tbf, mercenary cricket has been a thing ever since the days when they used to have to travel by ships. Rich businessmen would create their own teams, fund their own tours and hire the best cricketers, taking them away from their county and country commitments. Then you've also got thing like the rebel tours, Kerry Packer, even the ICL. This sort of stuff has always existed in cricket, if not in all sport.I'll sound like a broken record, but this has been happening to us for over a decade, robbing us of our best talent. It's just that it appears to now be moving to contracts that effect the bigger nations players as well.
People should have paid more attention to our situation, this has been on the cards for a long time.
Hope he's already signed the contract and Mumbai are up **** creekView attachment 35809
This will be a game changer for world cricket and is massive news for the sport.
Apparently Jofra Archer is set to be offered a year-round, multi-million-pound deal by Mumbai Indians that would require the ECB to gain permission from the IPL franchise to pick him for England. Signing the deal will make the franchise the primary employer of the player, and ECB will have to seek a NOC from the franchise to let him play for England.
If it goes through then I am sure a lot of player will be poached by the T20 League Teams that way. Will it be an end of International Cricket?
Bloody Kumar really did make you bleed didn't he?Hopefully this is the beginning of the end and Men's International Cricket is finally put out of it's misery.
Metaphorically and literally.Bloody Kumar really did make you bleed didn't he?
I don't think it's particularly about Sanga. The game just stopped being fun around the 2000s. Average batsmen were rising to the top, while bowlers struggled more to stand out. Test matches stopped making sense due to the lack of balance and it lasting for 5 long days with obvious results for most part, while pretty much anyone can hit a six a mile long in T20s these days. ODI cricket was the most fun format back then but T20s have erased that and people still watch that format more out of habit than any real entertainment. This thing has been dead for a while now, put it to bed. IPL has already taken over anyway.Bloody Kumar really did make you bleed didn't he?
Au contraire, it is the only form of cricket that is watchable to me right now. The flaws and imperfections make for a far more entertaining spectacle than this mindless robotic stuff the men's game has become. In the men's game, I don't even get excited to see a six hit anymore - it's just a dead sport now in my view.Yeah but women's cricket is astronomically worse in every conceivable way and pretty much unwatchable
It's almost like that right now!Cricket will be fun again when they replace bowlers with bowling machines and batsmen gets 3 opportunities in a single innings to make the most out of it.
Not seeing that. Most of their best players are well into their 30's and there doesn't seem to be so much talent coming through. If you swapped Aussies for Indians it might make more sense, especially with the financial clout they now have.The Aussies are building a dominant team, with players in their second XI that will probably play for most others, while everyone tries to topple them.
Obviously it's a much worse standard but have to disagree with you big time here.Yeah but women's cricket is astronomically worse in every conceivable way and pretty much unwatchable
I'd say England are probably the second strongest side right now. I don't think India are there yet, but as you say, that could change in future.Not seeing that. Most of their best players are well into their 30's and there doesn't seem to be so much talent coming through. If you swapped Aussies for Indians it might make more sense, especially with the financial clout they now have.
Gardner, McGrath, Harris, Mooney, King and Brown are all in their 20s. Litchfield is still in her teens and is immensely talented.Not seeing that. Most of their best players are well into their 30's and there doesn't seem to be so much talent coming through. If you swapped Aussies for Indians it might make more sense, especially with the financial clout they now have.
I can't watch most cricket that's a significantly lower standard than the men's international game, whether it's List A, Associate, or one of the bottom tier franchise leagues. The U19 WC and IPL/PSL are borderline. Women's cricket falls somewhere on the lower end of that list.Obviously it's a much worse standard but have to disagree with you big time here.
Women's cricket continues to grow year by year and it's easy to admire some of the better players. Can produce very exciting games.
Fair enough I'm with you regarding following all the lower standard stuff, but just find women's cricket a bit of a breath of fresh air.I can't watch most cricket that's a significantly lower standard than the men's international game, whether it's List A, Associate, or one of the bottom tier franchise leagues. The U19 WC and IPL/PSL are borderline. Women's cricket falls somewhere on the lower end of that list.
The men's international game is in fantastic health right now. There's a good balance between bat and ball in tests. Lots of great, classy batsman around as well as multiple unprecedented pace bowling depth across the world. He'll, we've got an unusually high number of left armers and all rounders going around at the moment. Most series are very competitive. What has happened to ODI cricket has been unfortunate but the last WC was cracking and I'm absolutely certain this one will be too as half the teams look well placed to win it.
Sorry, my mistake. I thought @Himannv was referring to the Men's Team. Yes, totally agree about the current status of Women's Cricket and England will do well to make the Ashes semi-competitive this year.Gardner, McGrath, Harris, Mooney, King and Brown are all in their 20s. Litchfield is still in her teens and is immensely talented.
Would love to have any of those coming through for NZ.
yeah but international football doesn't have 3 formats which demand almost year-round availability. You need to be available for 1 weekend every 6 weeks, + international comps which are every 4 years.The title of the thread is a bit over-dramatic - we'll still have international cricket even if it's not always the best against the best. In fact it already isn't due to the volume of cricket, resting and rotation, and as mentioned above the fact that this sort of thing was already happening to good players in less well-off countries.
Think of association football - international football still exists even if players regularly make themselves unavailable for it, and no-one tries to have a cash grabbing league during the World Cup. We will definitely always have international cricket even if it isn't the year-round focus it is now.
I honestly kind of shrug off the prospect of moving from mostly a constant circle of internationals to something that's more league-based, but what grates me is that these leagues are all T20s which I find far less interesting. The most talented cricketers mostly playing the format I find the least interesting is a horrible outcome from a personal perspective.