1 day to go!

[zaremba]

in what way?

You'll have to ask Mrs Z about that. But please don't mention the drugs.

 

[fredfertang]

You'll have to ask Mrs Z about that. But please don't mention the drugs.

hmmm - thinking I might just pass on that one .................. for both our sakes

 

[zaremba]

I sometimes wonder what would happen if the Ashes were played in a (football) World Cup year, which has never happened although it's clashed with the Olympics a few times. Would result in a huge downsizing of the hype surely.

A pretty ghastly thought as far as I'm concerned. Not so much about the lack of hype (although I do enjoy the hype to a degree) but the lack of coverage. Football is a good game and I do follow it but its dominance over cricket in England is a ****ing travesty. As you say the non-coincidence of Ashes and WCs has meant that generally speaking the cricket can dominate the back pages, unless of course Carlisle United signed a reserve team goalkeeper the day before.

 

[fredfertang]

I'll put it down to your being a leg spinner practising your zooter

 

[zaremba]

By the way, if there are any impressionable people reading this thread, and yes I include young Master Dickinson in that category, my reference to drinking, drug-taking and whoring was indeed A Joke. And a very unfunny one, for which I should be severely reprimanded and possibly banned for life.

 

[Richard]

Yeah the '05 series started stupidly late, didn't it - almost two weeks later than this one (which is still too late for those of us who got used to series starting in June, but that's another matter).

Matthew Engel still, regularly, points-out the negatives of the fact that, since the increased international schedule in 2000 (which has gotten steadily more absurd year by year), we've lost the predictability and balance between overdoing and underdoing which used to adorn tours to England, especially by Australia.

BTW I wonder what Mr. z made of his assertion that "I hope it snows for five days [in the Test that started, rather absurdly, on May 6th this year]. How else can we teach cricket administrators a lesson?"

There has been a fair old build-up, but the T20 WC distracted from it for a while.

Yeah the Twenty20 World thingy I think has been pretty big in importance, for me. IE, I basically had 2 whole weeks where I barely had any international cricket to take any interest in.

I sometimes wonder what would happen if the Ashes were played in a (football) World Cup year, which has never happened although it's clashed with the Olympics a few times. Would result in a huge downsizing of the hype surely.

Aye - hence the deliberate scheduling that's deliberately avoided that!

Ashes have been in odd-numbered years since 1972, making sure always to avoid European Championships and World Cups since the true globalisation of the TV market.

 

[zaremba]

Ashes have been in odd-numbered years since 1972, making sure always to avoid European Championships and World Cups since the true globalisation of the TV market.

And Summer Olympics, I suppose.

 

[stumpski]

Ashes have been in odd-numbered years since 1972, making sure always to avoid European Championships and World Cups since the true globalisation of the TV market.

That may well be the intention now, but I think it may have started accidentally. In the early 70s it was intended that South Africa would tour here in 1975, Australia in 1976 (following their Leap Year tours of '64-72) and West Indies in 1977. When the World Cup was held here in 1975 it was decided that since Australia were here anyway, they might as well stay and play a Test series - the only time in the 20th century the Ashes were contested in four scheduled Tests. They came back in 1977 of course and have been here at four year intervals ever since.

 

[Richard]

Oh, fo' sho' it started accidentally. In fact, interesting to look back at the Ashes series' that have been contested:

2009
	2006/07
2005
	2002/03
2001
	1998/99
1997
	1994/95
1993
	1990/91
1989
	1986/87
1985
	1982/83
1981
	(1978/79)
1977
1975
	1974/75
1972
	1970/71
1968
	1965/66
1964
	1962/63
1961
	1958/59
1956
	1954/55
1953
	1950/51
1948
	1946/47
1938
	1936/37
1934
	1932/33
1930
	1928/29
1926
	1924/25
1921
	1920/21

So in short, apart from the fact that WW2 took out 10 years, there's only been a single alteration in the long-term Ashes schedule since WW1 - that being caused by the South African isolation and 1975 World Cup of which you speak. There were a couple of temporary wavers in England (though it was sometimes 5 sometimes 3, there were still 16 between 1948 and 1964) but in Australia it's always been every 4 years except the one waver (8 years between 1962/63 and 1970/71).

So where it used to be 1-and-a-half years from Australia to England and 2-and-a-half from England to Australia, now it's the other way around.

 

[wpdavid]

I sometimes wonder what would happen if the Ashes were played in a (football) World Cup year, which has never happened although it's clashed with the Olympics a few times. Would result in a huge downsizing of the hype surely.

Thanks to Richard's research, I can state that the Ashes did actually take place during the first 3 football world cups, in 1930, 1934 & 1938. Not that any of them were televised of course. Nor did we deign to take place in any of them. Nonetheless ...

 

[BoyBrumby]

Thanks to Richard's research, I can state that the Ashes did actually take place during the first 3 football world cups, in 1930, 1934 & 1938. Not that any of them were televised of course. Nor did we deign to take place in any of them. Nonetheless ...

Ha, think we're running 0/3 when there's an Ashes/WC clash, so probably just as well they're separated.

Incidentally nerd points to anyone who can name the only player to go to a football world cup and appear in an Ashes series.

 

[GIMH]

Freddie and Harmison both went to the last WC, I distinctly remember Freddie being interviewed in an absolute state before the Paraguay game

I suspect you meant as a player though...

 

[PhoenixFire]

Willie Watson.

 

[fredfertang]

Incidentally nerd points to anyone who can name the only player to go to a football world cup and appear in an Ashes series.

A Yorkie?

 

[BoyBrumby]

Willie Watson.

A Yorkie?

He is, yes. & PF has the very chap. Cricinfo profile.

Was in our ill-fated 1950 world cup squad (when we famously lost to the USofA) but never actually made it onto the pitch.

The last dual English football/cricket international too and likely to remain so, one suspects.

 

[howardj]

0 more sleeps

Tossing up whether to take a sickie tomorrow

 

[GIMH]

I'd take the next 3 days off but it would cost me a lot of money

 

[four_or_six]

I'm in a meeting at 11am tomorrow.

 

[Richard]

Seems an oft-quoted phrase might read better as:
The Ashes - a good time to be unemployed.
Or at least it would have until coverage ceased to be broadcast free-to-air.

 

[GIMH]

Haha, yeah, quite ironic really I probably could have afforded a sickie if the series was on Channel 4 as it's one of the only reasons I haven't cut the Sky Sports from my outgoing