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Club cricket - paying players

E

essex boy

Striker
What do people think of this practice? How common place is it your local league cricket?

We had a club get promoted last year into the equivalent of the NEPL, asked not to go up in the off season as their main sponsor pulled out. Consequently, 6 players who were on the payroll who did all the batting and bowling have left, with 3 rocking up together at another club. Most clubs playing premier league cricket in the South have lots on the payroll now, a lot of whom are no better than good club players, some not even more than average

Do all clubs need to take a stance and pay only an overseas? Are clubs being bled dry by players who show little loyalty anymore?
 

It’s a ridiculous situation. Premier league cricket is still village recreational cricket, a lot of Kohli wannabes don’t realise that. It’s imho the main reason for the slow demise of club cricket, too many volunteers are leaving clubs thinking “why am I doing this to fund the pockets of less than average talented players”. The mercenary attitude is killing clubs as well.

The standard of club cricket is absolutely shockingly bad as well now
 
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Dadsarmy73 said:
It’s a ridiculous situation. Premier league cricket is still village recreational cricket, a lot of Kohli wannabes don’t realise that. It’s imho the main reason for the slow demise of club cricket, too many volunteers are leaving clubs thinking “why am I doing this to fund the pockets of less than average talented players”. The mercenary attitude is killing clubs as well.

The standard of club cricket is absolutely shockingly bad as well now
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Yep it all started with putting too much pressure on essentially village clubs to compete.

Clubs calling their coaches ‘ director of coaching’

Starting games in the morning

Leagues having ridiculous criteria to get promoted such having an electronic scoreboard.

Its lost it’s soul club cricket
 
It's very widespread round here unfortunately. Bradford League clubs all at it but the top two for the last few seasons Woodlands and New Farnley are the worst and no one else can get near them season after season. It's rapidly turning into a bore fest.
The ECB Premier Leagues system has killed the essence of club cricket here.
Amalgamating most of West Yorkshire into the Bradford League.
 
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Dadsarmy73 said:
It’s a ridiculous situation. Premier league cricket is still village recreational cricket, a lot of Kohli wannabes don’t realise that. It’s imho the main reason for the slow demise of club cricket, too many volunteers are leaving clubs thinking “why am I doing this to fund the pockets of less than average talented players”. The mercenary attitude is killing clubs as well.

The standard of club cricket is absolutely shockingly bad as well now
Click to expand...

Poynter scoring 247 yesterday in the Premier League doesn’t particularly do much to counter your point
 
Silly Point said:
It's very widespread round here unfortunately. Bradford League clubs all at it but the top two for the last few seasons Woodlands and New Farnley are the worst and no one else can get near them season after season. It's rapidly turning into a bore fest.
The ECB Premier Leagues system has killed the essence of club cricket here.
Amalgamating most of West Yorkshire into the Bradford League.
Click to expand...
Much the same in this area
 
Silly Point said:
The ECB Premier Leagues system has killed the essence of club cricket here.
Click to expand...

I think it’s improved cricket in this area. There are still plenty of clubs/divisions where you can still be a village cricketer, with all the romance that surrounds that notion. Whereas if you want to be as professional as you can be, take it seriously and try to go as far as you can do then it allows that element also. Very much the same - in my own personal experience - to the local non league football structure.

Genuinely believe the structure of it all is good. I know several will disagree and that’s up to them, but both ‘systems’ still exist if you want it.
 
brandon said:
I think it’s improved cricket in this area. There are still plenty of clubs/divisions where you can still be a village cricketer, with all the romance that surrounds that notion. Whereas if you want to be as professional as you can be, take it seriously and try to go as far as you can do then it allows that element also. Very much the same - in my own personal experience - to the local non league football structure.

Genuinely believe the structure of it all is good. I know several will disagree and that’s up to them, but both ‘systems’ still exist if you want it.
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Fair enough mate. I just think club cricket in the North was already taken seriously and competitive enough, and if you want something less serious that's what 3rd XI and Sunday league is for. It's the money being thrown around, as always, that grates with me. Since the advent of the premier leagues it's been the same clubs dominating, round here at least. Whether it's just coincidence or not I'm not sure.
 
brandon said:
I think it’s improved cricket in this area. There are still plenty of clubs/divisions where you can still be a village cricketer, with all the romance that surrounds that notion. Whereas if you want to be as professional as you can be, take it seriously and try to go as far as you can do then it allows that element also. Very much the same - in my own personal experience - to the local non league football structure.

Genuinely believe the structure of it all is good. I know several will disagree and that’s up to them, but both ‘systems’ still exist if you want it.
Click to expand...
Do you genuinely think local cricket is better now in terms of participation, competitiveness and actually playing standard as it was say 25 year ago?
 
I think it's very short sighted for some clubs (speaking from NEDCL point of view) that instead of investing money into facilities for the future, they're willing to spunk some money on an overseas lad and a few old boys.

All it takes is for the person pumping money in to leave and it all comes crashing down. It all went down hill when leagues started fannying on with VISAs, tiers etc...
 
Dadsarmy73 said:
Do you genuinely think local cricket is better now in terms of participation, competitiveness and actually playing standard as it was say 25 year ago?
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Of course it’s not, I agree with you, it’s not even a debate.

And that’s before even looking at the depth of quality.
Silly Point said:
Fair enough mate. I just think club cricket in the North was already taken seriously and competitive enough, and if you want something less serious that's what 3rd XI and Sunday league is for. It's the money being thrown around, as always, that grates with me. Since the advent of the premier leagues it's been the same clubs dominating, round here at least. Whether it's just coincidence or not I'm not sure.
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It’s the select few at the top in the modern era.

Before the premier league the depth of quality was miles deeper into different leagues.

Tbf there has been other factors and don’t think the advent of the premier league is necessarily to blame but it’s certainly not even close to the depth of quality as say 25 years ago as @Dadsarmy73 says
 
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Silly Point said:
It's very widespread round here unfortunately. Bradford League clubs all at it but the top two for the last few seasons Woodlands and New Farnley are the worst and no one else can get near them season after season. It's rapidly turning into a bore fest.
The ECB Premier Leagues system has killed the essence of club cricket here.
Amalgamating most of West Yorkshire into the Bradford League.
Click to expand...
I agree. I am involved in a club in a League that is not part of the pyramid in Yorkshire. The standard is still not bad but clubs do pay more people. It has been going on for many years. I was born in Dawdon and played my cricket at Dawdon - hard club to play for but I would not have had it any other way. When I was scoring as a kid, in the early to mid 60s, we paid a player who was not a professional but a very good player.
 
How many players now actually “love “ the club they play for or “love”the club that’s paying them?
Money has ruined sport at all levels.
 
brandon said:
I think it’s improved cricket in this area. There are still plenty of clubs/divisions where you can still be a village cricketer, with all the romance that surrounds that notion. Whereas if you want to be as professional as you can be, take it seriously and try to go as far as you can do then it allows that element also. Very much the same - in my own personal experience - to the local non league football structure.

Genuinely believe the structure of it all is good. I know several will disagree and that’s up to them, but both ‘systems’ still exist if you want it.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but that's rubbish. The standard of local cricket now compared to 40 years back is shite. There are people being paid who wouldn't get into 2nd teams years back.

I started playing TSL cricket in 1986. I fail to see how current set up is good. But absolutely each to their own.
 
Voice of fair play said:
Of course it’s not, I agree with you, it’s not even a debate.

And that’s before even looking at the depth of quality.

It’s the select few at the top in the modern era.

Before the premier league the depth of quality was miles deeper into different leagues.

Tbf there has been other factors and don’t think the advent of the premier league is necessarily to blame but it’s certainly not even close to the depth of quality as say 25 years ago as @Dadsarmy73 says
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Yeah. But at least a portion of that is because good quality overseas players, who drive standards, don’t come and play club cricket anymore. They go to play franchise cricket
 
chunkyshanhawk53 said:
Yeah. But at least a portion of that is because good quality overseas players, who drive standards, don’t come and play club cricket anymore. They go to play franchise cricket
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Not sure whether you jesting or joking, sometimes hard to tell with you, so I will answer it seriously😀

Even if you took out the overseas professional of say 25 years ago.

And forgot all about them, the quality and depth miles better, than currently.
 
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