Contents:
Part 1 a b c d e f g h
Part 2 a b c
Part 3 a b c d e f
Conclusion

Part 1: What to achieve

By dint of coincidence, the (arguably) best two teams in both baseball and cricket faced off in 7 game series this week. But in a year with a bit over 350 internationals, IPL and champions league games, the cricket series has been widely derided as meaningless over-kill that will injure and burn-out players, media and fans alike.

Yet, in spite of their being some 2454 games preceding the World Series no baseball writer has written that there is "too much baseball". And they'd be right, because there isn't, and nor is there too much cricket. In fact, in comparison to most sports there is nowhere near enough cricket, with few cities hosting their local (national) team on more than a dozen days a year.

What there is, is too many trophies. While even a trophy-laden football season is limited to half a dozen competitions, the Australian team will plays for twenty or more a year, mostly in short, meaningless, bilateral contests forced upon them by the Future Tour Program. Judging by the sounds from the ICC, players bodies, the media, fans, and just about everybody else, the consensus is that something must change. The question is how, and more specifically, what do we want the future structure of domestic and international cricket to achieve?

a) It should be amenable to international expansion

b) All players should have the opportunity to play at the highest level

c) It should expand the professional playing base

d) Games and series should be meaningful

e) Marquee (profitable) tours must be preserved

f) For each format, there should be some sort of world championship

g) Regional rivalries should be built upon

h) Domestic and international cricket need clearly defined windows

I'll leave that here and come back to them, because each point is worth exploring in more detail.

Cricket - Manifesto 5th November, 2009 09:01:16   [#] 

Comments

Hello!
Wery good!
Alex  24th August, 2010 01:35:27