I Dont' Like Cricket, Oh No, I Love it, Yeah

[I'm a loser baby...]

Well that's exactly the problem. The only way these pitches are even for both sides is they are even for both batting lineups. The bowlers get f**k all.

Anyway some fans are happy for us to be home town heroes and just play well in Australia, and good for them. Personally I'd rather go back to the days of every pitch having an individual character that actually taught our batsmen something as they developed.

http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/posts/12632224/

^ A Pommy take on the situation from the cricket forum

Aren't they pretty even for the bowlers too? If it goes just under five days that's a good thing. I don't see how having a variety of wickets is gonna help us be a lot more successful overseas unless you can get the other nations to do the same thing.

 

[Bazal]

My biggest issue with people bitching about drop ins is they are bitching about different things ... is the pitch lifeless cement or is it a deteriorating poohole?

I get your point Baz about us getting no exposure to different conditions to overseas ... fair point ... but its always been that way to an extent ... for as long as i can remember we have had issues with sub-continent pitches - perhaps it has got worse, or perhaps that shit batting lineup plays a part too

Well now you start to get into a chicken vs egg situation. Are the pitches (and I'm not just talking about drop ins) being made flatter because batsmen are worse these days, or are batsmen worse because the pitches are flatter? It's hard to answer but surely preparing pitches with character would only help.

We've never been able to replicate sub-continental wickets here, but the SCG and Adelaide took enough turn that we had never lost a test series in Sri Lanka and never lost a match in Bangladesh. India are a different matter because they've been an excellent cricket side (at home) for decades now, but even with great players like De Silva, Ranatunga, Mahanama, Tillekaratne, Jayawardene, Sangakkara, Vaas, Murali, Dilshan, Jayasuriya et al we never lost a series in Sri Lanka. Look at the debacle last time around, their pitches haven't changed and their cricketers have got worse...yet we lost 3-0.

I think if you look at the technique and the temperament of a lot of our batsmen, you certainly lean towards the issue at least in part being with the flat pitches.

 

[Bazal]

Aren't they pretty even for the bowlers too? If it goes just under five days that's a good thing. I don't see how having a variety of wickets is gonna help us be a lot more successful overseas unless you can get the other nations to do the same thing.

Seriously? This is like the gravity thing now, isn't it?

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

Seriously? This is like the gravity thing now, isn't it?

I think you misunderstood. I'm not suggesting it gives the bowlers as much as the batsmen, rather that it gives our bowlers as much as theirs.

 

[Bazal]

I think you misunderstood. I'm not suggesting it gives the bowlers as much as the batsmen, rather that it gives our bowlers as much as theirs.

But the point of Test cricket is five days that present an even contest between bat and ball. The perfect Test wicket offers a couple of days where it's better to bowl on and a couple where it's better to bat on....

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

But the point of Test cricket is five days that present an even contest between bat and ball. The perfect Test wicket offers a couple of days where it's better to bowl on and a couple where it's better to bat on....

Well if you're getting results in just under five days then that suggests you've also got the balance between bat and ball about right.

Another wicket...

 

[strider]

Well times change ... this is the new reality, better get used to it

We can bitch about afl, but they are just looking out for their interests and i dont blame them - i played aussie rules on a few grounds with cricket pitches and f**k me it was terrible no matter what the conitions .... maybe weneed to get the government to spend $10b on new dedicated stadiums per sport

 

[Bazal]

Well times change ... this is the new reality, better get used to it

We can bitch about afl, but they are just looking out for their interests and i dont blame them - i played aussie rules on a few grounds with cricket pitches and f**k me it was terrible no matter what the conitions .... maybe weneed to get the government to spend $10b on new dedicated stadiums per sport

Oh I don't blame the AFL, I blame Cricket Australia for being the gutless wonders they have been ever since guys like Sutherland and Howard took the reins.

Realistically they should have said to the AFL "ok, when you guys get 20 thousand travelling English fans, or 10 thousand travelling Indians to an international AFL match at the MCG, then we'll talk about hamstringing our game to accommodate you..."

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

Oh I don't blame the AFL, I blame Cricket Australia for being the gutless wonders they have been ever since guys like Sutherland and Howard took the reins.

Realistically they should have said to the AFL "ok, when you guys get 20 thousand travelling English fans, or 10 thousand travelling Indians to an international AFL match at the MCG, then we'll talk about hamstringing our game to accommodate you..."

What does it matter where the spectators come from? They all pay the same. I would've thought AFL crowds would dwarf cricket overall, even if they're lower on average.

 

[Bazal]

What does it matter where the spectators come from? They all pay the same. I would've thought AFL crowds would dwarf cricket overall, even if they're lower on average.

I would have thought it obvious that the issue was more about international exposure....How much do you reckon Sony sports in India would pay for the AFL? They paid billions for the rights to the cricket...

 

[Suitman]

I would have thought it obvious that the issue was more about international exposure....How much do you reckon Sony sports in India would pay for the AFL? They paid billions for the rights to the cricket...

Cricket is our national game.
AFL is our national shame.

 

[Bazal]

Cricket is our national game.
.

Exactly. Cricket is the heavyweight in terms of Aussie sport. AFL and NRL are small regional pastimes in comparison. So why does CA not have the spine to stand up to the AFL?

They are a very well run business, CA is a shambles and has been for quite some time. I'll never forget them pressuring Andrew Symonds to withdraw his racial abuse complaint so that India wouldn't chuck a tanty and go home (thus costing them money).

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

I would have thought it obvious that the issue was more about international exposure....How much do you reckon Sony sports in India would pay for the AFL? They paid billions for the rights to the cricket...

Fair point. How much of a discount did they get because it's a drop in?

 

[Bazal]

Fair point. How much of a discount did they get because it's a drop in?

None, but they did get 20% off because the BCCI threatened to pull out of a one day tour if they didn't get mates rates...

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

None, but they did get 20% off because the BCCI threatened to pull out of a one day tour if they didn't get mates rates...

So the drop in pitches allow for maximum revenue from cricket and AFL.

 

[Bazal]

So the drop in pitches allow for maximum revenue from cricket and AFL.

Well, until we go back to being ranked 6th in the world because we can't deal with minor ball deviation and people stop paying decent money for Australian home summers.

Dunno about you, but I've not seen anyone paying billions for Sri Lankan or NZ home summers....

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

Well, until we go back to being ranked 6th in the world because we can't deal with minor ball deviation and people stop paying decent money for Australian home summers.

Dunno about you, but I've not seen anyone paying billions for Sri Lankan or NZ home summers....

We'd still be ranked sixth if drop ins were the cause.

 

[Bazal]

We'd still be ranked sixth if drop ins were the cause.

You are very caught up on the drop ins...I'm talking about every pitch in the country. Only three of them are drop ins...

As for the rankings, a home win will move us up, obviously. And then when we get bowled out on green tops on South Africa we'll fall back down again. Did you know India have only ever won 8% of the tours they play away from the subcontinent? Yet they are ranked number one in the world right now. Amazing what 15 home tests will do

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

You are very caught up on the drop ins...I'm talking about every pitch in the country. Only three of them are drop ins...

As for the rankings, a home win will move us up, obviously. And then when we get bowled out on green tops on South Africa we'll fall back down again. Did you know India have only ever won 8% of the tours they play away from the subcontinent? Yet they are ranked number one in the world right now. Amazing what 15 home tests will do

Then what's the problem? Win at home and we'll be fine. As far as this pitch goes, it's so far delivering a decent contest.

 

[Suitman]

We can bitch about afl, but they are just looking out for their interests and i dont blame them - i played aussie rules on a few grounds with cricket pitches and f**k me it was terrible no matter what the conitions ....

It doesn't seem to bother the Swans or the Lions.