Somerset cricket

[Joe Totale]

Totally agree with paragraphs 2,3 and 4, Joe T !! It's the Franchise thing with the Hundred (nobody to cheer for if you're a West Country supporter), and the fact that it has severely devalued the 50 over cup which used to be a really prestigious competition.
But surely you could take your lad to any county game?? They're all pretty laid back, aren't they??!
My concern for cricket is the possible demise of the longer formats, at the expense of gimmicky and money-orientated forms. Give me a 4 or 5 day competition every time, although I do think there's plenty of room for the T20 Blast. At least that's played along county lines and doesn't 'steal' players from other teams! I'm all for upsetting the MCC members though!!

It's a shame the T20 Blast was never given the same big push that the Hundred has been given, it could have been another IPL or Big Bash but the ECB were clearly committed to making their own format, the T20 Blast always feels like an afterthought.

At Beckenham you have large grassy areas where my son and his mates can play their own games when they get bored, he's only 5 so doesn't have the longest attention span! Contrast that to Lords and The Oval where it's just seating.

I love the longer format as well but I got into it by watching home test matches on TV. Without that option nowadays we have to find other ways to get kids into the longer form and maybe a gimmicky competition like the Hundred is one.

 

[Brussels Bureaucrat]

It's a shame the T20 Blast was never given the same big push that the Hundred has been given, it could have been another IPL or Big Bash but the ECB were clearly committed to making their own format, the T20 Blast always feels like an afterthought.

At Beckenham you have large grassy areas where my son and his mates can play their own games when they get bored, he's only 5 so doesn't have the longest attention span! Contrast that to Lords and The Oval where it's just seating.

I love the longer format as well but I got into it by watching home test matches on TV. Without that option nowadays we have to find other ways to get kids into the longer form and maybe a gimmicky competition like the Hundred is one.

The T20 blast worked brilliantly when it was played in July and August. I went to a lot of the Somerset home games in the 2019 season. It was played at around the same time as the Ashes, so the counties were able to capitalise on all the extra publicity from that, and a lot of the players who'd just won the World Cup were playing in it so the standard was excellent. And of course it was perfect for kids on school holidays.

I clearly remember sitting in a sports bar in Taunton watching the final session of the Test at Headingley before going onto the County Ground for the T20. It was all going terribly, and as a result England needed to chase an improbable 350-odd to win. Obviously, that was never going to happen...

 

[Brussels Bureaucrat]

My concern for cricket is the possible demise of the longer formats, at the expense of gimmicky and money-orientated forms. Give me a 4 or 5 day competition every time, although I do think there's plenty of room for the T20 Blast. At least that's played along county lines and doesn't 'steal' players from other teams! I'm all for upsetting the MCC members though!!

I think the CC will survive. The crowds are never going to be huge but a love for the red-ball game in England is just too deeply ingrained to let it die.

I do worry about whether the 50-over format will survive though, internationally as well as domestically. I enjoy it more than T20, and it can produce some really compelling cricket, but I guess it just doesn't get the eyeballs in the way that the shortest format does.

 

[Quinny]

I do worry about whether the 50-over format will survive though, internationally as well as domestically.

I'm sure a Kerry Packer-seque character will come along to save the day.

 

[Brussels Bureaucrat]

I'm sure a Kerry Packer-seque character will come along to save the day.

He would absolutely love 21st-century cricket. Well maybe not Leicestershire v Glamorgan in the Second Division of the County Championship on a mizzly Tuesday in April, but he'd relish the IPL.

 

[Tynan One Nil]

I fear it is too late for the counties without a Test match ground - too much invested in the Hundred for it to be abandoned. Biggest mistake was not keeping cricket on terrestrial TV and limiting the audience and the kids in particular.
Enjoy Somerset, Sussex, Worcestershire etc while you can.