The Cricket Was Great, But There Was Something Missing

I was watching the World Test Championship final between New Zealand and India a couple of weeks ago (congratulations to New Zealand on their big win by the way). The standard of cricket on display was very high, as was expected from the best two teams in the world, but despite all of this there was something gnawing away at the back of my mind. There was something that didn’t seem right with the game, and I’m not talking about the days that were lost to the glorious British summer weather.

RE-POST: My Plan for the County Championship (Originally Written in 2001)

As the sport content of this English-based newsletter seems to mainly revolve around American sports, I thought I would add a little home-country value by writing about the most English of sports - the gentlemanly game of cricket, and in particular, out esteemed county championship, which, as some records would have you believe, dates back to the early 1800's.

In recent years, the county championship had become rather boring. With a massive 18 teams competing in a single division, games towards the end of the season, between teams that had no chance of winning the championship, seemed meaningless, and the counties would often put out understrength sides, often playing in front of crowds numbering under a hundred.

An Open Letter To Ijaz Butt

Dear Mr. Butt,

You don’t know me. I’ve been a cricket fan for over twenty years. I’ve watched some great moments in all forms of the game. I’ve seen countless greats come and go over the years.