It has been some time since my last post but outside the unstoppable behemoth of IPL cricket there hasn't been too much to really debate in cricket circles - until this weekend. Just to recap some recent events that may have escaped your notice: England are 2-0 up against the West Indies in an interesting test series for anyone who plans to watch New Zealand tour the latter in June or watch South Africa tour the former in July and. Marlon Samuels has been the surprise success for many people (including myself) as he has developed into a fine stroke-player but has curbed his stroke playing to concentrate on 'the V' that is so important to crafting a test-match innings (particularly in England).
England are getting into their stride, carried along by two centuries to Andrew Strauss who is finally making runs. Some are asking if the English attack lead by Anderson and Swann is approaching the kind of aura and skill level of McGrath and Warne - my short answer to this is that the Englishmen are slightly more limited than the Australia duo but England should enjoy success deploying them in a similar manner, however the comparison is a misguided one. Meanwhile, Nick Compton (grandson of the great Denis Compton) was stranded on 950 runs before the end of May this week by rain, which leaves Graham Hick as the last player to make 1000 before June (he did it in 1988). Finally, Kevin Pietersen has retired from limited-overs internationals and so will only play Test cricket and whatever 2020 leagues he can garner contracts with. This last piece of news is what prompts my discussion today.
It seems that each week it is a different cricket-writer's turn to lament the over-stuffed international calender - to the extent that it is almost as if a name is drawn from a hat on Monday morning as to who is going to write the familiar claptrap about IPL, test cricket, ODI cricket and this or that cricket council or cricket board. This week Ian Chappell is the author of an article in this mould saying that the retirement of Pietersen ought to wake a lot of people in English cricket and elsewhere to the danger of top-cricketers abandoning international cricket as their main focus in the face of 2020 riches. The second half of the article is fairly interesting (about the battles between players and administrators) but I can't shake off the feeling that Chappell is being a bit of a hypocrite on this. A writer should never make me ask the question 'what do you take me for?' when I read his piece but the former Australian captain does here. Let me ask you this: if the international calendar is so stuffed in your eyes, which cricket board is the one that wants 5-6 tests in The Ashes, which one is the country that keeps playing 7-game ODI series and which one just reinstated the ODI tri-series that takes up almost two months of summer? It is all well and good to say that England need to think about their situation but Australia are and have long been, one of the worst offenders.
The nation that should be complaining - and believe me, they will begin so shortly - is New Zealand who have ended up with a Test at Lords on May 16 next year which will require it's top players (Vettori, McCullum, Taylor, etc) to arrive the day before it starts, missing all warm-up games and preparation, due to IPL obligations. You may recall Chris Gayle doing this a couple seasons ago and look what he has become - cricket's first genuine mercenary player (of note). I find it appalling that any player could consider playing in a Lords test match without preparation in English conditions much less playing only IPL cricket - the complete opposite in terms of mindset and technique - beforehand. For instance, Brendon McCullum has been out in the 90s at Lords twice and will he expect to do better by batting for 30 balls in Kolkata three days before this test match? We shall see how this unfolds
As a more general point, I have always felt that 2020 cricket's success in terms of spectacle has owed much to established cricketers achieving well in that form. If cricket is reduced to 2020 by itself (as the main focus) then I believe the sport will be much poorer for it. The longer forms produce more interesting and developed cricketers for 2020 to use and I believe that to the core of my being - and have done since I saw the first 2020 international that featured this innings from Ricky Ponting. The problem is that the administrators/2020 enthusiasts of today cannot understand this relationship that is in danger of being destroyed if 2020 leagues suck up any and all talent - traditional cricket be damned. Cricket as we know it could well be destroyed by the sport equivalent of Mitt Romney (see Ian Chappell I can insert lazy political points into my writing too, it's not very hard) who is in and out for the quick buck and who cares if the sport is in ruins when you finish with it.
I will just bring things back to the international cricket calender to finish things off, if you need any more convincing of the points I am making here - about Australia doing most of the stuffing of said calender and the dangers of basing cricket decisions on a $-now! basis - then you might like to know that next year's Ashes series in England will be immediately followed by the return leg of the traditional fixture in Australia (instead of the normal 13 month break) so that the World Cup can be fit in the following Summer. Unbelievable
Well that's it from here and I hope you join me again
It's good bye for now
