Cricket Australia Shame

While James swans around in New Zealand the powers that be holding the fort should be ashamed of how they have treated the women playing in the final of the Big Bash League in Adelaide.

 

I have just finished watching the match that was easily won by 9 wickets by the Sydney Strikers. There was no oomph in the game and no wonder as they played in front of a crowd that I could have counted on one hand (perhaps a slight exaggeration).  Who could have blamed the Sydney side in particular if they had have said “stuff you” and refused to play seeing that they played both matches away.

 

Since when has the top side never been given the home advantage?  OK you might say Victoria has played a couple of finals in Alice Springs but they were in fact advantaged as their spin attack killed off any opposition. Fawad Ahmed is still the best leggie in Australia.

 

Looking after women’s cricket I think not.

 

And what about the presentation?  A six foot seven male MC (no offence meant) but why could not one of the female commentary team done the job?  There certainly was no chutzpah about the presentation.

 

Speaking of New Zealand I did watch the Under 19 World Cup final between India and Australia did you?  Well if you did Australia certainly has a long way to go if they are to become a competitive force in cricket in the year 2023 onwards. Assistant coach Chris Rogers would have been fuming about the batsmen and coach Ryan Harris would have been exasperated by the way the Indian batsmen dispatched the bowlers including the much vaunted leg-spinner Pope to all areas of the ground.  No doubt Pope’s performance a week ago and the subsequent media barrage did not help him.  Many old-timers and not-so-old-timers would be shaking their head at the performance of this team when the crunch came.

 

The Pope still has a long way to go and maybe a haircut would help.

 

Perhaps we should let cricketers at this stage of their development earn their stripes first before being put on the social media merry-go-round.  Keep them away from it would be just as good as bowling a good line and length and putting your nose to the grindstone when batting.

 

I wonder just how much money is actually spent on preparing these youngsters for just this one tournament as against putting money into grass roots cricket?

 

But back to the main story.

 

2.30PM EST – the crowd are starting to flock in to witness the final between home side Adelaide Strikers (yes there is a home side taking part) and the Hobart Hurricanes.  Shame on you Croweaters I thought you might have at least turned out for the women’s game.

 

A bigger disgrace when the cameras switched to Bellerive where the crowd was even bigger than the Women’s final.

 

3.30PM EST – 30,000 in attendance.  Why could they have not come earlier?

 

Adelaide get 2/202 thanks to Jake W’s  115 and skipper Head’s 40 odd not out and it is virtually all over before the Hurricanes start their innings. Short is Warneresque.  Siddle is cunning and Adelaide win.

 

They will rejoice, SACA will be happy, the Adelaide Advertiser will probably have an eight page lift-out and the premier will probably declare a public holiday.  What did happen to the print out of Addie’s in September last year when the Crows won the premiership?  Probably in THAT filing cabinet.

 

That is probably enough cricket for this summer although I weep for the Sheffield Shield. The Sheffield what?

 

About Bob Utber

At 84 years of age Citrus Bob is doing what he has always done since growing up on a small farm at Lang Lang. Talking, watching and writing sport and in recent years writing books. He lives in Mildura with his very considerate wife (Jenny) and a groodle named 'Chloe on Flinders' and can be found at Deakin 27 every day.

Comments

  1. Andrew Starkie says

    Bob, my mates and I are in a very passionate, sport oriented whatsap group chat. Yesterday, I texted it was a shame Ch10 and CA rated Danny Greeen’s entrance to the jungle in CelebrityGMOOH considered a bigger story than the cricket finals and that wbbl should have been held in Sydney. I also asked if any other games had been scheduled at 4pm Sunday. There were plenty of empty seats.

  2. Citrus Bob says

    Andrew – what can I say. Our “powerful” sports organisations are at the beck and call of the TV Moguls and no matter how we, the ordinary every day folk, feel nothing is going to change.
    As I mentioned about the Under 19 team we seem to be breeding a race of arrogant, self-important and aggressive young group. The behaviour of both the Indians and Australians during that final when they obtained a wicket was arrogance at its best. This has the stamp of approval from TV who promote the Shows mentioned by you.
    We love our sport too much to boycott.

  3. John Butler says

    Bob, given the hopes CA have pinned on a new TV deal for the BBL, Channel 10’s scheduling priorities for the finals must be causing some concern Or was it CBS’s opening gambit to drive the next price down?

    Grass roots cricket? Wasn’t that the thing CA rediscovered when their pay deal negotiations went tits up?

    Cheers

  4. Bob, we had effectively one day’s notice about the game and its timing (remember how much flak we copped last September for being presumptuous enough to plan for the possibility of winning a game for which we were favourites?)

    For a product marketed at kids who like cricket, guess what happens on Sunday morning and early afternoons in February? Junior cricket, that’s what. I would have loved to have got there early enough for the WBBL final, but could only get there by 3.30 moving heaven and earth after an 11am junior cricket start. Many people who had been to every other Strikers game couldn’t get there at all because they had a junior game finishing at 5 or 6. So I think the shame is best left with CA and Channel 10 for their ludicrous fixturing (and, yes, the WBBL finals should be standalone events at grounds like North Sydney, Glenelg, Junction Oval when its ready, etc).

  5. Agree with everything you say CB. The overlap between the BBL Finals and the “no-one watches or cares” short form Internationals is a scandal. Travis Head is allowed to play for the Strikers in the finals, but not AJ Tye for the Scorchers. If you must have “internationals” at the same time you could pick a competitive side from BBL players/sides that are not involved in finals. Like when interstate football (yes children it used to exist when TRex, CB and I roamed the earth) had 2 from each VFL team so the local comp was not compromised.
    Not that I care. I was playing golf on Tuesday evening across the river from the “Insert Name Here” Stadium. You could hear the roars for wickets. There seemed very few roars, as confirmed when I got to the car and turned on the radio. Didn’t bother to watch the Scorchers bat (such as it was). In fact cricket ended at New Year for me. The Hopman Cup got me into tennis and the TV never moved off Ch7 for the month.
    As you say CB; If cricket doesn’t care about cricket; why should I?

  6. Andrew Starkie says

    Pete, two seasons ago, The stars weren’t allowed to pick four players for the final who had played for Aust the day before. That rule has obviously changed??

  7. BBL isn’t cricket anyway. Its TV cricket. Just like AFLX isn’t footy. The AFL should sue itself for breaching its own trademark and attaching the word “football”to the AFLX.

  8. Citrus Bob has been answered above,40 thousand a magnificent crowd re time slot and obviously lack of notice and the ladies game should have been a stand alone game in Sydney

  9. Citrus Bob says

    Thank you gentlemen for your comments which bring me back to the following (a) grass roots (b) TV time slots for families (c) CA’s petulance about player availability (d) opinions from the general public.
    Pleasure to hear from you all – we care!

    PB – yes we are GOM’s but how come we are right most of the time?

  10. Peter Warrington says

    yes, my Rosa was very upset as I had offered her a trip to the final should the Sixers host (or the Thunder).

    pisspoor.

Leave a Comment

*