The Chattybox.

[DanFromDownSouth 1,706]

Looking forward to the weekend and a slightly different sport, England vs Wales in the 6 nations. Ford at 10 and Farrell at 12 is sensible by Jones, I often think Ford is overlooked, but I think he has really developed into a world class 10 (when he plays). He can control the game so well, is very good a reading defences on the fly and in attack can cause more problems than Farrell.

Wales have very very unexpectedly found themselves in a decent position to potentially get a Grand Slam, with a tactical gameplan of basically making the opposition get themselves sent off. The match ups at 6,7 and 8 will be hugely important in terms of winning the game, if Curry and Wilson can nullify Navidi and Tipuric at the breakdown, that should stand us in good stead.

Also the Fox being back in the centres for Wales is big too.

Edited February 25, 2021 by DanFromDownSouth

[Uwe 3,545]

I use to always tease people by claiming that cricket is not a sport. Anything that takes 5 days to end up in a draw can’t possibly be a sport. I once said that to one of the other dads at my boys football match. How was I supposed to know that it was Pete Trego 🤷‍♂️ (True story) 

[Denzel Zanzibar 6,972]

11 hours ago, Uwe said:

I use to always tease people by claiming that cricket is not a sport. Anything that takes 5 days to end up in a draw can’t possibly be a sport. I once said that to one of the other dads at my boys football match. How was I supposed to know that it was Pete Trego 🤷‍♂️ (True story) 

As the great Bill Bryson once said:

It is not true that the English invented cricket as a way of making all other human endeavours look interesting and lively; that was merely an unintended side-effect. I don't wish to denigrate a sport that is enjoyed by millions, some of them awake and facing the right way, but it is an odd game. It is the only sport that incorporates meal breaks. It is the only sport that shares its name with an insect. It is the only sport in which spectators burn as many calories as players (more if they are moderately restless). It is the only competitive activity of any type, other than perhaps baking, in which you can dress in white from head to toe and be as clean at the end of the day as you were at the beginning.

Imagine a form of baseball in which the pitcher, after each delivery, collects the ball from the catcher and walks slowly with it out to centre field; and that there, after a minute's pause to collect himself, he turns and runs full tilt towards the pitcher's mound before hurling the ball at the ankles of a man who stands before him wearing a riding hat, heavy gloves of the sort used to handle radioactive isotopes, and a mattress strapped to each leg. Imagine moreover that if this batsman fails to hit the ball in a way that heartens him sufficiently to waddle sixty feet with mattresses strapped to his legs he is under no formal compulsion to run; he may stand there all day, and, as a rule, does. If by some miracle he is coaxed into making a miss-stroke that leads him to being put out, all the fielders throw up their arms in triumph and have a big hug. Then tea is called and everyone retires happily to a distant pavilion to fortify for the next siege. Now imagine all this going on for so long that by the time the match concludes autumn has crept in and all your library books are overdue. There you have cricket.

[BillyWoofs_shinpad 1,884]

That’s what makes it such a wonderful game, travelling in a mini bus to a rival team, full of optimism only to be bowled out 3rd ball. The next 20 overs are spent in the pavilion chatting to teammates before a decent spread of sandwiches, a warm ale and then 20 overs of wandering around at long on hoping for an easy catch. Then it’s back to the bar then onto the mini bus, heady days indeed.

If that sounds boring, go to India and watch a match there, it’s electrifying!

[Uwe 3,545]

7 minutes ago, BillyWoofs_shinpad said:

That’s what makes it such a wonderful game, travelling in a mini bus to a rival team, full of optimism only to be bowled out 3rd ball. The next 20 overs are spent in the pavilion chatting to teammates before a decent spread of sandwiches, a warm ale and then 20 overs of wandering around at long on hoping for an easy catch. Then it’s back to the bar then onto the mini bus, heady days indeed.

If that sounds boring, go to India and watch a match there, it’s electrifying!

 

Cheers BWS now I can’t get this song out of my head 😂

[Old Codger 3,063]

Sadly, I think it is dying in this country, used to a regular sight to see chalked stumps on walls and random games on fields, but now very rare and incessant format changes and daft names are beginning to look desperate..  still see regular village games on days out (remember them?) but writing is on wall .. seems to be no attempt to teach anything about defensive skills..  I know that it is entertainment but more to game than hitting the ball

[AnglianRed 6,320]

27 minutes ago, Old Codger said:

Sadly, I think it is dying in this country, used to a regular sight to see chalked stumps on walls and random games on fields, but now very rare and incessant format changes and daft names are beginning to look desperate..  still see regular village games on days out (remember them?) but writing is on wall .. seems to be no attempt to teach anything about defensive skills..  I know that it is entertainment but more to game than hitting the ball

I think sports in general have been in decline for quite a while, due to a combination of people being afraid to let their kids out unsupervised, lack of facilities and other factors such as online gaming.

I mean just look at how big eSports have become now. People now earning very comfortable livings as pro gamers...or even streamers on platforms like Twitch and YouTube.

As for cricket...the Test format does seem to be dying, in favour of the crash, bang, wallop of T20 and ODIs.

People just don't have the attention span unless there is something exciting happening. They don't appreciate the subtleties of the long-form game.

It doesn't help either when countries prepare pitches that overwhelmingly favour their team's abilities, resulting in very 1-sided contests.

On the flip side, having to follow a sporting contest over 5 days is difficult for a lot of people to do, simply because of the other demands on their time.

 

[Uwe 3,545]

1 hour ago, AnglianRed said:

I think sports in general have been in decline for quite a while, due to a combination of people being afraid to let their kids out unsupervised, lack of facilities and other factors such as online gaming.

I mean just look at how big eSports have become now. People now earning very comfortable livings as pro gamers...or even streamers on platforms like Twitch and YouTube.

As for cricket...the Test format does seem to be dying, in favour of the crash, bang, wallop of T20 and ODIs.

People just don't have the attention span unless there is something exciting happening. They don't appreciate the subtleties of the long-form game.

It doesn't help either when countries prepare pitches that overwhelmingly favour their team's abilities, resulting in very 1-sided contests.

On the flip side, having to follow a sporting contest over 5 days is difficult for a lot of people to do, simply because of the other demands on their time. 

 

You know a sport is in trouble when the answer to make it more interesting/exciting is to have less of it 😉

[AnglianRed 6,320]

20 minutes ago, Uwe said:

You know a sport is in trouble when the answer to make it more interesting/exciting is to have less of it 😉

Well don't forget cricket was founded in a time when there wasn't a whole lot to do and watching a bunch of blokes in white flannel hit / chase a ball around a field for 5 days was considered terribly exciting.

Mind you, it wasn't long after that people were scared of travelling on trains, in case they suffered an aenyurism or some other fatal medical condition.

Sadly, nowadays, it just can't compete with CoD, Fortnite or Minecraft.

 

 

[Old Codger 3,063]

They need to alter the rules to liven it up a bit...  

Get the Americans interested in the great game of KRAZY KRIKKET

Use round bats

only one batsman at a time

change batsmen every twenty balls until all eleven out

add extra weight to one side of ball so that nobody knows where its going to bounce

would never happen but might at least find eleven English lads that could beat the Irish ..

being serious, if there was one rule you could alter, what would it be ?

 

 

[BillyWoofs_shinpad 1,884]

being serious, if there was one rule you could alter, what would it be?

One hand one bounce?

[Blanco 4,917]

27 minutes ago, Old Codger said:

They need to alter the rules to liven it up a bit...  

Get the Americans interested in the great game of KRAZY KRIKKET

Use round bats

only one batsman at a time

change batsmen every twenty balls until all eleven out

add extra weight to one side of ball so that nobody knows where its going to bounce

would never happen but might at least find eleven English lads that could beat the Irish ..

being serious, if there was one rule you could alter, what would it be ?

 

 

They all should have a bat @Old Codger throw the ball in the middle and let them go for it. Proper mans game 

[AnglianRed 6,320]

18 minutes ago, Old Codger said:

They need to alter the rules to liven it up a bit...  

Get the Americans interested in the great game of KRAZY KRIKKET

Use round bats

only one batsman at a time

change batsmen every twenty balls until all eleven out

add extra weight to one side of ball so that nobody knows where its going to bounce

would never happen but might at least find eleven English lads that could beat the Irish ..

being serious, if there was one rule you could alter, what would it be ?

 

 

I can think of a few:

1. Stop covering pitches in between matches (going back to uncovered pitches ought to make Geoff Boycott happy)

2. To be eligible for Test matches, pitches have to be prepared in a standard way that allows for a fair contest between bat & ball.

3. Each team has 2 innings of 90 overs max. Should stop teams dragging out innings when batting and reduce the problem of slow over rates when bowling. Should also reduce likelihood of draws.

4. Batting powerplays / fielding restrictions during overs 30-40 and 80-90 (yeah I nicked this from ODIs). Increase scoring potential despite limited overs.

 

[AnglianRed 6,320]

5 minutes ago, Blanco said:

They all should have a bat @Old Codger throw the ball in the middle and let them go for it. Proper mans game 

Isn't that basically hurling? 😁

 

[Blanco 4,917]

23 minutes ago, AnglianRed said:

Isn't that basically hurling? 😁

 

You caught me 😫