Your comment about baseball is well- placed. Teams often play matches on consecutive days too. I'm not interested in watching all these bilateral series' that don't involve our Proteas, but clearly millions are. This '2nd string' Indian team here is still very good & entertaining to watch.
It's hard to even call it a 'B' team, to be fair. The IPL has produced so many excellent T20 cricketers that India could field three different squads simultaneously and each could beat the other on a given day. Also, I'm not a follower of American sports, but is the physical burden on baseball players as great as on cricketers? I honestly don't know the answer to that...
Yes Neil, it's a strong team. In baseball the physical demands on the pitchers & catchers are high, but not so much on all of them so that they cannot play 2 or even 3 consecutive matches. It is a very intense sport though that requires total concentration. Also lasts about 2 and a half to 3 hours like a T20 match. Today's 3rd T20 should be good. Hopefully Aiden Markram can score some runs.
You are right, of course. Most of the major cricket nations wouldn't survive without tours by India, and I have often paid them great respect for doing so. I don't think it's a great hardship, though. Do you? Ten days in Harare for a 'B' team of young players hoping to make a name for themselves. And the BCCI do get all of their votes at the ICC which guarantees the BCCI controls every aspect of international cricket.
It is not a great hardship playing Zimbabwe in July/August but playing South Africa at this time of the year is because the domestic first class season has started and players are missing out on that
It's interesting that having different squads for Tests, T20s and ODIs makes sense as you need different skills for each. And then it's but one step to have them all play at the s same time...
The only thing is that it does seem to have degraded the familiarity that people had with the team up to 2010s - too many players to I keep track of for the casual fan :)
In a sense, I don't mind having too much cricket cause I feel like it's part of the appeal on the sport - our attention may wax and wane but cricket is always there like a familiar blanket.
I know there's an argument that the national team must always have the best players but actually every sport has instances of national teams used to blood younger players or experiment with the squad. When the Australian soccer team plays Thailand in a friendly, for sure they will have different players compared to when they play Japan in a World Cup qualifier :)
Your comment about baseball is well- placed. Teams often play matches on consecutive days too. I'm not interested in watching all these bilateral series' that don't involve our Proteas, but clearly millions are. This '2nd string' Indian team here is still very good & entertaining to watch.
It's hard to even call it a 'B' team, to be fair. The IPL has produced so many excellent T20 cricketers that India could field three different squads simultaneously and each could beat the other on a given day. Also, I'm not a follower of American sports, but is the physical burden on baseball players as great as on cricketers? I honestly don't know the answer to that...
Yes Neil, it's a strong team. In baseball the physical demands on the pitchers & catchers are high, but not so much on all of them so that they cannot play 2 or even 3 consecutive matches. It is a very intense sport though that requires total concentration. Also lasts about 2 and a half to 3 hours like a T20 match. Today's 3rd T20 should be good. Hopefully Aiden Markram can score some runs.
...there is something curiously entertaining about watching the train continue to gather speed until the brakes fail and it is derailed...
I had a good chuckle. Well written, as always. Thank you.
Thank you, Rippers! The runaway train has stayed on its tracks for longer than expected...
Manners, you need to give credit to BCCI. They play everyone everywhere from South Africa to Zimbabwe to West Indies except Pakistan
Hi Aditya,
You are right, of course. Most of the major cricket nations wouldn't survive without tours by India, and I have often paid them great respect for doing so. I don't think it's a great hardship, though. Do you? Ten days in Harare for a 'B' team of young players hoping to make a name for themselves. And the BCCI do get all of their votes at the ICC which guarantees the BCCI controls every aspect of international cricket.
It is not a great hardship playing Zimbabwe in July/August but playing South Africa at this time of the year is because the domestic first class season has started and players are missing out on that
Please can l have your autographs,newsleters
It's interesting that having different squads for Tests, T20s and ODIs makes sense as you need different skills for each. And then it's but one step to have them all play at the s same time...
The only thing is that it does seem to have degraded the familiarity that people had with the team up to 2010s - too many players to I keep track of for the casual fan :)
In a sense, I don't mind having too much cricket cause I feel like it's part of the appeal on the sport - our attention may wax and wane but cricket is always there like a familiar blanket.
I know there's an argument that the national team must always have the best players but actually every sport has instances of national teams used to blood younger players or experiment with the squad. When the Australian soccer team plays Thailand in a friendly, for sure they will have different players compared to when they play Japan in a World Cup qualifier :)
Awesome writing, as always!😁