There was a time the Australian cricket calendar was as ingrained as our circadian rhythms. Whatever they are – something to do with the moon.
Regardless, a summer of cricket began in early October with the first forays of clubbies and Shield men before ill-prepared touring teams were taken to Perth, where we bounced the shit out of them.
That didn’t work as well against the West Indies – who we seemed to play every other year because Aussies loved these people so – so the ground at Woolloongabba became the first Test venue of choice, where tourists were treated to thick sub-tropical humidity, a greyhound track and fugue of XXXX.
And we bounced the shit out of them.
Today the Cricket Australia app will tell you Western Australia men play Tasmanian Tigers men on the same day India men play South Africa men. A week later Adelaide Strikers women play Melbourne Renegades women.
And that of course is cool and the gang. The light’s on and burning for the great game in all its glorious formats. Viva la revolution and glory be upon thou Delhi Daredevils.
(AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
It’s just that getting a handle on who’s playing whom, where, in what format and even what for can be a tad confusing for those of us born before the Beatles broke up.
I do know that Pakistan’s out for a pair of Test matches and New Zealand for three Test matches, including the one that begins on Boxing Day.
There’ll be one-dayers and T20s, and January will be flat-out Big Bash I think. Sri Lanka might be coming, or South Africa.
Is there something in February? Do we tour Bangladesh? Where is Bangladesh?
For all that, cricket has progressed in innumerable ways.
Day-night Test matches, for instance, for the touring sportsman – and as the good Lord Mr Lillee knows, I am one – are magnificent.
You play golf at 7:00am, have lunch in a pub and watch cricket across a glorious dusk. And repeat. Out the back in the Adelaide members marquees is like Derby Day at Flemington or a day at Lord’s.
I went to Lord’s in August for Day 3 of the second Ashes Test match. I saw one session of cricket and two sessions of rain.
Thus I spent most of the day enjoying long gin and tonics with elderberry and mint and juniper berries.
A mate splattered his credit card across the jump in a champagne tent and we hoisted mighty magnums of Veuve or Moet – one of them.
And there on the village green, in the rain, we watched English kids mimic Steve Smith’s elaborate leave and yapped with mustard and egg-tied members of the Marylebone Cricket Club, the traditional owners of Lord’s.
And we marvelled that each patron may bring in one bottle of wine because the MCC owns Lord’s and decides the rules.
And we decided that for all Australia’s progress with very smart telephones that can list the fixtures for Bangladesh men, we can’t trust people to bring a bottle of wine to the cricket lest some idiot dong another one.
Another column.
Roll on summer.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Catch 22 then Joshua, don't show it because they think not enough people are watching it, people aren't watching it in greater numbers because they aren't showing it. Strange the home of cricket couldn't maintain or generate interest in their sport. The ECB certainly has dropped the ball, just as the West Indies did. There's a lesson there, as CA and SA currently trying to dictate to the sport in their countries. The sport can't afford to ignore its past as those kids become adults and become disaffected, they don't encourage their kids to get involved and without national exposure, kids won't choose on their own in any great numbers.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Geoff Lemon says in his book Steve Smith's Men that Channel Ten did offer to pay $960 million for everything - men's and women's internationals, BBL, WBBL, Marsh Cup and even the Sheffield Shield. Foxtel then offered $1 billion, which is more than $960 million and so CA signed that deal on the previso that an FTA partner could show tests and BBL (come in Channel 7). I don't even get why the deal went ahead seeing as it breaks the anti-siphoning laws! But hey, as I often write on The Roar, money talks! You've got more FTA cricket in Oz than we do in the UK so be thankful for that even though it feels like a bit of a downgrade from having everything on Channel 9 for 40 years. Kerry Packer wouldn't have let this happen, I'll tell you that!
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
BBC devotes two week's of programming to Wimbledon - it would be very difficult for them to do tennis and cricket as well. ITV uses ITV4 for most sport apart from England football and rugby internationals, which are broadcast on the main channel ITV. This allows them to broadcast for as long as they need to considering that the normal programming on ITV4 is just repeats. Same could be said for BBC2 and the BBC does use that as the 'main' sports channel with BBC1, the most popular channel in the UK, used for mid-week FA Cup matches, Friday night Six Nations rugby matches and Saturday afternoon sport (of course there are some exceptions but that is the general gist). It's more a popularity thing - cricket is considered to be boring no matter whether it is on FTA or on Sky. Can't really boost the popularity of the sport if the people feel like they're forced to watch it... Australians like cricket hence FTA coverage is perfectly justified, especially as there are five test matches being broadcast on Channel 7! If that happened here, my mom and my nan would not shut up about their programming being disrupted - they've already had a little moan about the Rugby World Cup taking their favourite ITV morning programming off air.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Exactly, wider fta exposure gives potential for casual followers to become the rusted on fan in a decade's time. I can assure you the ECB wanted maximum exposure to the sport of cricket, not just their team in the final of the WC because they want a broader base of kids choosing cricket to play, not just watch. 2.2m watching a day of a Test on restricted access, means it needs something miraculous to happen to get a few more viewers, but fta would double that number and have had close to that peak watching the whole match. This old style taking normal programming off to put sport on is ridiculous, dedicate a channel to it like pay tv does and make it an event again. The sport depends on it.
Michael
Guest
The ACB marketing department suck balls. I've been so disappointed with the organization that runs Australian Cricket. Who was the fool that decided it would be better that a small part of the population gets to see cricket on Foxtel, compared to the mass saturation that cricket was exposed to when it was on free to air TV? As for advertising, I saw one ad in Adelaide 2 days out from the game. No wonder only 16,000 people showed up. Mainly the members who have already paid up front, the outer was bare. The ACB should be ashamed, this is the national side I'm talking about, putting on a great show, more punters should be attending & I lay the blame on idiots at the ACB . Don't they want people to go? As for scheduling, a summer of cricket? All I get for my membership this year is a T20 game and the test. My summer of cricket finishes 3 days into December (if the game against Pakistan actually goes that long). At least the boys put on a entertaining show.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Hi Insult_2_Injury, The FTA cricket deal which commences next year was signed before the WC win. Your system in Australia is a good system - allowing the hard-core cricket fans to watch everything on Fox Cricket and the part-time fan to enjoy tests and the BBL on Seven. 2.2 million people actually watched the final day of the third Ashes test at Headingley on Sky when Ben Stokes batted so superbly to win the match for England so it's sometimes just depends on the match rather than what channel it's on. The general trend in terms of viewing figures though is downwards and we'll just have to wait and see what happens next year. I think that the British public will be content with a daily highlights package for tests, which will be shown at 7pm on BBC2, and should get at least a million people tuning in (I know I will). And now that the cricket is on BBC, people will engage with the sport through the TV programmes, Test Match Special on the radio, the iPlayer on-demand service and social media so we will have to look at the combined figures to get a picture of how many people are following cricket and what platform they're following it on.
Tassie.
Roar Rookie
Still fuming about no FREE TO AIR 20/20 & one day international cricket grrrr. :thumbdown: :angry:
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
It's human nature to hanker for what's familiar, especially when you get time to indulge in a favourite downtime activity, it feels comfortable. That doesn't fit with 21st Century sporting scheduling though. ADHD Administrators and TV programmers have decided each new decade needs change otherwise they're failing their pay cheques. The chess pieces will be in familiar territory for Christmas and NY, but almost immediately in India for their chain yanking series of 'vital' ODI'S. Change is inevitable and it won't be long before Aus women play Eng women on Boxing Day at the G, while Aus men play SA men on the same day in Cape Town. As administration's know FTP and WTC and T20I, while draining every BBL fan, is the future and cricket fans will just have to suck it up as they set up their direct debit to see any cricket exclusively on pay TV. The Poms had a eureka moment with the WC win and cricket will be seen on free to air for the first time in 15yrs. Apparently the masses had deserted the sport. Huh, who woulda though not being exposed to something, meant you weren't interested? So maybe you can go back to the future. Australia on the other hand is determined to learn that the hard way. Apparently the admin hasn't found rock bottom just yet.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Two sessions of raign? In a place that has someone called a "Raining Monarch", well ain't that the darndest thing!
Ozzie in UK
Guest
Ozzie living in Old Dart for many years. Have been going Lords every year for a long time. Totally agree, very civilised, they treat you like an adult, you can even take your own food. Increasingly need to pick the right days however. D 1 very corporate now (you listen to the crowd, a lot of em have no interest in cricket), D 2 a mix, D 3 generally spot on. Been going to nearly 15 yrs, despite the crowd being well lubricated, have never seen one spot of trouble!
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
My circadian rhythms feel fine but the players have got it tough. Some of them could be excused for forgetting which continent they're on some days. They globe trot like never before. No leisurely 10 week boat trips to Old Blighty these days. Hit the winning runs, hare off the ground and don't stop till you get to the airport.
Trevor
Guest
I still think the format from the 80s and 90s was best. A test series spread across the whole summer, a 3 team one-day series interspersed between. Flicking between the different formats at the highest level. If the test series was getting flat there was always the one dayers to look forward to. If the one-day finalists were set, there were still tests to come and the best of three finals series. Those were the glory days for the Australian cricketing summer.