Gratuitous self-promotion. And something serious. Ish.
On the weekend I played in a cricket match (wow) which was Guernsey Island Cricket Club versus the MCC. On the face of it, it sounds rather glamourous. In reality it wasn’t really very glamourous at all. The MCC put out a reasonable team, including John Stephenson, an ex-England all-rounder. The rest of the team were quite strong (especially compared to us) and we actually gave them a bloody good run for their money - we fell an agonising 9 runs short of their fairly meagre 189 off 62 overs.
(Incidentally, fielding for 62 overs on the bounce is not something I’ve done in a while.)
Part of the MCC’s tour of the Channel Islands is a match against the actual Guernsey side - and including two games against Bermuda forms part of Guernsey’s preparation for international competition - they’re involved in the European Cricket Council Division Two Championships, this August in Scotland.
So why have I bothered posting all this babble? Because it marks an important point - something that I’ve touched on briefly - the development of cricket. Last week I was reading about Bermuda vs Canada on Cricinfo, and this weekend I can actually see Bermuda playing. (Again, probably sounds a lot more glamourous than it really is.)
Cricket development is such an ambiguous term. What the hell does it mean? How do you quantify cricket development? You can count the number of people playing for a given area. Or then calculate the proportion of people playing. And the age groups. Or perhaps calculate interest in cricket by considering viewing figures (assuming it’s televised, of course) or match attendances. Or look at the sale of cricket equipment. These items will give a vague idea of how cricket is developing on any specified scale.
I actually thought I had a point when I started writing this diatribe. Something meaningful about the state of the game. Actually, I’ve realised two things:
- I don’t have a point (or at least I don’t currently have the literary agility to transcribe it this blog)
- I love cricket
The latter point was not so much of a shock. But whilst I was facing the likes of ex-England bowlers on the weekend, with balls whizzing past all areas of my anatomy, it reminded me how much I love this game. I wish more people tried cricket. Apart from the sunburn on my head, a game of all day cricket is such an enjoyable pastime.
I’ve decided to make the point of this post thus : watch and play cricket - it’s NOT boring!
* The dubious lack of information about my performance in the match is highly intentional. Make of it what you will.
* Ironically, I might be in next year’s Wisden because of it.
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1 opinion for Gratuitous self-promotion. And something serious. Ish.
Caught Behind! » Blog Archive » Play cricket - it’s good for you
Jun 2, 2006 at 11:00 am
[…] As I was thinking about the game afterwards, it really occurred to me how great this game we call cricket really is. Much has been said of “cricket development” and the ways of getting cricket out there for everyone to enjoy. It’s a massive problem (well, not so much a problem, more of a challenge) and it’s something that will continue to tax everyone involved in the sport, mainly because there are so many angles to it. How do we get more people playing cricket? How do we get more people watching cricket? Who is currently playing cricket? Where is it popular? Why is it not popular in other areas? It’s all about the accessibility of cricket - and ultimately maximising the accessibility. Good luck to everyone involved in all that - there’s no easy solution. […]
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