The Cricket Thread

[Jonzy the ref]

Certainly it used to attract its fair share of derision in England: for its armies of ageing mercenaries, its over-the-top salesmanship, its determination to sponsor everything in sight. For various reasons you hear less of that sort of criticism these days. I don’t think anybody would seriously contest the hypothesis that it is now the best Twenty20 league in the world by quality.


Interesting quote from Jonathan Liew

 

[Tony Towner]

Then quite frankly you are an idiot my friend. Every t20 competition or our hundred ultimately gets judged against the ipl. When a player performs its always 'could he make it in the ipl'? A player does well 'he did this in the ipl'? Look we all know us English can't fathom the fact that India has the best competition but its idiotic to deny it is the biggest and best competition.

Comprehension isn't a strength of yours is it darling? I said as a spectacle it is slow and boring, you can have all the top players, all the close finishes and loads of runs and none of that stops it from being slow. The whole point of T20 game is to provide fast paced entertainment, it fails on that level with games lasting 4 hours.

So by all means carry on spouting your counter arguments to something I've not said and quote as many arseholes who used to captain England as you like, but please try to get your sweet little brain around what's been said before you do.

 

[Jonzy the ref]

Comprehension isn't a strength of yours is it darling? I said as a spectacle it is slow and boring, you can have all the top players, all the close finishes and loads of runs and none of that stops it from being slow. The whole point of T20 game is to provide fast paced entertainment, it fails on that level with games lasting 4 hours.

So by all means carry on spouting your counter arguments to something I've not said and quote as many arseholes who used to captain England as you like, but please try to get your sweet little brain around what's been said before you do.

Ah so you find it slow and boring so it must be. Remind me how many people watch it as opposed to our wonderful blast? Surely they must all be bored hey??

 

[Kenny]

Ah so you find it slow and boring so it must be. Remind me how many people watch it as opposed to our wonderful blast? Surely they must all be bored hey??

I don't believe he is saying that. I believe he is saying he finds it slow and boring and therefore doesn't enjoy it. His single opinion.

Now your opinion and clearly one you share with a lot of people is it isn't slow and boring.

You do know both opinions are fine? Does someone thinking 4 hours for a T20 game is slow ruin your enjoyment of the game? I'm guessing not

Can we move on and you just tell the forum the good shit from the games (there are people* who would like to share such thoughts but after this over night exchange I think they will swerve the discussion)



*Not me, never watched the IPL, heard it was boring....

 

[Jonzy the ref]

I don't believe he is saying that. I believe he is saying he finds it slow and boring and therefore doesn't enjoy it. His single opinion.

Now your opinion and clearly one you share with a lot of people is it isn't slow and boring.

You do know both opinions are fine? Does someone thinking 4 hours for a T20 game is slow ruin your enjoyment of the game? I'm guessing not

Can we move on and you just tell the forum the good shit from the games (there are people* who would like to share such thoughts but after this over night exchange I think they will swerve the discussion)



*Not me, never watched the IPL, heard it was boring....

Hes never said in his opinion. However I'm happy to move on. End of the day us English can not stomach India inventing a tournament we could only dream of so we have to knock it at every point. Fair enough ill leave it there

It would be interesting to hear why @Johnny75 thinks leagues like the Bangladesh premier league or the Lanka t20 have surpassed it in quality though.

 

[Trips]

@Deutsch Wolf - please can you not include James Vince in the England watch updates. Gives me shudders. I know he'll play, just leave it at that

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

He actually shouldn't now - as we don't play white ball until the very end of August and it'll be the World Cup squad...which he surely won't make (especially as he was terrible in Bangladesh).

But as we picked him mere weeks ago, I have to include him. Blame the selectors, not me...

 

[North Shropshire Lad]

I championed Ed Barnard being included in 'England Watch' last season while he was a Pear. Glad to see you've left him out now he's 'dead to me'

 

[Tredman]

Very glad to see Toblerone not included.

 

[Jonzy the ref]

Another game goes down to the last ball after a team was cruising and started to falter. So so boring to watch. Can't wait for our blast to come back where the games are so much more entertaining, the standard higher with international stalwarts like Colin ingram and the games are over in 2 hours.

 

[Tredman]

Another game goes down to the last ball after a team was cruising and started to falter. So so boring to watch. Can't wait for our blast to come back where the games are so much more entertaining, the standard higher with international stalwarts like Colin ingram and the games are over in 2 hours.

Why not just enjoy the game?

 

[Mel Evo]

Another game goes down to the last ball after a team was cruising and started to falter. So so boring to watch. Can't wait for our blast to come back where the games are so much more entertaining, the standard higher with international stalwarts like Colin ingram and the games are over in 2 hours.

Someone must have had a word to fix it to keep the ratings up after the bore fest the night before.

 

[Jonzy the ref]

Someone must have had a word to fix it to keep the ratings up after the bore fest the night before.

Maybe mate. Probably learnt off us brits how to do fix it. After all the biggest fixing scandal of recent times was masterminded by an Englishman

 

[Mel Evo]

Maybe mate. Probably learnt off us brits how to do fix it. After all the biggest fixing scandal of recent times was masterminded by an Englishman

Well they nicked the T20 off us and changed a fun fortnight into an interminable two months so, yeah, probably fixing too. We’ve a proud history of doing plenty of sht things first, then perfected elsewhere.

 

[Mel Evo]

Anyway, I don’t enjoy the IPL much. However, having been brought up playing and watching my cricket at Acklam Park Middlesbrough, the air quality does make me a bit nostalgic. If I peer hard enough through the smog I think I can make out a young Ashley Metcalfe slowly compiling 30 something in his bid to open the batting for England.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Middlesex's top order having a top start to the season. 4/4 and 41/4 last week, 11/4 today.

 

[Trips]

Their top 3 have scored a combined 16 runs from 3 innings so far

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Simpson, Higgins and Extras: 116
Everyone else for Middlesex: 33

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

England Watch, Week Two, Day One

Warwickshire 367/3 vs Kent

S Hain 124*

Hampshire 254 vs Surrey 37/0

J Vince 18
L Dawson 1

R Burns 23*
D Sibley 12*

Nottinghamshire 256 vs Somerset 28/2

H Hameed 65
B Duckett 75
J Clarke 8
L Patterson-White 7
S Broad 0

C Overton 16-4-35-1
J Leach 6-0-36-0

T Abell 3

S Broad 5-3-5-0

Lancashire 207 vs Essex 98/3

K Jennings 1
J Bohannon 27
J Anderson 9*

J Porter 13-2-43-1
S Cook 17.5-4-42-5

D Lawrence 39*
M Critchley 23*

J Anderson 11-3-33-2

Middlesex 149 vs Northamptonshire 111/3

T Helm 4

T Helm 10-4-34-0

Durham 363/7 vs Worcestershire

A Lees 70

 

[Tony Towner]

Early days, but Warwickshire seem to have remembered how to bat this season after having a year off. 2 100s in 2 innings for Hain although there's not a middle order place available for England