Cricket on Sky

It is pure nonsense.

Hemsworth - The coverage on sky is far superior. BUT, with less people watching said coverage, it is killing the game at grass roots level. Do you agree with this statement.

Cricket clubs are folding all over the country. In fact, Barnsley CC have recently merged with Woolley due to dwindling numbers (over simplified extremely for the sake of the argument).

Cricket simply must be shown on terrestrial TV or in 10 years time it will be a shell of what it is now.

 

On the cricket clubs, I think there are too many. JG said there was more cricket clubs in Yorkshire than Australia. I don't think that's a good thing. It spreads the talent too thinly.

I don't think Sky are killing cricket at all but like Vaughan says there are more interests. Although I think the children that are good at cricket will play the sports. It will be the ones that aren't that won't so there will be less cannon fodder about like Flintoff mentioned on the podcast.

I think even he will say that the master classes sky do are class. Even his own children much prefer to watch them than listen to Andrew Flintoff talk.

 

It galvanised the country. They were queuing round the block to get in Old Trafford on the fifth day. It's unprecedented. It was on a par to Bothams ashes. In fact the 81 series is the only other that comes close to 05.

 

It's not about spreading talent too thinly though - it's about young people having easy access to the game. Whether they decided to try and make a career out of it, or just play socially makes no difference IMO.

 

Look it's simple. Any true fan of the sport wants to make sure it continues for the next generation. A 30% + drop in participation in terrifying for any sport or even hobby, as it means there is 30%+ less players to unearth the stars of tommorow from.

The Aussie players are unhappy with their governing body wanting to change the pay criteria, not with their broadcast model, which is giving the top players a huge amount of exposure, which in turn leads to more sponsor money etc.

England are a classic example of the other side of the coin. The Adidas deal was cut short as it wasn't drawing enough revenues for them. Sure, the United mega deal had a barring, but do you honestly think Adidas would have tore it up if it was paying dividend? Do you maybe think that they would have more potential customers( which would mean more money for the ECB) if 8.5 million folk were watching each game, rather than 600,000?

As for '05 not being as important as some other wins. Tha off thi nut pal! The viewing figures speak for them selves, and I'm sure the vast, vast majority of cricket fans will agree, being able to watch the sport with scores of folk that normally wouldn't touch it, was amazing!


Sent from my iPhone using Barnsley FC BBS Fan Forum mobile app

 

I like cricket, don't love it. But the Ashes series of 1981 and 2005 got everyone's imagination for a few short weeks. I've more sports biographies and books related to cricket than any other sport - Botham, Brearley, Boycott, Benaud, Martin-Jenkins and others. Mass interest in 81 and 05, even those who otherwise have no interest in the game. And from that exposure it'll have captured the heart and mind of a few extra kids who've now got cricket as a club commitment, county, or even the national side. I'm convinced that access to sport serves a purpose for social good too.

Sky's coverage is excellent, I couldn't say otherwise, but the BBC and C4 did all I wanted them to do, which is show the cricket. C4 raised the bar, and I loved their commentary team, Sky have taken it further in many ways. But like their football and golf coverage, it can get too technical in nature for me, which doesn't attract the casual viewer. I've not watched much live cricket in the last decade on TV.

My comfort zone with cricket is Test Match Special, a lovely way to keep up to date with the tests whilst working.

The future of cricket, like football, like golf, is at the grass roots level, at clubs with hardworking, selfless people - groundsmen, coaches, catering staff etc. And I'm not convinced by the highly monied atmosphere of the professional game actually helping them survive. I'm an old sports romantic at heart, and just as the sound of pit boots on the path has died out, the sound of leather on willow isn't as prominent as it used to be, unless it's through your pay to view TV service.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk

 

It's different though for different people. The hype lot will say 05 like they go mad more Tennis when Wimbledon's on and be semi-interested in World cups on or pretend they know about athletics when Olympics arrives. watch Horse Racing once a year Hype rubbish.

The people that are interested when it's not the new hype thing will say different I think at least. For me the cricket achievements are away from England. Winning in India's massive.

 

Absolutely bang on - country nearly ground to a halt for the Old Trafford test - people who weren't even bothered about cricket were in to it.

How you can argue that reducing the avenues that people can either watch or engage with a sport help it develop is beyond reason.

What will happen is that it will become the preserve of those who can afford to.


Sent from the darkest recesses of a poisoned mind.

 

Nobody is comparing what achievement is better. You're probably right - winning in India was fantastic. But how many people saw it? How many people did it inspire.

People aren't saying that 05 was the best performance ever. But they are saying that it captured the nation like nothing since 81.

Surely you can see this?

 

But we're not talking about achievements. We're talking about what did English cricket the most good.

The 05 series got English cricket red hot, which led to increased crowds in the county game and more money in sponsorship.

Unfortunately the ECB chose not to capitalise on that long term and have chosen a broadcaster that has literally caused people to turn their back on the sport due to the pay wall.

How much is Sky sports to the average customer? £25 a month? For a lot of folk, that is too steep for the use they get...


Sent from my iPhone using Barnsley FC BBS Fan Forum mobile app

 

I think attendances are up for International cricket in the UK. That's against the trend of international teams.

 

Channel 4 or Bbc aren't ever interested in cricket outside of the UK and Will they ever show the game like Sky do. 540 balls a day live or will they have to show the news or go to the Horse Racing. Sorry but I've seen these terrestrial channels mess up Football. Missed a goal in the Liverpool vs Everton game remember.

 

Question not answered. Subject changed. Waste of time.

Time to log off.

 

There is more to cricket than the England team. It's like my 'told Grandad used to say: "The top decks are the last to feel the rot".

i.e: Sports like cricket will die from the bottom up. First the local village teams will pack in due to lack of players. This will have the knock on effect of town teams going to the wall, due to the lack of players coming through from the village game(Barnsley and Wolley merging is a perfect example of this). This will have the knock on effect of the smaller counties going tits up(see a pattern emerging here), which will mean the player pool for the National team is smaller, which effects the competitiveness, which will affect attendances...

This would probably take years to happen, but if something isn't done now(Getting T20 in the Olympics would be a good start), then I'm afraid that a sport I love and I'm passionate about won't be there for my Grandkids to watch with me while I spowt random crap my my Grandad did with me!.

 

We don't even get the the full Golf coverage when it's on terrestrial TV. 4 hours after the first tee they start showing it.

Or Wimbledon. Sorry you can't watch this match finish after 3 hours because we've to put Eggheads on.

And don't get me started on the Snooker. light years behind Euro sport

 

Where @YTBFC lives is the village I grew up. The team there is still reasonably successful in the local leagues and still has good representation at most age groups. I played for them. Bradford had one of the strongest leagues in English cricket. Most villages had more than one team, Meths, Congs, etc, based on church's and the community. I could walk @YTBFC from home into town now and pass at least 5 ex pitches that are now housing estates. And the best by far is now home to the rugby club. He walked past it most nights pre-BFC employment on his way home from work. I play for Baildon now. Still maintain 4 senior teams and kids of all age groups. But after U15 most don't want to know anymore. It's at that age it loses its appeal. T20 was always a short term fix. Yorks could be the first big club to fold (how much debt???) in the same way some on here secretly hope a Chelsea or similar will go tits up.
@YTBFC is Muff Field still a local club / pitch? Grew up there and played there dozens of times and it still raises a childish smile

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk

 

Who the frigging hell has gone the time or inclination to watch the golf from first ball to last? And are there ANY channels that do this? I know in the recent US majors the first half of the day you get a "featured groups" show, then normal coverage, and thats in the US too. You need to PGA app and pay another $9.99 a month(maybe) to watch every ball...

 

When I was a lad, cricket was on BBC all day uninterrupted. It was ******* brilliant, no adverts, no meaningless over-analysed twaddle from the commentary box. Just cricket and the sardonic illumination of the great Jim Laker and by far the best and most educative commentator of any sport, ever, Richie Benaud.

“Put your brain into gear and if you can add to what’s on the screen then do it, otherwise shut up”.

Almost every lad in my year played the game, although many were only doing so for enjoyment. Interest shot up after the 1981 Ashes and we played for almost six weeks solid during the summer hols. Oh, and Hemmsy - one of the lads who was crap but played for enjoyment went on to father a future first class cricketer.

Great to see Jonny Bairstow showing his immense class tonight despite having to wear that horrendous Stevie Wonder designed kit and being a ginger out in a heatwave!

 

Great win by 9 wickets. Good knock by JB 59 not out.

 

When I talk to my Grandad he tells me about the time they used to randomly go to other things. He tells me all the time about it.