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

[coffee_rules]

2 hours ago, goose said:

agreed.

 

3 hours 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. 

They killed the format by favoring the batsman with wides and free hits. Weird fielding restrictions. The middle overs are still lull and two new balls removed the reverse swing out of the picture. Need some innovations to keep the interest in the game. Franchise cricket and T20s have attracted the ADHD crowd who can’t spend the whole day watch batters maul bowlers. Still the WCs , regional cups and competitive franchise cricket can save the format

Edited July 24, 2022 by coffee_rules

[rollingstoned]

41 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

 

They killed the format by favoring the batsman with wides and free hits. Weird fielding restrictions. The middle overs are still lull and two new balls removed the reverse swing out of the picture. Need some innovations to keep the interest in the game. Franchise cricket and T20s have attracted the ADHD crowd who can’t spend the whole day watch batters maul bowlers. Still the WCs , regional cups and competitive franchise cricket can save the format

Killed finger spin too. Ashwin mentioned it last year in his vlog with that video analyst guy. If monotony and lulls are anyway going to be a part of the game the old one in the middle overs was better imo. 

[Jay]

49 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

 

They killed the format by favoring the batsman with wides and free hits. Weird fielding restrictions. The middle overs are still lull and two new balls removed the reverse swing out of the picture. Need some innovations to keep the interest in the game. Franchise cricket and T20s have attracted the ADHD crowd who can’t spend the whole day watch batters maul bowlers. Still the WCs , regional cups and competitive franchise cricket can save the format

i want to be entertained. i need to see hostile bowling. i need to see fast bowlers or fast medium whatever bowl and try to intimidate batsmen. hostility is what entertains me. its a blood sport. Making odi too batting friendly has ruined the format for me. i prefer low 200-250 scores as winning targets. All this field restrictions, power play bullshit, 2 new balls has killed the odi format. 

 

i always preferred tests anyway. thats where i get to see the maximum hostility from fast bowlers. You need to battle hard vs top bowlers for extended periods as a batsman. I like to watch 360 degree type hitters operate too. Someone like buttler, pant etc when they are in form. i feel like watching paint dry would be more fun than watching ghujara strut around like a moron with his 15 SR. 

[putrevus]

 Jaishankar's statement of Euro centric is very applicable here.

 

 Odis will always remain popular in sub continent crowds. India will always attract crowds in short formats. They will also find players who will be interested in playing white ball cricket and red ball cricket.

 

They started two new ball nonsense to curb spinners and reverse swing mostly to favour England in 2011. 

 

Nonsensical debate based on experiences of one or two players. There won't be too many players who could play all three formats well. So question of player's burning out will be not a factor.

 

ODI cricket is still about skill of bowler and batsman.

 

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by putrevus

[sandeep]

5 hours ago, goose said:

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.

There's a lot more subtext to that - Aus screwed over SA during their last tour, and there's an element of quid pro quo, and the reality is that SA are late to the T20 league party, and desperately need it to keep their balance sheet healthy.  Its a one-off but can and may be a harbinger of things to come unless the ICC and the cricket boards wake up and make it a priority to protect ODI cricket.  Right now the financial incentives are not in favor of it - and there's a player workload argument 'against' it as well.  But these are all issues that can be managed.  

 

Problem is, who in power is out there advocating to protect ODI cricket? Nobody.  Players are going to be focusing on pay-days, boards are fixated at profits, and nobody is at the helm of cricket overall as a sport.  Even the ICC, is a corrupt feckless organization that occasionally makes the right noises, but ultimately only focuses on $$$ and tamely following diktats of whatever power sub-group happens to call the shots at a given point in the ICC power structure.  

 

All we can do is hope that Ganguly or whoever heads the BCCI after him, strongly and publicly comes out in favor of protecting ODI cricket for the future.  

 

And losing or marginalizing the ODI format is a real threat to the game.  Think beyond just India or established countries for a moment - Majority of Associate nations can never afford domestic setups that play 4 day cricket - ODI is their default 'long' format.  If t20 cricket succeeds in pushing out ODI to the margins of white ball cricket, you're talking about a complete change to the nature of the sport.  And T20 hitting is good, but it doesn't really require quality batting or even quality bowling.  Its a very different "reductionist" version of the sport.  I don't know about others, but I certainly don't want cricket reduced to that.  

[putrevus]

You don't have to play 400 odis in year like it was in 90s. It was gluttony for odis which are seeing in t20s these days.The hagemony of Australia and England has to end for cricket to prosper.Only those two countires have set calendars and still dicate most things in Cricket.

 

Each team playing 10 to 15 0dis/per year will be good for the health of the game .

 

England and their media has to stop acting as if they are guardians of  the game.

[Need4Speed]

I dont know if I am qualified enough to give any meaningful advice but as a cricket fan I can say what I feel:

I like Test cricket..do whatever to save it..and keep it competitive and high quality..

I used to like odi as it involved art of building innings,showing temperament,shift gears..etc..

but with these 2 new balls rule..and english cricket going bang bang seeing that..it seems to have made odis less interesting for me..please remove 2 new balls and bring back reverse swing in odi

T20 is exciting and I watch franchise cricket too but I dont feel supporting any franchise team I just see for new Indian orospects and not interested who wins or lose.

I will support T20 for India but dont want corporates dominating cricket…I am against too much of franchise cricket..

 

I am also hating cricket becoming more of a power game..I will prefer skilled batsmen as compared to power batters..unless he hits with skills..

 

sky playing 360 cricket with great wristwork is such a joy as compared to livingstone just smacking it..

[putrevus]

2 minutes ago, Need4Speed said:

I dont know if I am qualified enough to give any meaningful advice but as a cricket fan I can say what I feel:

I like Test cricket..do whatever to save it..and keep it competitive and high quality..

I used to like odi as it involved art of building innings,showing temperament,shift gears..etc..

but with these 2 new balls rule..and english cricket going bang bang seeing that..it seems to have made odis less interesting for me..please remove 2 new balls and bring back reverse swing in odi

T20 is exciting and I watch franchise cricket too but I dont feel supporting any franchise team I just see for new Indian orospects and not interested who wins or lose.

I will support T20 for India but dont want corporates dominating cricket…I am against too much of franchise cricket..

 

I am also hating cricket becoming more of a power game..I will prefer skilled batsmen as compared to power batters..unless he hits with skills..

 

sky playing 360 cricket with great wristwork is such a joy as compared to livingstone just smacking it..

We want skill to remain a big part of the game.If it is just brute power, it no longer remains an interesting game to watch.

 

We have seen in Hockey where great artists like Mohd Shahid are extinct now. Hockey has become just a power game and for penalty corner specialists.

[Austin 3:!6]

Lets be honest, Ben Stokes is bit of a Dramebaaz and for some reason world cricket likes to suck upto him.

 

He was the guy who took a long break citing mental health issues and everyone started talking about mental health break from cricket. Now he retired from ODIs and suddenly ODIs are irrelevant? LOL

 

Apart from being overhyped, Stokes is also a selfish player. England plays 7 ODIs only up until 2023 WC...how much toll it would take on his body? He could have easily played these 7 games and helped Eng in 2023 WC. But no..since he already won the world cup...he want to preserve his legacy and don't give two hoots about England.

 

Eoin Morgan was not pleased with Stokes in that Sky episode. Ben didnt play IPL, didnt play hundreds, didnt play T20 WC...ECB wrapped him in cotton wool for English summer and he is still finding work load too much.

 

Check Jonny Bairstow's interview with Sky. He plays in all formats + IPL + hundreds and still says every format is important and he loves representing England in all of them.

 

Why should we not listen to players like Bairstow and gives so much importance for entitled drameebaz like Ben Stokes?

 

ODI cricket is one of the best format and should go no where. Ben Stokes can go home though.

 

 

[prasen82]

Legalize ball tampering. Make boundaries minimum 75 yards.

Encourage substitution and limit powerplay to max of 10-15 overs.  Limit count of  ODIs and tests on a team level. Have ODi world cups once in 2 years and T20 world cups also the same . Have them in alternate years .

 

Test championships 

 

Once in 3 years . Keep a round robin format with 4 teams . Depending on points leader will have 3 home games, 2nd team will have 2 home games and last ranked teams will have 1 home game. 

 

For tests make it a max of 175 overs per side. They can split the overs depending on the situation. Say the first day the ball is swinging a lot . The team can declare after 30 overs and make the second side bat . That way in 3rd innings the team can have around 135 overs to play.