New Zealand Tests

[nat]

The ECB are chasing the city dweller who currently has no interest in cricket. They have no interest in existing cricket supporters because their thinking is that the existing supporter will travel and watch anything.

[Slogger]

Yes. Ironically most of the people I know who live in central London have no interest in cricket and the population there is increasingly made up of people whose roots are from countries with no cricketing heritage or who have lost interest, like the grandchildren of West Indian immigrants of the 1950s and 60s who don't seem to follow the game.

[Valentines Park]

The doom & gloom about test match cricket might have a point if the tickets weren't ridiculously expensive & yet still sell like hotcakes.

[Slogger]

VP - good point as far as London tests are concerned but in other parts of the country and the world it doesn't look so great attendance wise. I went to Durham on the Spring Bank Holiday Monday in 2016 and the crowd was no bigger than a decent turn out for a four day game at Chelmsford.

I've hit a price barrier this year though. My lad's turned 16.He's still in full time education of course but counts as an adult for tickets and the railway so we've decided not to bother this year. Getting on for £150 for the two of us to have a day out at Lord's is a bit much. Compare that to £20 for his junior membership at Essex - now that is a bargain!

[Valentines Park]

I went to Durham on the Spring Bank Holiday Monday in 2016 and the crowd was no bigger than a decent turn out for a four day game at Chelmsford.

Durham never had any business hosting test matches though.

Not sure it ever had much business hosting first class cricket either.

[nat]

I went to Durham on the Spring Bank Holiday Monday in 2016 and the crowd was no bigger than a decent turn out for a four day game at Chelmsford.

Durham never had any business hosting test matches though.

Not sure it ever had much business hosting first class cricket either.

Durham as a 1st class county? The more the merrier. Got to expand the game in order to save it.

[IlfordEagle]

At a slight tangent if you go to T20 matches at Lords & the Oval there are very few actual cricket fans there especially at the Oval where it seems attending is part of the social round for the Summer, people don't watch the games preferring to get up every 5 mins for yet another round of drinks which of course inconveniences everyone else who actually wants to watch the game.
You wouldn't see hardly any of these people at a 4 day match or even a 50 over game & definitely not Test cricket.

[pablo]

I think I know what's going on. As the only country with - apparently- a still buoyant interest in Test cricket we are trying to produce the worst team possible with the least preparation at home and abroad so that interest in the 5 day game here dwindles, leaving only the 20;20 stuff to line 8 counties pockets ( When I started this paragraph I was trying to be ironic but now the horror of the potential reality dawns). I say 8 counties because according to the Times and The Guardian today Graves has just awarded Glamorgan £2million for no one knows quite what exactly and without telling anybody else, and surprise, surprise it may not now be the case that all 18 counties get equal shares of the revenue from the new 20;20 malarkey.



 

[nat]

Clammy were given 2.5 million for not bidding to host test matches for the next five years!

I'm not making this up.

I have just submitted my application to the ECB to not host any test matches in my back garden.

[jwb]

Make sure you hold out for nothing less than tuppence Nat.

[Oldhasbeen]

I went to Durham on the Spring Bank Holiday Monday in 2016 and the crowd was no bigger than a decent turn out for a four day game at Chelmsford.

Durham never had any business hosting test matches though.

Not sure it ever had much business hosting first class cricket either.

Hmmm.. 3 championships, a couple of 1day cups, and produced Colly, Harmy, Stokes ,  Wood and others foe England .... maybe you're being a tad harsh?

[Oldhasbeen]

It's ridiculous, jobs for the boys. Why should England players need a batting or bowling coach?!

So you won't be applying for the job when Ramps gets the bullet, Nat?

[Valentines Park]

I went to Durham on the Spring Bank Holiday Monday in 2016 and the crowd was no bigger than a decent turn out for a four day game at Chelmsford.

Durham never had any business hosting test matches though.

Not sure it ever had much business hosting first class cricket either.

Hmmm.. 3 championships, a couple of 1day cups, and produced Colly, Harmy, Stokes ,  Wood and others foe England .... maybe you're being a tad harsh?

Maybe but then I remember latecut.

[nat]

It's ridiculous, jobs for the boys. Why should England players need a batting or bowling coach?!

So you won't be applying for the job when Ramps gets the bullet, Nat?

On the other hand ...

[IlfordEagle]

Glamorgan getting £2.5 m for not having Tests for 5 years means they are logically in a better financial position for bidding if, say, someone like Morne Morkel wanted to play for a Div2 County, they would have more money to bargain with, the same scenario could happen in Div1 with  currently Essex, Somerset & Worcs at a disadvantage as they won't get £500k pa for not having a Test match, the system is blatantly unfair but what would you expect from the ECB.