Parliamentary debate on the future of English cricket

NorthCountryBoy said:
You could have a party in the middle of the North Pole tonight but the edges of it are still melting.

The decline at grass roots level will slowly show itself at the top. Probably in terms of a growing reliance on public schoolboys and South Africans in the England side.

I do agree that it's been a great era to watch though. England fantastic at home in particular, a legend in Anderson and the Blast is quality.
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Does it really matter the type of school they went to?

Grass roots sport participation is dropping across the board, not just in cricket. It's the way the world has changed. I'm a massive golf fan and it has the same problem. However, the golf governing bodies are attempting to modernise the game and appeal to a wider market in ways which don't alienate a lot of the current playing/watching public and in ways which are fighting against a huge backlash.

Time will tell but IMO, the way in which the ECB are trying to promote the game to wider markets is only going to harm it long term. Are we really going to be able to produce genuine quality test match bowlers who can perform in the majority of conditions when all of our 4 day cricket is going to be played in April, May and September? Not a chance IMO as the medium pacers who can get a bit of movement will be prevailing.

The Hundred may get more kids playing the game, great. But they aren't going to want to play test matches or 50 over games as that isn't what they've seen. I think it has far more worrying consequences to the longer term future of cricket than it does in terms of the potential benefits.

The stupid thing is that there are a load of other ways the ECB could have looked to increase participation without having to resort to this.
 


Voice of fair play said:
My opinion is although I entirely appreciate loyal fans of counties will disagree that the longevity and increased take up of the game is more important than a particular county.
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Just don't understand the logic of that argument at all I'm afraid. So we'll aim to increase participation in the game by making the highest level of the game inaccessible to all but a handful of pockets of the country, and that in the most densely populated areas where there's little greenbelt in which to play the game. I thought you'd already agreed that the way to increased participation was through getting in to schools.
 
Voice of fair play said:
My opinion is although I entirely appreciate loyal fans of counties will disagree that the longevity and increased take up of the game is more important than a particular county.
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Well yes but it all goes hand in hand, or should do.

The 100 will damage 50 over cricket - it's scheduled to be played in the same period and of course the ECB will be promoting The 100 not 50 over, it might as well be invisible.
The 100 will damage T20, the audience will probably be the same or if not there will be huge overlaps in the areas where the games are played and how many will be able to attend both? Well, supporters of the likes of Durham or Essex or Kent could support the now diminished competition and the probability is diminished crowds.
County Cricket remains the ginger haired child when everyone seems to agree it already receives the sh*tty end of the stick when it comes to scheduling and the result is it damages the development of cricket which in turn is damaging Test cricket and Test cricket has been the golden goose for TCCB and ECB over decades. Test cricket is what has enabled Cricket as a whole to survive.
 
Parkside said:
Just don't understand the logic of that argument at all I'm afraid. So we'll aim to increase participation in the game by making the highest level of the game inaccessible to all but a handful of pockets of the country, and that in the most densely populated areas where there's little greenbelt in which to play the game. I thought you'd already agreed that the way to increased participation was through getting in to schools.
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I do it’s increased level in schools that is needed and take up of club cricket that needs increased massively.
Bri said:
Well yes but it all goes hand in hand, or should do.

The 100 will damage 50 over cricket - it's scheduled to be played in the same period and of course the ECB will be promoting The 100 not 50 over, it might as well be invisible.
The 100 will damage T20, the audience will probably be the same or if not there will be huge overlaps in the areas where the games are played and how many will be able to attend both? Well, supporters of the likes of Durham or Essex or Kent could support the now diminished competition and the probability is diminished crowds.
County Cricket remains the ginger haired child when everyone seems to agree it already receives the sh*tty end of the stick when it comes to scheduling and the result is it damages the development of cricket which in turn is damaging Test cricket and Test cricket has been the golden goose for TCCB and ECB over decades. Test cricket is what has enabled Cricket as a whole to survive.
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That’s why I would have preferred one shorter format of the game to be on free to air telly, two is overkill so agree there on your first point.

As for your second point, can see and agree test cricket surviving is paramount, but for it to survive new people need to be taking up the game a ground level and to do that we need to attract kids against other distractions of which there are many these days.

That is why whether it is T20 or the hundred it’s needs to be shown in the middle of the summer!

We have to be realistic and imo, kids are more likely to take up the game watching international stars on the telly hitting big shots and have close exciting finishes, then watching county championship cricket in the middle of the summer on good wickets when people are talking about a batsmen powers of concreation and how he leaves the ball well outside his off stump.

Now of course that will annoy loyal county fans and purists of the game, and of course it may and does mean batsman may not be able to play the long innings in test cricket they may have had in the past.

But without any new take up cricket all formats will suffer in years to come.
 
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brandon said:
30. Culture was another subject considered by the GGI. I here mention Jonathan Liew’s reference to the threat to strip The Oval of its hosting rights because ‘ECB chairman Colin Graves was furious that Surrey were the only county planning to vote against the new playing conditions’. Has the culture at the ECB stifled criticism?

Seen that @TheRey??
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Yeah mate, I alluded to it on here a little while ago. Of the record Richard Gould said he knew it's a bluff - the Oval Test Match is far too lucrative for the ECB, but the Club simply couldn't afford to take the gamble due to the reconstruction work we've got going on.
I've said it on here before, for all the shit Surrey get, the Club are set to benefit from this, and yet still absolutey staunch against it.

Graves is a ****, and should fuck off.
 
TheRey said:
Yeah mate, I alluded to it on here a little while ago. Of the record Richard Gould said he knew it's a bluff - the Oval Test Match is far too lucrative for the ECB, but the Club simply couldn't afford to take the gamble due to the reconstruction work we've got going on.
I've said it on here before, for all the shit Surrey get, the Club are set to benefit from this, and yet still absolutey staunch against it.

Graves is a ****, and should fuck off.
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Absolutely worth mentioning.

Surrey have never been my favourite opposition club, but with regard to the defending of county cricket on this subject - they have been absolutely fantastic.

On a possibly different note, the Worcestershire chief executive stood down today - wonder if that’s hundred related.
 
Schools could prioritise sports such as football and cricket. Tiny Trundler spends some of his PE lessons playing Dodgeball! Investment in these 2 sports, sending dedicated paid professionals into schools is a must. The ECB have huge resources which could be better applied to developing kids interest in cricket than gambling money on an ill-thought out crackpot tournament. How much are we talking about, 3 or 4 people per region (40-50 across England), a wage of £40000 and they go to 4 secondary schools each day? It shouldn't all be left to lads at clubs who do it for little or nothing.
 
Ageing trundler said:
Schools could prioritise sports such as football and cricket. Tiny Trundler spends some of his PE lessons playing Dodgeball! Investment in these 2 sports, sending dedicated paid professionals into schools is a must. The ECB have huge resources which could be better applied to developing kids interest in cricket than gambling money on an ill-thought out crackpot tournament. How much are we talking about, 3 or 4 people per region (40-50 across England), a wage of £40000 and they go to 4 secondary schools each day? It shouldn't all be left to lads at clubs who do it for little or nothing.
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Could be done for next to nothing. Age development coaches e.g. Lowe and Gidman go into schools, at present they must be free during school hours as their charges are there. Further more, hand out a coach load of tickets for a T20 game and lay on free transport. The coach would pay for itself with the money the kids would pay for merchandise and refreshments during the game. Win, win situation.
 
brandon said:
Absolutely worth mentioning.

Surrey have never been my favourite opposition club, but with regard to the defending of county cricket on this subject - they have been absolutely fantastic.

On a possibly different note, the Worcestershire chief executive stood down today - wonder if that’s hundred related.
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Crikey, Brandon with a positive word on Surrey? ;)
 
Ageing trundler said:
Schools could prioritise sports such as football and cricket. Tiny Trundler spends some of his PE lessons playing Dodgeball! Investment in these 2 sports, sending dedicated paid professionals into schools is a must. The ECB have huge resources which could be better applied to developing kids interest in cricket than gambling money on an ill-thought out crackpot tournament. How much are we talking about, 3 or 4 people per region (40-50 across England), a wage of £40000 and they go to 4 secondary schools each day? It shouldn't all be left to lads at clubs who do it for little or nothing.
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Great idea that.

Was the same when I was at school mind, with regards to PE lessons, I reckon we spent probably 40% of my entire time at secondary school doing f***ing basketball.

Now, I quite like basketball (to be honest there isn’t many sports I don’t like) but it is very much a minority sport in this country. We’re worse at it as a nation than Ice Hockey, put it that way. So to spend so much time playing it is absolutely barmy.
 
SAFC11 said:
They wouldnt be taking up the game though, they would be taking up the 100. It would mean implementing it into club cricket
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No, they would watch the hundred on telly, therefore get interested in the game of cricket, then go to their local cricket club, to play normal cricket that juniors play at that level.

At least that is the hope,
 

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