England - Australia (pointless ODI series part 27)

[Lou Grant]

Thank god the Aussies weren't forced to play the mighty Scots, eh?

[JimmyDee]

For English non-cricket fans, only games against Australia show up on the radar.
One day it will ALL be us against them.

ETA If Pakistan had lost to Scotland there'd be snide comments about match-fixing. Luckily for our lot we just assumed they were fucking useless.

[Holden Mcgroyne]

Can’t they afford razors in Australia ?

[Lou Grant]

For English non-cricket fans, only games against Australia show up on the radar.
One day it will ALL be us against them.

But non cricket fans will be so obsessed with the World Cup they won't give a shit anyway.

Today was a perfect example of a meaningless match against an almost B team Australian side that aren't much cop at 50 over cricket. It hardly whets the appetite for 4 more of the bloody things.

In a summer that starts with a series against Pakistan and ends with India, they could've had a tri-series between the 3 sides in the middle, all of which are more dynamic ODI sides than Australia right now. Any India - Pakistan game would generate massive interest, fantastic atmosphere at the grounds, and huge audiences in the sub continent EVEN in the middle of a football world cup.

Even as someone that doesn't like the 50 over game, I'd have been excited for that.

[tennisman]

For English non-cricket fans, only games against Australia show up on the radar.
One day it will ALL be us against them.

But non cricket fans will be so obsessed with the World Cup they won't give a shit anyway.

Today was a perfect example of a meaningless match against an almost B team Australian side that aren't much cop at 50 over cricket. It hardly whets the appetite for 4 more of the bloody things.

In a summer that starts with a series against Pakistan and ends with India, they could've had a tri-series between the 3 sides in the middle, all of which are more dynamic ODI sides than Australia right now. Any India - Pakistan game would generate massive interest, fantastic atmosphere at the grounds, and huge audiences in the sub continent EVEN in the middle of a football world cup.

Even as someone that doesn't like the 50 over game, I'd have been excited for that.

Some of my cricket follows on Twitter have explained that this series should have been next year but with the IPL and World Cup, it would have meant the Aussie team being away for months. A request to play it this year was approved by the ECB.

It's all bollox really, ensuring that they get their pot of cash, presumably.

The problem is that the series has no meaning.

It's not set in any context but just 5 almost random ODI's plonked into the middle of the English season.

[JW90]

We had this a few years ago when Pakistan came over for a three-match series when Zimbabwe and South Africa were touring.

At least we're good at this format to half justify it but it just seemed so flat as England ground out a win tonight.

[Holden Mcgroyne]

Think I spotted a maiden ball then.

England 286-1 in 32 overs.

[AlcoholBrazil]

There is talk of England breaking their own ODI record of 444 today.

[Zambo]

CA are taking the piss here sending over that squad. It looks like they are saying wtf have you dragged us into this meaningless shit, and I agree with them. All very nice seeing the ball soaring into the crowd, but it's not cricket is it.

[Lou Grant]

They were just as shit in Australia.

[AlcoholBrazil]

New ODI record set at 481. Madness.

[kancutlawns]

The mammoth 481 the other day really does emphasise the question “what is the point of this series?” England trying desperately to underscore their credentials to win the World Cup on home soil next summer and plundering as many records as possible in an otherwise dead midsummer when eyes are otherwise on Russia against a demoralised, immature and identityless Australian side who really don’t want to be here.

Reading articles from seemingly experienced pundits of the game following that utter trouncing at Trent Bridge, your think that the best advert for test cricket would be that massacre but as with when we got the previous record in August 2016 against Pakistan, I felt no exhilaration or emotion but just a little dirty and violated that this game has degraded so much that we get entertainment by watching a team of novice pitch the ball up on a flat wicket to watch Bairstow, Morgan and Roy smash six after six. It’s not cricket, it’s just running down the wicket to cunt the ball into the Cow End and not really very skilful.

If this is what the dwindling masses and the media want then fuck them.

Lou, is there anything out the to read which is actually in anyway critical of the way the game’s going? I guess you’re going to point me in the direction of Guerilla Cricket. But is there an any less obscure source?

[Lou Grant]

Guerilla Cricket aren't obscure - they had the official rights for the Ireland - Pakistan test, as well doing the recent WI T20 match live from Lords in the very box where TMS broadcast from. Also half the people working on TMS and related BBC radio cricket shows these days originally started out on Guerilla Cricket.

But they aren't a written media, so you would indeed need to look elsewhere. I don't tend to read about cricket, so I'm not the man to ask. Maybe Tennisman has recommendations. If you want someone who is critical of the way cricket is going, try Jarrod Kimber who writes for Cricinfo and was one of the directors of Death of a Gentleman (the film about the mismanagement of world cricket)

[kancutlawns]

Guerilla Cricket aren't obscure - they had the official rights for the Ireland - Pakistan test, as well doing the recent WI T20 match live from Lords in the very box where TMS broadcast from. Also half the people working on TMS and related BBC radio cricket shows these days originally started out on Guerilla Cricket.

But they aren't a written media, so you would indeed need to look elsewhere. I don't tend to read about cricket, so I'm not the man to ask. Maybe Tennisman has recommendations. If you want someone who is critical of the way cricket is going, try Jarrod Kimber who writes for Cricinfo and was one of the directors of Death of a Gentleman (the film about the mismanagement of world cricket)

Thanks Lou. I wasn’t being critical of CG by the way and I’ll try to read it over the weekend as well as Kember. I was rather disappointed by the glowing testaments of the Trent Bridge ODI especially by Mike Atherton in The Times, a correspondent whose opinions I have a lot of time for. Is record after record being broken and one side losing by nearly 250 runs really good entertainment? I just found it quite shit.

I will say that listening to the ball beng plundered all over the place is actually more worthwhile than watching it. I combined the listening and watching for both the Trent Bridge and the Pakistan ODI in 2016 record breaking matches.

This is a bit of a whinge again but why does Sky Sport think that endless T20 and ODI highlights from the last several years makes worthwhile watching. Surely they can try to mix it up by showing more Test Match highlights.

[Holden Mcgroyne]

We should offer the Aussies a one off 50 over match next year before a 5 game series v Scotland.