Cricket, lovely cricket

[Adam Went]

Steven:

Excellent. Welcome on board.

Kenya and Canada must be filthy that they are in Group A instead of B, they would no doubt fancy playing England as their big chance to notch up a win for the series.

There's just no words that can describe how bad the English cricket team is. Perhaps the ICC should consider kicking them out and replacing them with a team that's semi-decent, eh?

Cheers,
Adam.

[c.d.]

As an American, I know virtually nothing about cricket. How much money do these guys make?

c.d.

[Adam Went]

Hey CD,

The IPL (Indian Premier League) is where all the big money is these days. It's a Twenty20 tournament which runs for about 6 weeks each year, and star players have been known to be "auctioned off" for well over $1 million for a stint in this series. Very few go for less than $200,000-$300,000.

As far as how much they get payed for representing their national teams, i'm not so sure, but it's not as much as in the IPL. They get "match fees", which can be docked if they are fined for misbehaving during a particular match.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Steven Russell]

And if they're a big star, especially in India, there's serious money to be made from sponsorships and endorsements.

Steve.

[c.d.]

[QUOTE=Adam Went;169163]Hey CD,

The IPL (Indian Premier League) is where all the big money is these days. It's a Twenty20 tournament which runs for about 6 weeks each year, and star players have been known to be "auctioned off" for well over $1 million for a stint in this series. Very few go for less than $200,000-$300,000.

As far as how much they get payed for representing their national teams, i'm not so sure, but it's not as much as in the IPL. They get "match fees", which can be docked if they are fined for misbehaving during a particular match.


Hi Adam,

Thanks for that information. By way of comparison, here in America, the highest paid player in the National Football League is Quarterback Tom Brady who makes $18 million per year. That is for a regular season of 16 games.

c.d.

[Adam Went]

Steven:

Yes, very true. Many former cricketers of course go on to have careers in the media and as commentators as well.....

CD:

Have heard of Tom Brady but that's about it. $18 million is some seriously good moolah to be earning, he'd want to be a great player.

You will of course learn much more about the game of cricket if you include yourself in our Twenty20 charity match squad.... ?

Cheers,
Adam.

[c.d.]

Hi Adam,

Last week the negotiations between the NFL owners and the player's union over a new contract broke down. It seems that the owners are not happy that they are only making millions of dollars and the players are not happy that they are only making millions of dollars. Neither side cares about the fans. So now there is a good chance that there will be no football in the U.S come September. Greedy bastards.

c.d.

[Steven Russell]

Didn't something like that happen with baseball once, CD? I can't imagine summer without cricket!

Best wishes,
Steve.

[c.d.]

Yeah, Steve, there was no world series in baseball in 1994 because of a strike. In 1987, NFL players went on strike and the owners used scab players for a few games before the regular players gave in.

To go to an NFL stadium and watch a game you basically have to take out a loan. The prices are absolutely ridiculous.

While prices for baseball games are not nearly as bad, the prices for food and beer are exorbitant. $7 for a beer. Give me a break.

c.d.

[martin wilson]

I dunno whats going on with England, I'm off with the lurgy for a few days and now I find we have a must win against the Windies,how did that happen?
We do have form, when the world cup was held over here,with great razzle dazzle the official England World Cup song was released.
Trouble was we were already out of the tournament by that time.
I'm no use in a cricket match, I can bowl I suppose, but at no great pace and the only thiing the ball does through the air is get even slower with no real guarantee it will reach the batsman.
When I played indoor cricket the ump told me it was the first time he had to no ball based on length.
As for batting,cow corner stuff,and I cant see very well out of my left eye,so anything on leg I 'lose' just before pitching. 'Kin ow!
I am an enthusiastic fielder,diving around all over the place, but if the ball arrives at the same time as my dive it is largely put down to coincidence.
On the money issue, most of it can be explained by the fact that the people who are recieving it,really, really want it.
All the best.

[Adam Went]

CD:

A classic case of the more they get, the more they want, eh? Perhaps they should have a look at their multi-million dollar bank accounts and sponsorship deals, with all their luxuries of life, and the fact that they get all this for playing the sport they dreamed of playing as a child. Then consider the Average Joe working full time for $15 an hour whose only luxury might be coming to see these guys play and have a beer there.....really is very frustrating.

Unfortunately, cricket has gone a bit the same way in recent years, with cricketers preferring their more $$$$ based IPL contracts to playing for national or state teams. I can sympathise with wanting to use your talents to make as much dosh as possible while you have the ability to do it, but the line has to be drawn somewhere!

$7 for a beer? Heh. Try buying one at a nightclub down here....

Martin:

Welcome to the Twenty20 squad!
It really doesn't matter what ability (or lack of) you have as pretty much everyone involved is going to be in the same boat. If (hopefully when) this eventuates, it'll all be about just having a bit of fun and raising some money for a worthwhile charity....

As for your match against the Windies....good luck. The Windies are a bit Pakistan-esque in their inconsistency.

Cheers,
Adam.

[martin wilson]

I will concede that the world cup has the potential for the development of cricket in some of the so called minnow countries.
Consider the success of Ireland and Bangladesh who beat some rubbish team whose name escapes me.
Some little lad,somewhere, might think 'I fancy a go at that' after seeing it on the news,and a world class cricketer is created that otherwise would have spent his time playing with the playstation.
I know this because of the Irish football team, when they beat Romania on penalties during the world cup, loads of kids were out there playing football (and taking penalties,pretending to be David O' Leary).
The Guardian newspaper over here in their Sunday sports section highlight some of footballs iniquities,usually about financial matters, I read recently that the amount of money raised for charity by the England football team is now over £1 million, it seems unbelievable but the amount of money Premiership footballers in total avoided tax on during the 2009/10 season was over £100 million!
Our Geoffrey to his credit has complained long and often about the way cricket is going regarding money, there were quite a few grumbles from the TMS team last year about ticket pricing, getting on for £100 to watch a days cricket.
It will be interesting to se what the take up is for this summers test series as we are now living in austerity Britain.
All the best.

[Adam Went]

Martin:

It absolutely does help the minnow nations. Some of the ones who were present in 2007 weren't present this time around, but Ireland really are a very good team. So are Bangladesh. Zimbabwe are decent as well. Even Kenya put up a good fight against us.

Which is why the ICC is making a blunder of epic proportions in not allowing these nations to participate in the 2015 world cup, limiting it instead to the 10 test playing nations....*yawn* boring. And frustrating for those lesser teams who have put in the hard yards.

Cheers,
Adam.

[martin wilson]

I dont understand the thinking behind that decision, is it that they consider there are too many mismatches under the current format?
Not so, as the minnow countries have had some good results,and its a numbers game, the more success they have,the greater the interest from youngsters wanting to play, therefore the greater talent pool to draw from.
Its maybe premature but I could see ODI's based on geographical zones like rugby does with the six nations, at the moment it would be England,Ireland and Holland and the touring team in a round robin tournament.
The advantage to the ECB would be something they appreciate, money,as it might guarantee full houses from resident and travelling supporters.
It has a bit more interest to me than a 7 match ODI series against the same team, although I confess there is some residual bitterness at losing the last one.
All the best.

[Adam Went]

Martin:

I believe the theory behind it is that the minnow nations gain nothing from constantly being flogged by test playing nations, and having the unnecessary teams only adds to the length of the tournament. The second part is a valid point - however, in every WC I can remember at least, there have been upsets, and it's raised the interest of the game.

I'm going to play devil's advocate here and suggest that the ICC are concerned that with the drop in support for ODI cricket following the advent of Twenty20, and so rather than risk including teams who could potentially cause an upset win in future world cups and hence alienate more supporters of the "superior" nations" towards ODI cricket, they will instead axe them from future World Cup's altogether?

It will actually have the reverse effect and make it quite boring, IMHO....

Cheers,
Adam.