A potential cause of concern?

[Craig]

New AFL club on Gold Coast lures cricketer

Who can blame him. He has more chances of making it and earning a fair coin whilst playing AFL, then as a cricketer, as it takes so much just to get a FC game and to keep at it, to become a regular and that is before the prospects of playing Test and ODI cricketer. Even playing in the 'reggies' (reserves) he is getting a lot more.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Well English cricket has had to put up with the competition of Football and Rugby for a long time and it certainly cost us a number of good cricketers over the years. It's about time Australia had this problem too.

Makes you wonder what Warne would have done if he was coming through the ranks nowadays?

 

[pup11]

Of course its a threat, and CA has been aware of problems like theses for a while now, and that's why they have introduced many youth programmes to lure young kids to play cricket, but that's just not enough, i think more money needs to pour in for the players at every level of the game, if cricket doesn't want to loose out to other sports.

Its high time sports administrators around the world understood that cricket is probably one of the most demanding sports in the world mentally and physically, and the players too should be payed handsomely in return for all their hard-work.

 

[pasag]

It's not a recent thing.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

I think the WACA is having the same worries about Mitch Marsh (from what I understand from some who have played with/against him, he probably was lucky to get a rookie contract).

 

[Briony]

I wonder if the potential rewards of the IPL will change this. The problem is that it's so much harder to be in the top eleven in the country to reap the real rewards as opposed to in the top 650 to be on an AFL list.

 

[vic_orthdox]

It's not a recent thing.

Exactly.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Makes you wonder what Warne would have done if he was coming through the ranks nowadays?

Warne apparently wasn't quite good enough to make the step up from St. Kilda's U-21s to the reserves. He most definately would have chosen AFL over cricket if he'd had the chance.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Yeah, Warne just wasn't plain good enough. Didn't have to make "the choice", as such.

 

[Craig]

Warne apparently wasn't quite good enough to make the step up from St. Kilda's U-21s to the reserves. He most definately would have chosen AFL over cricket if he'd had the chance.

It is fair to say what Daryll Cullinan would of prefered

 

[BoyBrumby]

Just as a point of interest, who was the last bloke to play first-grade AFL & Sheffield Shield cricket?

Up here the last one to get close that I know of was Hugo Southwell who played a few List A games for Sussex before deciding on a rugby union career for Scotland. Despite being from Hammersmith....

 

[pasag]

Craig Bradley maybe. Played 4 FC games for SA and then went on to be one of the greatest Calrton players ever, played 375 games for us.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Just as a point of interest, who was the last bloke to play first-grade AFL & Sheffield Shield cricket?

Up here the last one to get close that I know of was Hugo Southwell who played a few List A games for Sussex before deciding on a rugby union career for Scotland. Despite being from Hammersmith....

Nick Jewell.

Played two games for Richmond, got delisted. Turned his hand to cricket, now played probably 50 FC games.

 

[bryce]

Up here the last one to get close that I know of was Hugo Southwell who played a few List A games for Sussex before deciding on a rugby union career for Scotland. Despite being from Hammersmith....

Ha, I had no idea he played cricket. Decent enough rugby player too

 

[BoyBrumby]

Nick Jewell.

Played two games for Richmond, got delisted. Turned his hand to cricket, now played probably 50 FC games.

Ah, so he didn't choose cricket as such either.

Seems to be in most cases were players do have a genuine choice they go for their preferred football code. Liam Botham & Jeff Wilson certainly did, even if the latter belatedly returned to cricket.

 

[GIMH]

Did Botham senior have a choice? Can't remember whether he was binned by S****horpe or if they binned him

 

[Richard]

BTW, Martyn means Scunthorpe there.

 

[Jakester1288]

It's not as if all those years a go they were complaining that Ricky Ponting came to play Cricket rather than Aussie Rules, but as soon as we lose one player to their game, our fans go skitz. We need to calm down for a bit, and focus on the Cricket.

And yes, I know that Ponting wanted nothing to interfere with his Cricket, same thing pretty much.

 

[fredfertang]

My understanding is it was his uncanny ability to get bodies through the turnstiles that got ITB his few games for Scunny

 

[morgieb]

It's not a recent thing.

Confirmed. Jack Mac held an Australian record partership for 9th wicket in U/17's with Brett Deledio.