Sunday 20 November 2011

How "administrators" are killing Test Cricket.

How much do cricket administrators get paid nowdays?

The current Test "series" in South Africa is symptomatic of how the very people paid to foster Test Cricket are actually killing it . . . okay, that's a big assumption (that they're paid to foster Test Cricket), and I think the IPL experience in India, and Cricket Australia's obscene rush to try to cash-in on similar, do put lie to the concept of fostering anything other than short-term profit, but you know what I mean.

In South Africa, two Test Matches only, so they could fit in two bloody T20 games. Does anyone remember what happened in the T20 matches? Bloody idiots. Once again, the Test matches leave the contrived T20 games in their wake. Yes yes, there are those who like T20 because it's short and non-stop and has dancing girls and music . . . . just like World Wrestling Federation in fact. And Tom and Jerry cartoons (sans the girls and the music). And the Three Stooges . . . . do I really have to say more?.

Back to South Africa: every day, they have to stop the game early due to bad light. Now, I don't know much about the state of meteorology in South Africa, but in most places in the world I've visited, they can tell what time the sun is going down on any given day of the year. And that information can help to determine what time to start a day's play, to increase the chances of getting a full day's play. But what do the South African administrators do? They don't consult their meteoroligists on what time of day the games should start, they consult a much more knowledgeable body . . . the tv broadcasters.

And don't worry, Cricket Australia consults that most knowledgeable body for all sorts of advice on how to run the game in Australia too . . . .

EDIT: the Australia v New Zealand "series", also just two Tests, has also ended in a totally unsatisfactory 1-all stalemate. Can you imagine the drama of a deciding Test in both these cases? I can, I'm sure you can, bloody Blind Freddy's dog can . . . . .like I said, how much do cricket administrators get paid nowdays?

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