick it in rugby union, not cricket.

I like the ideas about restructuring the internal county leagues, reducing the numbers of full-time professionals at each county, having 24 centrally-contracted England players, but I don't think we'll see the improvement unless counties start merging and some big money comes in from the tv companies.

 

[Storer68]

its a load of bollox all promulgated by ex=palyers who HATED playing county cricket once they got into the England team (Wilis, Atherton).

They keep citing Rugby as an example, and yet all the RU World Cup winners have said that they want to play for their club sides on Saturday.

me thinks what needs to change is the attitude of the players - get rid of nice comfortable central contracts which just gives them an excuse to put their feet up, and selectors should not feel pressured into dropping players who are not performing.

Witness the case of Mathew Hayden - got dropped by Australia, out of the test team for a couple of years during which time he realised that the only way he was goingt to get back was to score a stack of runs.

If he had been in English, he would have been dropped and then forgotten about even if he did score a stack of runs (Chris Admas test recall ? me thinks it is highly unlikely)

 

[Italiaseagull]

I think it could work. Anything that can help improve the England Test side has got to be worth looking at.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Just been thinking, this looks pretty sweet.

Montgomerie
Ward
Goodwin (?)
Adams
Ambrose (Wk)
Martin Jenkins
Prior
Hard hitting Mark Davis
Bowling Bowling Mushy
Kirtley
Mohammad Akram

 

[Italiaseagull]

Just been thinking, this looks pretty sweet.

Montgomerie
Ward
Goodwin (?)
Adams
Ambrose (Wk)
Martin Jenkins
Prior
Hard hitting Mark Davis
Bowling Bowling Mushy
Kirtley
Mohammad Akram

f***ing awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHABASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!