BBC Blog Network

User Profile

arbyskee

Listed below are comments made by arbyskee between Thursday, 12th June 2008 and Monday, 15th June 2009.

«Newer
Older»

England World Twenty20 player ratings 11:44pm on 15 Jun 2009 I think the ratings are very generous for some players.

Luke right seemed really happy with his performances but against real quality bowling looked like a decent county player, nothing more. 4

Collingwood has been one of my favorite players in recent time because of his determination and honesty. Captaincy doesn't suit him though and he seems to have been brainwashed with the 'I think we generally performed well, maybe could have put a few more runs on the board but generally we think its a good total to defend' England Mentality. He used the bowlers well but should have stood up and at least tried to set an example with the bat and I think probably should have exerted pressure on the Selectors to sort themselves out. I would give him 4.

I have grown tired of Owais Shah now, and I think the selectors should look past him. He has been England's nearly man for far too long now, its time to give someone else a go, 20/20 is all about backing your own ability and he just cant do it. he gets a 4 also.

Foster was excellent with the gloves, but if you are going to play a specialist keeper you need to surround him with confident, in form batsman. There is no way he is a 20/20 no.6 ok, he was good for run a ball stuff, but thats no good in that part of the over. Not his fault though and his keeping deserves an 8.

Generally I think that the bowlers will be thinking they were let down. I thought they worked really well, and I liked the look of Sidebottoms aggression. definitely could be a big asset for the ashes.
Stanford brings riches and headaches 6:12pm on 12 Jun 2008 It is indeed a very interesting and crucial time for cricket.

I do believe that test cricket is the pinnacle of the sport and its purist form. However, I think we need to find a place in the modern sporting arena for cricket and we need to preserve it as one of the most popular sports in the world. I believe cricket needs to and can challenge footballs dominance as a spectators sport and I also believe that cricket has far more chance to be successful in America, much more so than 'soccer'.

Big money 20/20 as a game has similarities to baseball in terms of match time and pace. I am a big basball fan and I love the fact that a reasonably subtle sport full of intricate nuances much like cricket, can attract crowds of over 30,000 people every day, and I feel 20/20 as a sport could achieve this.

Its funny also how people are saying that the ECB is selling cricket down the river, when for some years crickets main body the ICC has been over focused on long term commercial deals, sponsorships and corporate tie ins. No one talks about the detrimental effects that the ICC has caused to spectators in recent time through stupid rules and laws. I think its a digsrace that during the world cup in the caribean the tickets were priced so high that the local WI fans could not go. Time and time again we were watching matches with half empty grounds. That is definately not the way to promote the worlds greatest sport.

The sad fact is that more and more youngsters who face the choice between being a pro cricketer and a footballer will choose the later for the money. Modern athletes that are on the world stage will require to be paid more to keep them interested in particular sports otherwise we wont attract those people.

In a few years time the appeal of county cricket will dissolve for many sportsmen and this is our grassroots for the international game. Cricket needs to move on and find a way of increasing spectator excitement, getting more and better players involved, whilst still finding a way of preserving test cricket. If county cricket dies then our international team will suffer at currently 20/20 is the major pull our domestic teams.

«Newer
Older»

^ Back to top

BBC MMVI

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

BBC.co.uk

BBC Blog Network

Find and talk to the BBC's bloggers.

User Profile

arbyskee