The Official Cricket Thread

[fishfoodie]

Just tuned in ...

So SA reverting to shite today then ?

[Rinkals]

Two simple chances dropped (so far).

Miller takes a catch in the deep.

Fortunately, the selectors haven't followed Handyman's advice and dropped him.

[OomStruisbaai]

Just tuned in ...

So SA reverting to shite today then ?

Peak to early.

[OomStruisbaai]

Two simple chances dropped (so far).

Miller takes a catch in the deep.

Fortunately, the selectors haven't followed Handyman's advice and dropped him.

Miller was rusted. Shamsi is in great form

[Sandstorm]

Slow bowling is clean it up the Irish here.

[OomStruisbaai]

Yep. Our spinners have been great in the T20s. Dominate West Indies also.

[handyman]

Two simple chances dropped (so far).

Miller takes a catch in the deep.

Fortunately, the selectors haven't followed Handyman's advice and dropped him.

Yes, we value this important innings vs Ireland. We only need to go big every 15th innings.

[Rinkals]

Two simple chances dropped (so far).

Miller takes a catch in the deep.

Fortunately, the selectors haven't followed Handyman's advice and dropped him.

Yes, we value this important innings vs Ireland. We only need to go big every 15th innings.

I wasn't sure you'd acknowledge your opinion of him.

Good to know that you still think he's shit.

[Sandstorm]

Miller is crap. He’s too inconsistent and makes stupid errors. However our depth is so poor at the moment that we can’t find anyone to replace him either. It’s not good.

[fishfoodie]

I think this role for Ireland; of being the Pre-Tour warmup destination for teams going to England; might work out for us.

We get to see teams when they're a bit rusty, & maybe trying out new players; so we get a proper test for the team; but still have a chance of taking a scalp or two, & building our ranking.

Cant guarantee them all the weather you saffers are enjoying

[Rinkals]

Miller is crap. He’s too inconsistent and makes stupid errors. However our depth is so poor at the moment that we can’t find anyone to replace him either. It’s not good.

Spoken like a true Western Province supporter.

Miller has hauled them out of the shit on a number of occasions.

Admittedly, he doesn't score a hundred every outing, but who does? Even de Kok fails sometimes.

[Rinkals]

I think this role for Ireland; of being the Pre-Tour warmup destination for teams going to England; might work out for us.

We get to see teams when they're a bit rusty, & maybe trying out new players; so we get a proper test for the team; but still have a chance of taking a scalp or two, & building our ranking.

Cant guarantee them all the weather you saffers are enjoying

I hope so.

I think it's probably valuable experience and I think it should be treated as such.

[Sandstorm]

Miller is crap. He’s too inconsistent and makes stupid errors. However our depth is so poor at the moment that we can’t find anyone to replace him either. It’s not good.

Spoken like a true Western Province supporter.

Miller has hauled them out of the shit on a number of occasions.

Admittedly, he doesn't score a hundred every outing, but who does? Even de Kok fails sometimes.

I have no idea which franchise Miller plays for. I have zero opportunity to watch SA domestic cricket, so I don’t give a fuck.

All I can comment on is his Proteas form over the last 2 years and it’s crap.

[fishfoodie]

I think this role for Ireland; of being the Pre-Tour warmup destination for teams going to England; might work out for us.

We get to see teams when they're a bit rusty, & maybe trying out new players; so we get a proper test for the team; but still have a chance of taking a scalp or two, & building our ranking.

Cant guarantee them all the weather you saffers are enjoying

I hope so.

I think it's probably valuable experience and I think it should be treated as such.

It's definitely valued by the coaches & the players themselves; the thought of playing against the greats of the game is the best motivator for any kid, or youth player. Who wouldn't want to test themselves against the greats of the game ?

It's an interesting time for Ireland; because I know from working with multinational companies; that it was 10-15 years ago that they started going on big hiring efforts around the world; & that's when we started to see larger numbers of South Africans, Australians, Indians etc; settling with their families in Ireland. This ended up with cricket clubs being founded in places which were entirely new territory for the game

I'd an Indian friend who living in damn close to the center of Ireland, & taking his 7 year old son to play cricket nearby. It's this 2nd generation that I'm hoping are the next set of player to come thru.

[BnM]

No one watch the 100 then?

[Sandstorm]

No one watch the 100 then?

I tried, but the shiny purple and black scorecard at the bottom of the screen made me car sick.

[handyman]

Two simple chances dropped (so far).

Miller takes a catch in the deep.

Fortunately, the selectors haven't followed Handyman's advice and dropped him.

Yes, we value this important innings vs Ireland. We only need to go big every 15th innings.

I wasn't sure you'd acknowledge your opinion of him.

Good to know that you still think he's shit.

Why wouldn't I? He was crap when I posted it and he's still crap.

I guess provincialism is too ingrained in some of us.

[Slick]

No one watch the 100 then?

I tried, but the shiny purple and black scorecard at the bottom of the screen made me car sick.

It’s not really for me but plenty of folk seemed to be enjoying it

[Insane_Homer]

the game last night was meh.

The format is dumb and the changes unnecessary.

It's T20 with stupid rules made up for no good reason, it's not innovation, it's the cart pulling the horse, bullshit dreamt up by marketing types.

The person who devised on the on-screen scoreboard should be shot.

[Big D]

No one watch the 100 then?

I tried, but the shiny purple and black scorecard at the bottom of the screen made me car sick.

It’s not really for me but plenty of folk seemed to be enjoying it

My 7 year old loves it. Although like me he'd watch any sport.

Vaughan made a good point on twitter, which is a first. Terrestrial TV didn't wasn't the T20 blast with 18 counties. The move from T20 to 100 balls feels a bit gimmicky, but it brings the game down to a duration that can comfortably be shown on the BBC, which I think was the point really.

I think the move to city based teams is a good one, a smaller competition is better for TV audiences when trying to get eyes on the game. The IPL is 8 teams the big bash has 8 too so I think that move is good for one competition.

As a gateway into the longer forms of the game I think it could do a job. Plenty of kids out there have been left with rare games on terrestrial TV, if this gets kids into cricket then great.

The Oval side look pretty handy. Some good bowling options there.

[Paddington Bear]

Marketing clearly isn't designed for any of us but I get the logic behind it. DJ booth could be more offensive than it actually is.

For the cricket - if you like T20 you'll like that. Same players, basically the same game. If an umpire holding up (bizarrely) a card after 5 balls ruins the game for you I suspect you were looking to dislike it.
Having watched both games, I can't escape from wondering that given this is the end product why they went so out of their way to antagonise existing fans? It's really not that bad.

Still think they could have achieved the same result with T20 but there we are.

Just under 2m watched the women's game, which bar the world cup final is the largest TV audience for cricket for a decade or more. Would imagine the men's game was a bit larger.

Still have my reservations but pleasantly surprised so far.

[duke]

I enjoyed last night's game once I had suspended my automatic middle aged outrage at the marketing and presentation. I'll give it a couple more games before dismissing it entirely....

What was interesting was the number of youngsters in the crowd, there seemed to be a large proportion of them really getting into the game which can only be a good thing.

[Sandstorm]

I tried, but the shiny purple and black scorecard at the bottom of the screen made me car sick.

It’s not really for me but plenty of folk seemed to be enjoying it

My 7 year old loves it. Although like me he'd watch any sport.

Vaughan made a good point on twitter, which is a first. Terrestrial TV didn't wasn't the T20 blast with 18 counties. The move from T20 to 100 balls feels a bit gimmicky, but it brings the game down to a duration that can comfortably be shown on the BBC, which I think was the point really.

I think the move to city based teams is a good one, a smaller competition is better for TV audiences when trying to get eyes on the game. The IPL is 8 teams the big bash has 8 too so I think that move is good for one competition.

As a gateway into the longer forms of the game I think it could do a job. Plenty of kids out there have been left with rare games on terrestrial TV, if this gets kids into cricket then great.

The Oval side look pretty handy. Some good bowling options there.

The BBC shows marathon 5 set matches between 2 nobodies every summer and seems to get plenty of viewers.

[Slick]

I tried, but the shiny purple and black scorecard at the bottom of the screen made me car sick.

It’s not really for me but plenty of folk seemed to be enjoying it

My 7 year old loves it. Although like me he'd watch any sport.

Vaughan made a good point on twitter, which is a first. Terrestrial TV didn't wasn't the T20 blast with 18 counties. The move from T20 to 100 balls feels a bit gimmicky, but it brings the game down to a duration that can comfortably be shown on the BBC, which I think was the point really.

I think the move to city based teams is a good one, a smaller competition is better for TV audiences when trying to get eyes on the game. The IPL is 8 teams the big bash has 8 too so I think that move is good for one competition.

As a gateway into the longer forms of the game I think it could do a job. Plenty of kids out there have been left with rare games on terrestrial TV, if this gets kids into cricket then great.

The Oval side look pretty handy. Some good bowling options there.

I'd read that they had done some research with families and the feedback was that 9pm was the latest it should finish to get the kids home etc.

Can't say I massively enjoyed it but something to do when the kids were in bed and the wife out, I'll give it a few more goes. Shame Durham hasn't got a team, I'm sure a few, including me, would travel down for the odd game from Scotland

[Big D]

It’s not really for me but plenty of folk seemed to be enjoying it

My 7 year old loves it. Although like me he'd watch any sport.

Vaughan made a good point on twitter, which is a first. Terrestrial TV didn't wasn't the T20 blast with 18 counties. The move from T20 to 100 balls feels a bit gimmicky, but it brings the game down to a duration that can comfortably be shown on the BBC, which I think was the point really.

I think the move to city based teams is a good one, a smaller competition is better for TV audiences when trying to get eyes on the game. The IPL is 8 teams the big bash has 8 too so I think that move is good for one competition.

As a gateway into the longer forms of the game I think it could do a job. Plenty of kids out there have been left with rare games on terrestrial TV, if this gets kids into cricket then great.

The Oval side look pretty handy. Some good bowling options there.

The BBC shows marathon 5 set matches between 2 nobodies every summer and seems to get plenty of viewers.

You can't make a broadcaster show something they don't want to.

Wimbledon has been pretty loyal to the BBC and vice versa over decades and it fills the day time TV spots well which will sometimes run into the evening on BBC1/2 depending on who is playing. Wimbledon is over a defined 2 week period, an 18 team competition runs for significantly longer. The ECB took the money and ran from BBC to C4 and then to Sky. Now they want to raise participation and "need" terrestrial/FTA TV there needs to be give and take on both sides.

[Big D]

It’s not really for me but plenty of folk seemed to be enjoying it

My 7 year old loves it. Although like me he'd watch any sport.

Vaughan made a good point on twitter, which is a first. Terrestrial TV didn't wasn't the T20 blast with 18 counties. The move from T20 to 100 balls feels a bit gimmicky, but it brings the game down to a duration that can comfortably be shown on the BBC, which I think was the point really.

I think the move to city based teams is a good one, a smaller competition is better for TV audiences when trying to get eyes on the game. The IPL is 8 teams the big bash has 8 too so I think that move is good for one competition.

As a gateway into the longer forms of the game I think it could do a job. Plenty of kids out there have been left with rare games on terrestrial TV, if this gets kids into cricket then great.

The Oval side look pretty handy. Some good bowling options there.

I'd read that they had done some research with families and the feedback was that 9pm was the latest it should finish to get the kids home etc.

Can't say I massively enjoyed it but something to do when the kids were in bed and the wife out, I'll give it a few more goes. Shame Durham hasn't got a team, I'm sure a few, including me, would travel down for the odd game from Scotland

Yeah a Durham team would have been good. Not sure if they are still on the shit list. I think it is easy to complain about the new competition but at least they are trying something.

[Paddington Bear]

It’s not really for me but plenty of folk seemed to be enjoying it

My 7 year old loves it. Although like me he'd watch any sport.

Vaughan made a good point on twitter, which is a first. Terrestrial TV didn't wasn't the T20 blast with 18 counties. The move from T20 to 100 balls feels a bit gimmicky, but it brings the game down to a duration that can comfortably be shown on the BBC, which I think was the point really.

I think the move to city based teams is a good one, a smaller competition is better for TV audiences when trying to get eyes on the game. The IPL is 8 teams the big bash has 8 too so I think that move is good for one competition.

As a gateway into the longer forms of the game I think it could do a job. Plenty of kids out there have been left with rare games on terrestrial TV, if this gets kids into cricket then great.

The Oval side look pretty handy. Some good bowling options there.

The BBC shows marathon 5 set matches between 2 nobodies every summer and seems to get plenty of viewers.

Wimbledon is the pinnacle of it's sport and gets huge viewing figures, has done for generations. Not comparable.

The BBC has, to it's credit, decided to support cricket. Their caveat was that they can't bung up their whole schedule for an evening, which isn't unreasonable. I suspect given the family element of this tournament they also worked out it's harder (though not impossible) to get obnoxiously pissed in two and a half hours.

Speaking as someone heavily involved in the grassroots game, cricket needs this. I'm a county member and have reasonably traditional tastes, but anyone pretending that the pre-Hundred set up was working and inspiring kids into the game is talking out their arse. Willing to give this a try.

Junior numbers are up since the World Cup, if this captures kids' imaginations they really could be on to something. Too early to tell but as I say, early signs are better than I expected them to be.

[Big D]

On a related note. Get Tuffnell and Vaughan off the TV they are crap. I don't think they've really invested the time to understand the concept either.

[Sandstorm]

On a related note. Get Tuffnell and Vaughan off the TV they are crap. I don't think they've really invested the time to understand the concept either.

Word. Tuffnell is always ill-informed and Vaughan just likes talking about Michael Vaughan.

[JM2K6]

I tried, but the shiny purple and black scorecard at the bottom of the screen made me car sick.

It’s not really for me but plenty of folk seemed to be enjoying it

My 7 year old loves it. Although like me he'd watch any sport.

Vaughan made a good point on twitter, which is a first. Terrestrial TV didn't wasn't the T20 blast with 18 counties. The move from T20 to 100 balls feels a bit gimmicky, but it brings the game down to a duration that can comfortably be shown on the BBC, which I think was the point really.

I think the move to city based teams is a good one, a smaller competition is better for TV audiences when trying to get eyes on the game. The IPL is 8 teams the big bash has 8 too so I think that move is good for one competition.

As a gateway into the longer forms of the game I think it could do a job. Plenty of kids out there have been left with rare games on terrestrial TV, if this gets kids into cricket then great.

The Oval side look pretty handy. Some good bowling options there.

Vaughan's talking complete shit. The BBC bid for it back when they thought it was a T20 competition.

[Sandstorm]

Trying to watch The 100 now, but the score graphic is making my anus bleed. I’m out!

[JM2K6]

Yeah all the UI stuff is properly dreadful. Pretty boring game too.

[ScarfaceClaw]

Yeah all the UI stuff is properly dreadful. Pretty boring game too.

It’s graphics from an 8bit 1980s computer game.

[Hal Jordan]

Trying to watch The 100 now, but the score graphic is making my anus bleed. I’m out!

My 70 something mother was less than impressed, and thought the team names dreadfully gimmicky, although she's not really the target market.

[OomStruisbaai]

Weather is good in Belfast. Same pitch. SA to bat first

[OomStruisbaai]

5 changes to SA

[OomStruisbaai]

Dirt trackers getting their chance

[handyman]

Can someone tell our openers that this is a T 20?

[OomStruisbaai]

Proteas won with 49 runs.

[Biffer]

I’m watching the hundred

I feel dirty.