Latest / Death by Multimedia / Episode 172: How to Destroy Cricket in T20/6ixty/The Hundred Easy Lessons

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Episode 172: How to Destroy Cricket in T20/6ixty/The Hundred Easy Lessons · Death by Multimedia

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This is thoughts from the metal cabin, where only one opinion
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matters, and it's not yours. Good ID has your day been
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mine's. Probably been the same.
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But seeing as you have bothered to go to your podcast provider
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and choose this podcast to listen to, I guess I better
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expand on the day and hand. So this is what I found
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interesting in the last day or so, this is the almanac report
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on thoughts, from the middle cabin.
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G'day there and thanks for tuning in.
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Coming out of the two years of covid cricket has managed to
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survive reasonably well, but it looks as though now the world
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bodies are looking for a way to recoup all of their monetary
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losses and that revolves around the bastardize form of the game
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T20 cricket. And the danger of over
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proliferation of this less Cricket part of the sport is
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already will at hand and is a threat to everything that I love
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about the game. So, let's discuss.
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Why? First point is the IPL, the
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Indian Premier League. Now, this already has created a
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massive black hole in cricket coverage in Australia because
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the majority of the matches start at about midnight on the
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East Coast Now, the IPL currently runs for about two
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months, it ran this year from March 26th through to May 29.
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Now that is a lot of days where they play cricket.
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Every day, one game at midnight and yet there's nothing else on
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because the IPL have this current window in the cricket
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calendar, which allows them to draw players from all over the
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world. To come and play because in
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theory their countries don't have any International
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commitments. Well, now the BCCI wants to
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extend this. So the next the next five-year
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period of international cricket is about to be drawn up.
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And India are going to ask the ICC, which let's face it.
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India basically runs anyway for a two and a half month official
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window in the calendar. Set aside for the IPL.
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Nicole's the IPO. They want all the best players
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in the world so that they can showcase this wonderful game of
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these to the Indian people, and make as much money as they do.
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The problem I have with it is apart from the length of the
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competition and the fact that it takes up two months now, where
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there's no international cricket.
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And that they, they take all the best players in the world to be
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a part of it. Is that they won't allow any
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Indian plays to go to any of the other 72 also. 220 domestic
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tournaments that run throughout the world at different times
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from the IPL. So they want their cake and
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they're going to eat it too and then they're going to scrape the
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bowl and then they're going to run their finger across the
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plate and they're going to lick off the icing and they're going
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to ask for another cake as well, which they will also eat.
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Now, Indian officials have said that, they will meet all of
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their bilateral commitments in the next the next series of
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international calendar but it would mean most likely that at
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the same time as they're playing a test series somewhere, they'll
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be playing an ODI or 220 series somewhere else against a
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different Nation. So that means that they will
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have a necessity for two completely different squads
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going forward. Now that's fun.
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If your India, and you have a billion people and you can
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choose people from, but how does that work for other countries?
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By trying to increase and implemented window, it means
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that India are going to put a halt to all international
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cricket during that period. Which as of just sort of said,
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puts pressure on the remaining months of the calendar to get in
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the domestic and international cricket, that would normally be
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played. Now the players are unlock the
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dick Ribble because they're getting paid a matzo, and many
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of them. There are quite a few
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Australians over. There are picking up 50 to 100
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Grand, just for sitting on the bench and not even playing a
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game. But with almost a quarter of the
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Year taken up by one tournament, that is an Indulgence for one
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country and despite the record deals.
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Done for televised rice just completed last week where
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they've doubled or tripled the previous rights for the IPL.
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For me. And for most Australians it's
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still unwatchable wife are majority of us because it's on
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at the wrong time of night and it's further proof in the long
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run that all that matters in world cricket is what's good for
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India. So what's the next part of this
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debacle that is destroying Cricket?
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You may ask in a slightly cynical fashion Let's talk about
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the hundred. So in England, the country that
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initially invented T20 cricket as a way to pass a summer
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evening during the week. In the Twilight, they may have
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been slow from that point on to build on its franchising
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success. That happened pretty much
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firstly in Australia and then in India but they are moving
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swiftly, now to chase that and to change that.
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They still have their 220 Vitality blast going on for
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their County teams. Although all of these can t seem
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to have several Imports brought in to boost their stocks for
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this tournament, as a way of increasing, what people watching
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the game or the chance of winning.
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I don't know. But of course, they now have the
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newest prize, the hundred where they have franchises for both
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men and women that are based in cities rather than being the
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old-fashioned counties. And I've changed several of the
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conventions of cricket in order to make it just different
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enough, that people might think it is worth watching in short.
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There's just a hundred balls per Innings, of course, that's 25
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ball overs they do. Except of course, their awards
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are noble. So there's no such thing as an
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Innings going for any 100 Balls. A baller, it certain times can
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ball to. I was in succession, which, of
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course is not in the rules of cricket.
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The only challenge ends after every 5 hours, theoretically, in
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order to increase the pace of the game but that doesn't seem
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to work either. And there are several other
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changes that really just confuse people rather than enhance the
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game, they have a fancy little countdown school board on the
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screen but in the end it's still a shortened game.
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And that they hope has big hitting and close finishes.
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So does it enhance Cricket? Or does it provide a better
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contest or improve anything to do with the game?
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Now your opinion May differ from mine, but my thoughts are no.
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For us in Australia. Once again the games are played
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and broadcast in the early hours of the morning.
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So there is little to no excitement of the tournament
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here and in theory, that's the way it should be.
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It should be the country of origin.
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Should be jumping behind it and loving it rather than other
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countries having to tune in. But of course it's different, he
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for the hundred in that, there's no windows set aside for
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international cricket. The 100 has to go on Well,
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England continued to play Internationals at the same time
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because it's the middle of the summer.
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So this is different from the IPL in that the IPL has its own
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window with. I can encourage people to come,
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whereas the hundred doesn't have that.
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And, of course, no Indians are allowed to play it anyway.
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And this is part of the problem was discovered by the ECB last
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summer because because it's occurring in the middle of their
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summer. There is no first-class cricket
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being played to help players prepare for a possible test
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caller. And as well as this if you are
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not involved in the tournament, you sitting around for a month,
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twiddling your thumbs. So it's really last season was
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the first one, obviously was supposed to play the season
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before but covid, stop that. So England are now finding that
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they need to make some changes. Now, this English summer, 100
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will be run and won all the way through August.
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I think it's August 3rd through to September 3rd and it'll be
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done and dusted in a month. So, So in that way, at least
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English Cricket will still have its summer of county cricket and
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test cricket and one-day Cricket with just this little bubble in
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the month in the for a month in August stopping them, having the
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full bangers of all their players.
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So we have the IPL, we have the hundred earlier today.
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The West Indies cricket board has announced the 60 and that's
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with a six at the front instead of an S, the 6000 Cricket, God's
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help us. So, Well, T10 Cricket has become
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prominent in Europe with the European cricket league for
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anyone. Who's watched that.
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It's great for a laugh and makes everyone believed that they
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could still play international cricket.
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If they can just get a passport, this is the first board back to
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Ten Tournament to come into being.
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So what are the twists and what is the theory behind having
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this? Well, they're going to change
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the rules to a certain degree and in such That that we five
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overs bowl from one end, before switching, and then having five
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hours at the other end. So, again, this is more a time
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restraint thing to try and stop so much wasted time going on.
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There's a floating power player that can only be accessed if two
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sixes are hittin the initial to over power play.
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So if 26 is a hit in the first two overs, then you'll get
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another chance to have another, over a power play.
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Sometime during those remaining eight overs, There are only six
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wickets per Innings, not 10. It's still 11 players are side
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but only six wickets will be allowed to fall set of 10
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innings. And if the 10 overs are not
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complete in 45 minutes, terms will lose a fielder for the
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remaining overs they have to bowl in their innings.
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Now this whole 60 tournament will be played over just five
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days so you can imagine that there will probably be two or
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three games every day, maybe more, maybe the before, I don't
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know. And the idea apparently is to
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have this as a floating competition that have this four
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times a year, the three would be played in the West Indies at
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maybe three-month periods and then one elsewhere.
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Now obviously the first Are you would think of the perhaps they
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want? Try and play.
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This would be in the u.s. being so close to the West Indies and
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in order to try and grab the attention of any citizens in the
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US, who may think that possibly watching Cricket?
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Could be exciting if it's 10 hours aside?
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Now, for look, for me, this isn't Cricket at all.
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I mean, it's all it's going to be is a slap Fest and I don't
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think it's going to be particularly exciting myself.
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And indeed, we are now coming closer to what the sportsbet
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guys, predicted, three or four years ago, when they decided
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they were going to start Cricket 0.1.
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And that each game would go down to one ball per innings.
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At the time, it was funny and hilarious.
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And now it just seems like it. It's the truth coming true.
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And now we come to Australia and yesterday, the booby all has
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decided to introduce a draft, the International Players.
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Now the marketing Geniuses at Cricket Australia, have
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proclaimed that it is. The biggest and most exciting
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phase to occur since the introduction of the BBL.
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But I mean, who they really kidding?
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Their hope is that by having a draft with four different tiers
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and by contributing to players salaries to top them up from
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what the club's can afford on their salary cap that Cricket
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Australia will be able to attract more of the better and
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high-profile players in the world to come to Australia and
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compete in the bill. Even if it isn't for the whole
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season. So it's there's a number of
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reasons why this isn't terrific in my opinion even though it's
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being pushed out there has been just fantastic.
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I think for those clubs that have not recruited well in
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recent seasons in regards to International Players to me just
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looks like they will now have a chance to poach another club's
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players that they've had for some time and that they have
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rooted and found and brought into their team and have worked
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really well for them. And now there's a possibility
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that they will have to go to another club.
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Now there is a card that you can play a recruitment card saying
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if you come along to one of the players who's played for you
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last season and another troughton tries to poach them,
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then you can say, no, I'm going to keep that player but you can
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only do that once. So given that every team has had
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Three international players on their roster last year and need
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the same. Again, this year, there's only
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one that you can absolutely positively guarantee of
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retaining in this situation and that to others could well go
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somewhere else. So if you look at the Sydney
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sixes for instance and they particularly recruited well with
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international players over the last few years with James,
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Vince, Tom Curren, Carlos, brathwaite and Jason I'll adjust
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some of the recent competition. We need choices.
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So when it comes to do with draft this year, if they all
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nominate for the draft, then only one of them is guaranteed
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to be able to be picked up by the Sixers and the others could
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be picked up by someone else. So we could come along to say
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the Sixers have picked seven in the draft and they decide we're
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going to keep James. Vince.
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So the very next pick let's say it's the scorches because you
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know they only won it last year and they might need a bit of
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topping up there might say We will have Tom Karen.
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Thanks and nothing can be done about it with the supplier wants
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to play over there or whether he wants.
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Yeah, he's got friends in Sydney where he's made and he wants to
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stay in Sydney but he can't stay there.
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It just it seems convoluted and it's not in any way.
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Going to encourage more players to come to Australia.
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In my opinion, there's still more money elsewhere and the
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tournaments are much shorter than the Australian be Bill.
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We have the Pakistan, the Bangladesh.
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And then we got the new South African one.
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Starting up in January as well and probably all of them because
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they'll be more money. And the shorter will be more of
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a law than what the big Bachelor draft will offer in the long
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run. So like as much as excited as
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Cricket, Australia are about this to me it seems like it's
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going to be an enormous turn off.
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So, what have we learned from all of this pretty simply?
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This is what I think the following one.
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Indian, Indians and India and the uphill are going to come in
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a quarter of the calendar in regards to Cricket which will
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almost forcibly. Stop any other International
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matches being played in that period apart from Pakistan who
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are completely shunned by the by the BCCI and that competition.
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This then leads to a crush on the remainder of the calendar
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year because of the congestion in countries, then being able to
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play their own bilateral series. Now India says, it will always
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honor their bilateral series, which it will if it suits them
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and the other boards will comply because they are getting
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handouts for the IPL for Lending them, their agreement and their
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players. So the unfairness of it, both
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with Pakistan not being included in the wealth or having players
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being allowed to compete in the IPL as well as India refusing to
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allow their players to reciprocate playing in other
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countries T20. Toilets is for me the hypocrisy,
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the Cricket World continues to live in To buy the 160 up
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further bastard, owes forms of the already less Cricket more
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entertainment facets of T20 cricket.
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But the hundred already shortening the game even further
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on its debut last season. Now, the 60 is come in to even
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further reduce matches to the point that they become
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irrelevant. The part of these games that are
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actual Cricket are becoming less and less defined.
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It becomes more about hitting boundaries than the skill of
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building an Innings or fighting off a great spell of bowling or
18:28
setting up a batsman for a dismissal.
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All of those things start coming accidents rather than from skill
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and in doing so it becomes less enjoyable with every match.
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Three Cricket Australia and the big bash League are focusing on
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the wrong ways to solve the problems that are currently a
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part of the Australian season. There is too much cricket and
18:53
too many 220 related, tournaments around the world.
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Now, to be able to get International Players to come to
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Australia and agree to be here for over two months for
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relatively less money than the other tournaments are offering.
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Rather than trying to find a way to pay those players more and in
19:12
the process not offering to do the same for the local players
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who make up the majority of the BBL teams Cricket Australia.
19:20
Needs to shorten the competition.
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Have it run and won over a maximum of five weeks.
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Find a way to ensure Australia's International.
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Cricketers are involved, all of which would be a massive step to
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solving most of the problems that have Arisen over the last
19:36
few, You years. Now, of course given the TV
19:40
rights are paying their billion dollars.
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To have their more content and not less content.
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This isn't going to be something that can be achieved in the
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short term. The cricket that I grew up
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watching and falling in love with is more or less a relic of
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the past money controls the game, these days and that's
20:00
great for players. Who when I was a kid got pitons
20:04
But the danger exists of this becoming a farce of true
20:08
Cricket, contests of still skill being thrown away for the desire
20:12
to have Team scoring, 30 runs and over and then being chased
20:16
down off the final ball of wickets that are concrete slabs
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and bolos who are just asked to bowl in the corridor so the
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batsman can Power Hit 6:06. Now, that's not Cricket, that's
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a form of entertainment and one that would and will eventually
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lose its appeal. Let's hope that when it does, it
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doesn't take down the whole sport as a result.
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That's all for today's edition of the almanac report.
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Thanks for tuning in and I hope you'll come back and check out
20:55
further episodes down the track right here on the podcast.
21:01
Thoughts for the middle cabin, you have been listening to a
21:10
metal Cavern production. you have been listening to a metal
21:10
Cavern production.