Franchise fatigue, mental health & Bumrah's the best
Best Cricket Stories of the Week, 10th to 16th February 2024
“The blame lies not with the players, who are making the most of cricket's T20 boom, but with the administrators who have let an unregulated market mutate”; ESPNcricinfo’s Matt Roller eloquently complains that franchise cricket has taken over schedules, even as the quality of the spectacle continues to drop.
“The players will baulk at any reduction in their earning potential in the short-term, but any dispassionate sports and business analyst will see that, long-term, the current situation will result in less earning capacity with supporters, sponsors and advertisers becoming confused and disillusioned by the sight of the same players appearing in Cape Town, Chittagong or Sharjah, in three different tournaments, before any has concluded”; Neil Manthorp talks about the unsustainability of the modern franchise model, even as SA20 knocked it out of the park in their second season.
“The genius of England's approach is that it takes the traditional consequences of dismissal out of the equation”; ESPNcricinfo’s Sambit Bal writes about how Bazball has upended Tests forever.
“Being among the three most successful batters over a five-year span for any side is special, especially if batting is not your main suit. For India, it is more significant for several reasons”; Wisden’s Abhishek Mukherjee pens a love letter to the ever underappreciated batting performances by Ravindra Jadeja.
“Even for a player who melds batting with circus arts, this streak has been unrealistic. Not just for the numbers but the context, the way that each high point has grown out a low that should have made it impossible”; The Guardian’s Geoff Lemon writes about the improbable brilliance of Glenn Maxwell in the last few months, as he keeps scoring centuries despite a career-ending injury and two separate golf cart accidents!
“Twenty-one-year-old Fraser-McGurk has also become the latest beneficiary of The Warner Effect, which sounds like a combination of the Higgs Boson and Doppler Shift, but is one of world cricket’s most popular casual assumptions”; The ever brilliant Gideon Haigh has a fascinating theory on why entertaining but inconsistent batters keep getting chances; everyone hopes they’ll become the next David Warner.
“Dane Piedt spent 1,574 days waiting for Wednesday. Happily the limbo was worth it”; Cricbuzz’s Telford Vice writes about the incredible Test return of Proteas spinner Dane Piedt, years after he retired from, and gave up on, cricket!
Mitchell Marsh goes on BBC’s Stumped podcast to talk about his mercurial rise over the last couple of years. He also talks about why mental health is an important aspect of the game that is not talked about, and what he is trying to do to help with that.
The Full Quota Podcast review the second season of the SA20 alongside commentator Nikhil Uttamchandani. [Apple Podcasts]
Jarrod Kimber takes on the statement that has been on everyone lips for a while now; just what makes Jasprit Bumrah the best bowler in the world?
The always hilarious Sam Perry & Ian Higgins of The Grade Cricketer have their third podcast on Australia beating India in a World Cup final in 12 months.
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