Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams

Me and young Alfie watched the first one he actually sat and watched it which is unusual and I enjoyed it too . The old sinic in me hopes it's not just for tv and it keeps going after the cameras stop rolling , Flintoff seems like a genuine guy but so do most people on tv and I'm sure that's not the case.

 

Just going to watch it. As a sports coach in Primary Schools for 10 years or so trying to get the kids to bowl correctly is the hardest thing in my experience. Even trying to explain the scoring and rules was hard enough. Looking forward to the watch. Saw a minutes highlights other day.

 

For one I said personally and secondly Football although being filled with said drama Queens that fall under the briefest of touches isn’t spread over countless days that could just end at anytime due to rain and Is periodically stopped for pims and sandwiches with the crusts cut off

 

The rule of cricket explained to folk with no experience of the game

• You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.
• Each man that’s in the side that’s in the field goes out and when he’s out comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out.
• When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in.
• When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in out.
• Sometimes there are men still in and not out.
• There are men called umpires who stay out all the time, and they decide when the men who are in are out.
• Depending on the weather and the light, the umpires can also send everybody in, no matter whether they’re in or out.
• When both sides have been in and all the men are out (including those who are not out), then the game is finished.

Footnote
Played cricket when I was a kid using the old round dustbin lid has a wicket and a house brick on its end to balance the lid
I've also played in a charity cricket game or two but in all my 65 years, I've never once been to a ground to watch a game at any level ...watched it a few times on the TV but never been too fussed or that into it that it's a must watch thing ....

 

I think like football and music it has become somewhat the preserve of the upper middle classes, there are of course exceptions, but these days most professional footballers and musicians are not working class, and cricket is the same. In cricket, it does seem most kids joining at county level come from private schools.

 

It's true. Just to back up the point. Two of the schools I coached at for example Upper Denby and Bentley in Donny. One had a local cricket club adjacent to the school and came in to coach a day a week. Some massively talented kids who have progressed to YCCC adademy. Then Bentley kids who didn't know how to hold a bat, catch or the concept of the rules let alone bowl. Because they'd never been shown. Have a game of rounders and they loved it. Essentially the same but in their eyes totally different.

Just watched the first two episodes, really really enjoyed them. Can't wait for the last one.

Ps Adnan will play county cricket at the least.

 

What a talent Adnan was - brilliant bowling action and couldn't half bat. Wouldn't surprise me if a few clubs got in contact after last night

 

What a story too. The resilience he has shown in his life is astounding. And despite all the hardships he has faced he clearly is a very bright and polite young man. Big credit to the lovely couple that fostered him too.

 

Looks like he's at Wigan Cricket club now

 

The World Cup the other year was brill, got a lot of my mates back into it. Seems to come in cycles of when England are doing well (in any rules) though. Like 2005 Ashes first got me into it

 

Doesn't surprise me - looked a natual. Raw talent that just needs a little coaching

 

Upper class bias still there. My mate at uni is grandson of Archbishop of Canterbury who crowned the Queen. He's a member of the MCC - least likely sportsman I've ever seen. Old school tie brigade kicking in no doubt

 

Played loads of cricket at school and club cricket when I was younger.
It was regularly played at junior school where I went because one of the teachers was mad keen.
Watching local cricket nowadays it is obvious the game is not being played as much at school if at all because the level of cricket being played is nowhere near as good as it was in the 70's 80's. Is Football at local level going the same way?

 

I think the hardest part about cricket is knowing what the fielding positions are.

 

It was always football in the winter and cricket in the summer when I was a kid. Every school in Barnsley had a football team and a cricket team, none of this upper class nonsense. I wonder why it's faded away. Is it because schools no longer encourage competition?

 

Bit of a myth that schools don't encourage competition ime. There are school football, netball, hockey, rugby teams. Most schools I know of play cricket. In primaries they often have outside companies come in to do extra curriculum and some people lessons and they'll often do kwik cricket.

 

Wider range of competitive sports now that what we had in school.

 

St Helens Juniors & Infants by any chance? If so Mr Rogerson was the best, great teacher!

 

Affirmative!

 

I firmly believe it's a combination of a few things. 1- the pitch and the preparation it takes to make a game playable. 2- it's obviously played in the summer when kids are off school for 6 weeks of those. 3- the cost of equipment. Pads, gloves, helmets, bats, balls, uniform whites etc. 4- coaching. I could name 100s of football coaches but only a handful of cricket ones. 5- general interest of kids as Freddie has shown through this brilliant series. 6- timing of the games. I gave up playing as worked Mon-Fri then weekends were Sat and Sun from 10am until 8pm. Then I became a dad and jacked it in. 7- Travelling, due to the lack of teams actively operating the distance to travel is far, far greater than for example football. So it's either relying on a good group of parents or providing transport which player sub payments wouldn't even nearly come to cover it.

All sad but true.