The Cricket Thread 2016

[peter w]

Other than England's nonsense tournament I haven't really got into this tournament. It's just been a blown up 20/20 with fielding restriction changes and small boundaries designed to tip the balance to bat from ball in a big way. it may be the only way to protect test match cricket in making any other format a slogfest. It also means that for us to be successful we have to jump on board the horrible 20/20 train and play in the IPL, Big Bash, and the caribbean 20/20. It will affect our season but counties are dying anyway. Cricket as we know it is dying.

[PaulWinch again]

Yeah i'm not too impressed they need to redress the balance towards the bowlers again.

[tomd2103]

Other than England's nonsense tournament I haven't really got into this tournament. It's just been a blown up 20/20 with fielding restriction changes and small boundaries designed to tip the balance to bat from ball in a big way. it may be the only way to protect test match cricket in making any other format a slogfest. It also means that for us to be successful we have to jump on board the horrible 20/20 train and play in the IPL, Big Bash, and the caribbean 20/20. It will affect our season but counties are dying anyway. Cricket as we know it is dying.

It's the times of the games that have made it very difficult to follow.  Also, it just goes on far too long and the format needs to be revised. 

The problem is that we need a properly structured domestic season and play tournaments in blocks rather than stretch them across the whole summer. 

As for cricket dying, I can see some countries giving up on test cricket in the future.     

[paul_e]

Compressing the domestic tournaments down to much smaller windows would be better.  The championship needs to stay largely unchanged but the 40 over stuff should be played out much quicker and even the T20 could do with being streamlined.

As I've said previously England needs players to join the international T20 tournaments to learn how to bat and bowl in different conditions.  That clearly has the knock on effect, as we've seen this world cup, of addressing a number of our faults in ODI cricket and means the coaches, etc can concentrate much more on the test players and on using those short format skills in the long format game.  It's not cricket as we knew it but by trying to deny it's happening we end up being left behind.  Adapt or die I'm afraid.

[Chris Jameson]

Lyth has just completed a century for Yorkshire against the MCC in whatever far off place they are playing. Cook was out for 3.

[PaulWinch again]

Good to see Cook's form is improving....

[tomd2103]

Compressing the domestic tournaments down to much smaller windows would be better.  The championship needs to stay largely unchanged but the 40 over stuff should be played out much quicker and even the T20 could do with being streamlined.

As I've said previously England needs players to join the international T20 tournaments to learn how to bat and bowl in different conditions.  That clearly has the knock on effect, as we've seen this world cup, of addressing a number of our faults in ODI cricket and means the coaches, etc can concentrate much more on the test players and on using those short format skills in the long format game.  It's not cricket as we knew it but by trying to deny it's happening we end up being left behind.  Adapt or die I'm afraid.

Totally agree Paul.  I personally don't see there being a need for four day cricket to continue after the summer test series have finished.  If we could condense the summer international season a little more (personally I would have one day internationals before the test series to generate more interest in them) and maybe have test series at the end of May, tri-team one day series with two touring teams and then the main test series, we could easily have things finishing by August, giving plenty of opportunity to fit a tournament in then. 

First port of call should be reducing the number of domestic T20 teams and fitting a tournament into a window where internationals from both home and abroad can play.     

[JD]

Go the Kiwi's and go Baz. 71 off 5 overs against SA and McCullum already over 50. This is mental.

[PaulWinch again]

NZ are in massive trouble now.

[Villan For Life]

It's building to an interesting climax. I wish I was working from home today!

[PaulWinch again]

Absolutely incredible and I'm delighted NZ get to the final. Well played South Africa though, that wasn't choking.

[ADVILLAFAN]

I was keeping up with the score on Cricinfo, very dramatic.

I was thinking 'one more boundary' and then it said 'match over, six'.

Well done New Zealand, they and India have been the best sides in the tournament so far.

[Chris Jameson]

First match I've really been able to watch, what a game!

[aj2k77]

Other than England's nonsense tournament I haven't really got into this tournament. It's just been a blown up 20/20 with fielding restriction changes and small boundaries designed to tip the balance to bat from ball in a big way. it may be the only way to protect test match cricket in making any other format a slogfest. It also means that for us to be successful we have to jump on board the horrible 20/20 train and play in the IPL, Big Bash, and the caribbean 20/20. It will affect our season but counties are dying anyway. Cricket as we know it is dying.

This for me. Seeing a batsmen smash a century or scoring at 2/3 runs a ball can be an awesome sight, the bowlers just not knowing what to do and the brutal mayhem but seeing it happen almost every game has turned it into a slogging damp squib for me, 300 totals after 300 totals, endless 6's. It's like a football match that ends up 5-4, incredible, but if it happens 30 matches a season...yeah not for me.

[bertlambshank]

Missed the last 2 overs radio 4 Long Wave went to morning prayers.Utter twats.