hey mate just cuz some of us dont like the slogathon of 20/20 doesnt mean we'd rather cricket died. 20/20 stinks of desperation to me just as the stanford affair did. sports wax and wane, thats just life. 20/20 is the new labour of the sporting world, pretending to save the sick body whilst in fact killing it. the ipl is already fucking up the test schedule. its an ever decreasing circle - nobody outside england (except when thay are playing england somtimes) turns up to test cricket, one day crowds are dropping off - how long before the novelty of 20/20 goes? then what?
At least 60,000 people turn up to the MCG every Boxing Day.
Your memory might be playing tricks on you.
Must have the date wrong though, it must've been the 27th. I recall it was the day of the tsunami, was that the 27th?
Day 2 30,000+, Day 3 20,000. 30,000 is less than half full, so it might feel quite empty, but it's still more than the capacity at Lords.Nope, I remember it clearly
Anyway, it was empty!
The bars at the Oval close during the afternoon now, and they don't let you bring any booze of your own in. It is not too long ago that everyone could bring whatever they wanted into any match.
And it is drawing in new fans, don't doubt it. Attendances are increasing year on year and i don't reckon it's a coincidence county championship attendances have been on the up either. The players love playing it, cricket is now playing to it's biggest ever audiences(avg 11,000 a match in aus, 7,000 here, 58,000 for the IPL), it's fun and it's exciting. You say it's a novelty but i know lots of people including myself who love it and i don't think any of us are stupid enough to be duped into liking something by flashy kits and blasts of 'jump around' and 'song 2' everytime someone hits a boundary... It's goddamn fun to watch.
Stanford smelt of ego, depseration and greed yes, but it's not the same as 20/20 being rubbish, it's not. I know people think it's a gross bastardisation of the game, and if that's the case then their is nothing that can you say other than deal with it. What do they really want to happen, Twenty20 removed from the calendars? A PR coup extraordinaire for all those new fans T20 has made for itself eh?
Anecdotaly i can think of 6 or 7 rugby and football friends who have stated that they can't see the point of longer formats of cricket but who have been tempted down by the slogathon and really enjoyed it. A few of them have subsequently shown interest in longer versions of the great game and one of them memorably even came to a few days of county championship cricket last season too(he didn't take to that as quickly but i have high hopes for him!). And even if they don't catch the bug for the 'proper' format(s), then it's still money into the cricket clubs pockets that is desperately needed and simply wasn't there a decade ago.
Test and county cricket are ultimately where it's at, but i dread to think where they would be without the shorter formats, i really do. No money, no academies, crumbling grounds, poor infrastructure, and it's only recognisable public face, the gurning Geoffrey Boycott. No thanks.
(And pro 40 has always been crap!)
Yes. Gabi got the year wrong - it's the right match.
Sorry, this just isn't true. The last series in SA against Aus was pretty well attended - 50,000 plus over the five days for each match. Yes, matches against England get the best crowds, but in fact, attendance at test matches in Aus is at least as good as that in England. The empty seats are due to the much much larger grounds.
It's already seriously affecting test cricket. New Zealand's only world-class fast bowler, Shane Bond, gave up test cricket for 20-20. Yes, he is notoriously injury-prone, but this decision may have caused NZ to lose 20-odd matches with Bond as their spearhead.I disagree and think you are overstating your case...
Time will tell eh?!
I disagree and think you are overstating your case...
Time will tell eh?!
