The Betfair Debate: Too much cricket?

/ Maxliu / 12 April 2011 /

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Shane Watson scored 185 - including 15 sixes - against Bangladesh

With the IPL following hot on the heels of the Cricket World Cup is there too much cricket being played? Max Liu and James Pacheco argue the toss.

Yes

"Loads of football all the time!" That's what it feels like, slouching towards nausea as you read on the Sky Sports News ticker that Michael Chopra is a doubt for Cardiff's trip to Sheffield United and a cagouled estate agent-type reports from the car park of St James Park.

It’s annoying when, 15 minutes into the big Super Sunday clash they've spent all week trailing, Sky start plugging Monday's Blue Square action. Sports fans are frustrated and gratification never arrives - somebody should write a thesis on the sadomasochistic tendency in modern sports – because there is always the next televised match to promote.

You would have expected more from those nice cricket chaps, at least until a few years ago. "Test cricket is the greatest sport in the world," reckons a colleague of mine. With the possible exception of major tournament golf, I'm inclined to agree. However, in the last five years cricket has become as commercialised as Premier League football. In terms of late capitalist hyperactivity, cricket today resembles Japanese manufacturing in the second half of the 20th century.

There's so much of it. The World Cup began on February 19 and ended on April 2 - a six week tournament, longer than either its football or rugby counterparts, longer than the Olympics, longer than a General Election. Forty-nine matches were played (all previewed on Betting.Betfair) and, while I was pleasantly surprised by the play, it was a slog.

Last Friday, less than six days after the final, the IPL got under way. I love the IPL for its integrity, traditions and sense of history, but I’m suffering overkill. And that was before Monday, when I switched on to find Shane Watson scoring 185 for Australia in an ODI against Bangladesh. With so much cricket, can we expect an increase in dazzling displays like Wato’s or will everyone soon be too knackered?

No

The beauty of modern-day cricket is that it provides something for everyone.

From the lazy, early summer gentle nurdling of a cricket ball round a County ground to the explosive hitting and all-action madness of the IPL. In a month or so we’ll also have Test Cricket to look forward to as England and Sri Lanka battle it out in the longest format of all. If there’s too much cricket going on, how come I can’t get a ticket to it?

And that’s just the fans. For the different players each format and its different competitions bring with it its own sets of skills and challenges. Heck, the different formats even have their own unique rules. For all the appeal of football (there’s certainly too much of that by the way) it’s still always eleven guys playing for ninety minutes.

David Warner may never play Test cricket but he can dazzle in T20. A run-out from a direct hit at backward point should never happen when they’re wearing whites but you see it all the time in the limited overs stuff. If you saw the ball reverse swing in the recent World Cup you were luckier than I was but give a 50-over old ball to James Anderson on a gloomy morning at Lord’s this June and see what happens then.

You wouldn’t want Classical music to be outlawed because you prefer Joss Stone or Justin Bieber, would you? Jesse Ryder wouldn’t leave many of the different offerings at a buffet untouched but most of us do. We decide what we like and we leave what we don’t for the person behind us in the queue. Cricket is no different.

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