Cricket at tipping point - Sky Sports discussion, including Shastri, Morgan, Atherton, Morgan, Pollock, Butcher, Knight

[goose]

There is s 30 min clip on the Sky Sports youtube channel. I can't embed here for some reason, perhaps too long. The discussion took place during a rain delay during an Eng v. RSA one day game. It's a must watch. Great to see Shastri commentating on a series not involving India. I hope all you T20 aficionados are khush. The future is bleak.

 

https://youtu.be/V-vLdpGHGL4

 

[coffee_rules]

Agree with Ravi Shastri, there should and will be more franchise cricket and world cups. Less bi-laterals. Let Test cricket be played in two leagues.

 

 

[goose]

What is sad to hear is an acceptance that 50 over cricket is done. Franchise T20s will prepare you for the T20 world cup but what about the 50 over world cup which is still the pinnacle event in my view. In recent days Ben Stokes retired from the format at the age of 31 and RSA pulls out of a 50 over series with Australia to focus on their own T20 league

[Jay]

1 hour ago, goose said:

What is sad to hear is an acceptance that 50 over cricket is done. Franchise T20s will prepare you for the T20 world cup but what about the 50 over world cup which is still the pinnacle event in my view. In recent days Ben Stokes retired from the format at the age of 31 and RSA pulls out of a 50 over series with Australia to focus on their own T20 league

Well you have money to pay the players? They have families to feel. T20 makes money. Tests do if it's between good teams. Odi don't. It's natural.

[vayuu1]

1 hour ago, goose said:

What is sad to hear is an acceptance that 50 over cricket is done. Franchise T20s will prepare you for the T20 world cup but what about the 50 over world cup which is still the pinnacle event in my view. In recent days Ben Stokes retired from the format at the age of 31 and RSA pulls out of a 50 over series with Australia to focus on their own T20 league

For that to happen we need to ponder upon removing 2 new ball rule,there are certain aspects of cricket which has been nullified because of two new ball,reverse swing being one and other being construction of innings earlier with both these aspects plus spin crowd used to be excited,now its more of extension of T20 i,other thing is discontinuation of using saliva, believe me that too has rendered bowlers helpless, icc needs to do some balance, otherwise too much runfest will ultimately bored people.

As far as odi world cup is concerned why not have a two tier odi league , along with removal of certain rules, other thing which I'd like to see is which was there earlier is batting and bowling powerplay 10 over normal powerplay 5 over batting and 5 over bowling powerplay, which i thought was a wonderful idea 

[rkt.india]

I believe all three formats have their significance. Not all can succeed at T20. Not all T20 players succeed at ODIs or tests. Multiple teams for different formats is the only option.

[rkt.india]

international T20s need to be scrapped. T20 WC needs to be scrapped. It's a useless tournament. 

[goose]

1 hour ago, rkt.india said:

international T20s need to be scrapped. T20 WC needs to be scrapped. It's a useless tournament. 

Agreed. I was fine waiting 4 years for a 50 over WC to come along.

[express bowling]

1 hour ago, rkt.india said:

I believe all three formats have their significance. Not all can succeed at T20. Not all T20 players succeed at ODIs or tests. Multiple teams for different formats is the only option.

 

1 hour ago, rkt.india said:

international T20s need to be scrapped. T20 WC needs to be scrapped. It's a useless tournament. 

 

 

Agree with both.

 

Tests

T20 leagues

ODIs 

 

That should be enough.

[Bigg Brother]

Good discussion but don't agree with this...Franchise Cricket should be the last on the priority list. Cricket can never become successful by going football way. 

 

And all this coming after Stokes' premature retirement makes me cringe. At first even I thought it was good decision but it is not. Why so much noise and discussion after it? Obviously he has made a selfish decision to earn money in T20 leagues.. Actually England Cricket board can't defend this and now coming out in every single way to defend it as some selfless,noble,good decision as his fragile body needed some rest..Oh com'on people in past have played hundreds of ODIs and tests without complaining. It is all in their head.. It would have been noble decision had he retired from LOI altogether but that would have dented his chance earning cash in leagues. ECB is hypocrite,treating Stokes as some kind of devta after Headingley test and Lords Final. They treated KP poorly when he had revolted against scheduling...

Edited July 24, 2022 by Bigg Brother

[sandeep]

7 hours ago, Jay said:

Well you have money to pay the players? They have families to feel. T20 makes money. Tests do if it's between good teams. Odi don't. It's natural.

Shaun Pollock? (not sure which south african it was - I listened to this while driving) raised a good point about ODI cricket and the value it has in terms of player development.  Building innings is not required in T20, which is a hitter's game, not a batsman's.  If you take out ODI cricket, over time, those skills of batting (not hitting) are slowly going to get rarer.  Just like its rare to find test batsmen like Pujara these days.  And eventually, even test match batting is going to be an endangered species.  

 

It may sound plausible, reasonable to just get rid of ODI cricket, but I think the format is a much better 'flavor' of cricket and what it should be, much 'better' than T20 cricket.  

 

I think its a huge mistake to allow the 'exhibition' format of T20, simply because its profitable to take a disproportionate majority share of the cricket calendar - whether its international or bilateral.  Because the reality is that if we just allow its "growth" to go unchecked, it will become the dominant, and only form of cricket in majority of places where its played.  As a cricket fan, I do not view that outcome as a positive.  

[sandeep]

1 hour ago, express bowling said:

 

 

 

Agree with both.

 

Tests

T20 leagues

ODIs 

 

That should be enough.

 

 

if you limit T20 cricket to leagues and keep it out of international cricket - then there's a clear delineation of the fact that its a fabricated format created expressly to cater to max audience and generate profits.  I think that would be the right thing to do.  But national boards are not going to want to just give up the lucrative revenue from "international T20s") especially those boards that don't have a 'league of their own'.  

 

I disagree with a lot of what Atherton says in this discussion, but do agree with his basic point - that there's no organization who has done any sort of long term thinking or planning on the overall cricket calendar and its future for the sport.   People are just going with the flow and allowing the organic growth of T20 leagues to happen as it comes.   At some point, some decision and planning has to happen, else the logical end is that the tail of profits will keep wagging the dog of the entire sport and everything else can get squeezed out.  

 

And while Shastri's right about players legal rights and the inability to defend in court against franchise cricket, I don't think the "football" way is the way I would want to see cricket go.  I think its really unique and good that cricket has so much international competition relative to football.  And we should try to preserve that aspect of it to some sort of a reasonable extent.  In a way its already a bit late, but its high time that some sort of a line is drawn - this far and no more - for T20 and "franchise" cricket to keep creating tournaments and pocketing profits.  The sport, the ICC, the national boards, can and do in fact, have some ability to do this.  

[fatality]

10 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

Agree with Ravi Shastri, there should and will be more franchise cricket and world cups. Less bi-laterals. Let Test cricket be played in two leagues.

 

 

Lol at two leagues for Test Cricket.

This drunken fool shastri has no clue.

if there is relegation and promotion, imagine India or Eng slipping to second league.

 

are they gonna stop playing each other or Australia? Irrespective of relegation.

 

Not gonna happen.

 

ODIs are awesome. T20i cn kiss my arse

[coffee_rules]

1 hour ago, fatality said:

Lol at two leagues for Test Cricket.

This drunken fool shastri has no clue.

if there is relegation and promotion, imagine India or Eng slipping to second league.

 

are they gonna stop playing each other or Australia? Irrespective of relegation.

 

Not gonna happen.

 

ODIs are awesome. T20i cn kiss my arse

ODIs are getting boring, go back 1 ball both sides, your arse or not , T20is and franchise cricket is  the future 

Edited July 23, 2022 by coffee_rules

[Jay]

2 hours ago, sandeep said:

Shaun Pollock? (not sure which south african it was - I listened to this while driving) raised a good point about ODI cricket and the value it has in terms of player development.  Building innings is not required in T20, which is a hitter's game, not a batsman's.  If you take out ODI cricket, over time, those skills of batting (not hitting) are slowly going to get rarer.  Just like its rare to find test batsmen like Pujara these days.  And eventually, even test match batting is going to be an endangered species.  

 

It may sound plausible, reasonable to just get rid of ODI cricket, but I think the format is a much better 'flavor' of cricket and what it should be, much 'better' than T20 cricket.  

 

I think its a huge mistake to allow the 'exhibition' format of T20, simply because its profitable to take a disproportionate majority share of the cricket calendar - whether its international or bilateral.  Because the reality is that if we just allow its "growth" to go unchecked, it will become the dominant, and only form of cricket in majority of places where its played.  As a cricket fan, I do not view that outcome as a positive.  

T20 never interested me whatsoever. I only like the real format. Tests. 

Well there are A tours, domestic tournaments like ranji shields etc to learn the art of building an innings. 

 

Australian pro players participate in shields. 

[Stan AF]

10 hours ago, Bigg Brother said:

Good discussion but don't agree with this...Franchise Cricket should be the last on the priority list. Cricket can never become successful by going football way. 

 

And all this coming after Stokes' premature retirement makes me cringe. At first even I thought it was good decision but it is not. Why so much noise and discussion after it? Obviously he has made a selfish decision to earn money in T20 leagues.. Actually England Cricket board can't defend this and now coming out in every single way to defend it as some selfless,noble,good decision as his fragile body needed some rest..Oh com'on people in past have played hundreds of ODIs and tests without complaining. It is all in their head.. It would have been noble decision had he retired from LOI altogether but that would have dented his chance earning cash in leagues. ECB is hypocrite,treating Stokes as some kind of devta after Headingley test and Lords Final. They tested KP poorly when had revolted against scheduling...

[rollingstoned]

10 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

ODIs are getting boring, go back 1 ball both sides, your arse or not , T20is and franchise cricket is  the future 

some of my fondest cricket memories are watching triangular and quadrangular ODI series in the 90s and 00s. Those have completely disappeared since t20 cricket became a thing. 

[goose]

27 minutes ago, rollingstoned said:

some of my fondest cricket memories are watching triangular and quadrangular ODI series in the 90s and 00s. Those have completely disappeared since t20 cricket became a thing. 

agreed.

[goose]

if anyone has doubts about the cannabalising effect of the IPL and T20 look no further than their take over of the new RSA league and cancellation of the ODI series with Aus.

[Tattieboy]

12 hours ago, fatality said:

Lol at two leagues for Test Cricket.

This drunken fool shastri has no clue.

if there is relegation and promotion, imagine India or Eng slipping to second league.

 

are they gonna stop playing each other or Australia? Irrespective of relegation.

 

Not gonna happen.

 

ODIs are awesome. T20i cn kiss my arse

Listen to the discussion . Shastri never said two leagues of Test teams , he said 6 test teams