The death of English cricket

In Affectionate Remembrance
of
ENGLISH CRICKET,
which died at the Oval
on
29th AUGUST, 1882,
Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing
friends and acquaintances

R.I.P.

N.B.—The body will be cremated and the
ashes taken to Australia.

The Sporting Times ran the obituary that was the catalyst of one of the most special sporting rivalries for the next 125 years, however, it is difficult to see what silver lining will come from yesterdays news from Texas.

It is quite a pity that English cricket died on a day when the 11 men wearing the three lions performed rather well on the pitch, but the news that (Sir) Allen Stanford was arrested yesterday for a fraud of massive proportions, should seal the death of the soul of English cricket.

For those who aren't aware, the ECB pimped out the nation’s cricket team to a rich Texan wanting a plaything. The players where complicit in their own whoaring, but the blame lays with those who run the game.

The announcement of this sordid deal was sealed by a gold plated helicopter landing in Lords, and 20 million dollars behind a perspex box, it seemed tacky then, in hindsight, it was grimy and dirty.

In essence, the ECB has been at this for a while, and selling the game to an American crook with no actual liking for the game is only symbolic of the state of play we find ourselves in today.

For the last 10 years, they have routinely sold the TV rights to the highest bidder, regardless of the actual worth. Which now means that no cricket is shown on terrestrial TV, and a child has as much access to the intricacies of Obama's bail-out plan, than what’s going on in with the cricket in Antigua.

This leads to a lack of interest, a lack of national awareness, the same national awareness that made the 2005 Ashes win so special, and feasibly the last time such levels of excitement regarding cricket will ever have again.

It takes a brave man to turn down millions for the greater benefit, the long term benefit, of any organisation. But turn it down, the ECB should have done.

Cricket is unlike any other sport, its soul, spirit and character are as important as what’s going on in the match. A day at the cricket is not solely based around the 22 yards in the middle, it’s the crowd, the occasion and the personality of the game. It’s why I can clap an opponent’s good work whilst sitting comfortably in the Surrey members end; indeed, I would be the only one who wouldn’t be, if I did not.

Stanford's millions have cheapened the game, and his arrest yesterday is symbolic of how a game that should represent some of the most positive aspects of our national identity, has changed-perhaps beyond repair.

James