Champions Trophy 2017 (contains spoilers)

[Stephenite]

It was almost getting exciting there for a moment.

 

[srw]

That's not much of a spoiler!

 

[Stephenite]

I was hoping some cricketing types would latch on to the thread to impart some of their wisdom.

I followed the match today when i could and it seemed me that Bangladesh got up quite a bit of a score, enough to give the english a scare, but then unravelled a bit towards the end. England came into bat, and stumbled at the first hurdle. The chase was on (hence the 'getting exciting' comment above) but then England appeared to romp home to an easy victory. (Hurrah!)

Was Englands victory ever, at any point, in doubt today?

 

[Hugh Manatee]

It was a very flat pitch according to TMS. I think the contest between bat and ball has swung too far in favour of the bat.

 

[Stephenite]

It was a very flat pitch according to TMS. I think the contest between bat and ball has swung too far in favour of the bat.

No, Bangladesh posted a score but not enough of one by about 30-40 runs.
England's batsmen paced it comfortably, never letting the asking rate to get over 7.5. The beer was pish as well.

Thanks. These are the kind of insights i'm after.

 

[MikeG]

It was a very flat pitch according to TMS. I think the contest between bat and ball has swung too far in favour of the bat.

Well, with 40 yard boundaries, bouncer restrictions, crazily tight definition of wides, bats the size of railway sleepers, and on and on, the balance between bat and ball which makes proper cricket so fascinating has been so permanently skewed in one day cricket that it wouldn't surprise me to see the umpire's job morphing into feeding balls into a bowling machine and human bowlers become a thing of the past. I haven't watched a one day match for years and years, and the pub slog that passes for cricket under the name T20 .........I haven't seen a ball bowled in 10 years. This from someone with about 250 first class matches and some huge amount of so-called List A appearances in his CV.

 

[Stephenite]

OK, so the beer was Kingfisher or some Guinness golden ale.
The camera on wires thing suspended from the floodlights, that scoots about must be a bit of a distraction for the players and umpires.
Bangladeshi cricket supporters tend to be very small.
Their anthem is interminable.
England might come to regret failing to beat Bangladesh by a bigger margin.
The two blokes who paid the tout £60 for the spare tickets that he bought from us for £20 really resented it.

Now you're talking.

 

[Beebo]

Well, with 40 yard boundaries, bouncer restrictions, crazily tight definition of wides, bats the size of railway sleepers, and on and on, the balance between bat and ball which makes proper cricket so fascinating has been so permanently skewed in one day cricket that it wouldn't surprise my to see the umpire's job morphing into feeding balls into a bowling machine and human bowlers become a thing of the past. I haven't watched a one day match for years and years, and the pub slog that passes for cricket under the name T20 .........I haven't seen a ball bowled in 10 years. This from someone with about 250 first class matches and some huge amount of so-called List A appearances in his CV.

Are you Mike Gatting?

 

[srw]

Are you Mike Gatting?

No. Gatting is much fatter.

 

[MikeG]

Are you Mike Gatting?

No, although I played against him many times.

 

[srw]

No, although I played against him many times.

That sound you can hear? It's the cricinfo databases being hammered as people try various search terms.

 

[MikeG]

Yeah.........well it won't be hard to find me, but I'll take a dim view of anyone posting it in public.

 

[MikeG]

Sorry if that sounded overly harsh, but I posted on here a while back about my daughter being raped, so I'm rather keen to preserve her anonymity. I hope you understand.

Now, back to the "cricket".......

 

[Dayvo]

Well, with 40 yard boundaries, bouncer restrictions, crazily tight definition of wides, bats the size of railway sleepers, and on and on, the balance between bat and ball which makes proper cricket so fascinating has been so permanently skewed in one day cricket that it wouldn't surprise me to see the umpire's job morphing into feeding balls into a bowling machine and human bowlers become a thing of the past. I haven't watched a one day match for years and years, and the pub slog that passes for cricket under the name T20 .........I haven't seen a ball bowled in 10 years. This from someone with about 250 first class matches and some huge amount of so-called List A appearances in his CV.

I fully agree. As someone who is cricket mad (yeah, I know, I live in the wrong country) I played in the back garden from as soon as I could walk, played in the Essex Senior League (Brentwood) for 18 years, and in Stockholm where I played my last game at the age of 44 I could watch three- or four-day county cricket and Test cricket almost anywhere as long as the weather was good, there was an abundance of sarnies in my bag, some knowledgeable cricket lovers sitting nearby and some decent real ale available in the bar/ pavilion/beer tent.

I spend 3-4 months most winters in India and all they talk about is T20. As entertaning as it is, it's just not cricket. Unfortunately, that's where the money is, so clubs, players, (young) fans and members pay their money and get entertained and unfortunately, white-clothed cricket will/is suffering.

Your identity is safe with me.

 

[nickyboy]

I fully agree. As someone who is cricket mad (yeah, I know, I live in the wrong country) I played in the back garden from as soon as I could walk, played in the Essex Senior League (Brentwood) for 18 years, and in Stockholm where I played my last game at the age of 44 I could watch three- or four-day county cricket and Test cricket almost anywhere as long as the weather was good, there was an abundance of sarnies in my bag, some knowledgeable cricket lovers sitting nearby and some decent real ale available in the bar/ pavilion/beer tent.

I spend 3-4 months most winters in India and all they talk about is T20. As entertaning as it is, it's just not cricket. Unfortunately, that's where the money is, so clubs, players, (young) fans and members pay their money and get entertained and unfortunately, white-clothed cricket will/is suffering.

Your identity is safe with me.

That's where the money is because that's what most spectators want to watch.

Each to their own but I think T20 is great and it has revitalised the One Day game that was dying on its feet. I'll watch Test cricket but please spare me 3-4 county cricket.

Anyhoo....watching the telly waiting for the rain to stop in Birmingham. Hope they get a result