The Sporting calendar

As England cricket basques in the glory of their 2009 Ashes win over Australia, questions need to be asked about the disagraceful scenario the Ashes series 2009, has thrown up.

Cricket is not alone in being a sport under funded by the powers that be, the damage is not just done to the individual sport, but also the children of the UK, that are the new stars of the future.

This has been the first Ashes series that has not been available to watch on the UK terrestrial television channels.
Instead, coverage has been live on subscription TV channel Sky, for a premium price of their sports package of £32 per calendar month (which involves also being tied into a 12 month minimum contract), which in effect means that if we wanted to watch the ashes test matches live, then it would have resulted in a 12 month outlay of £384!
All the fans who have no option but to watch sport on our national TV, have had to watch each night (on the day of a test) a lesser channel (channel 5) for a 40 minute highlights program.
Although channel 5 did a very good job, it is totally unacceptable, to have one of our national sport’s biggest event, unavailable to the people of the UK on national television!

Sports, for any nation, is of vital importance to any country.
The level of interest that was generated as I grew up, could never be measured. I watched Wimbledon, my friends and I went out for weeks and played on the local tennis courts.
During the football season, Match of the Day and the Big match, were played out and discussed in school yards, back streets and on the fields of Britain.
Cricket was the sport taken up by many children once the football season was over.
Olympic games and later World athletic championships, were national sports that all of us could watch. (Currently, the World athletics championships are shown on BBC 2).
Most of the children of today, do not have access to subscription TV, how else are the future generations (from which we will pick our future sporting stars) be selected?

“We put money into the sport” argument, is a false one and ultimately damages the sport it is applied to.
As subscription TV takes over coverage of most sports – there are even rumours abound that Wimbledon could be lost to it – the prices of attending the grounds and stadium (that taxpayer’s money often has built) is not dropping. Access to the sports is increasing dramatically!
Each sports governing body is facing funding issues, but the public, which is their life blood, is being cut off from each sport when subscription is required to access it.
Ticket prices are going through the roof, parents of children have to pay money for coaches and sports, where as, in previous generations, children learned sporting skills at school and off their peers.

This can all be turned around and put right!
The government of the day needs to step in and protect national sports for free to air national television for the people. A simple law could be brought in, giving rights of coverage first and foremost to the people.
It cannot be right, morally or legally, that countries such as Norway and Iraq, have access to our premiership football matches being shown live, when the people of the country they are played in, are over charged and denied free access to the same games?

In the case of English cricket, all is not lost.
At present, ticket prices for the test matches here is less than £30 for each days play.
It has been reported that interest in the Ashes series in 2009 has not met the same levels of the Ashes win in 2005.
This is not just because the Aussies are no longer world leaders and THE team to beat. It is because in 2005 the nation was able to tune in and watch every shot played, every over, building up to the final test and the draw we needed to win the Ashes.

Not only does the sport benefit from more people viewing it, it also has a knock on effect in the revenue it generates. Websites and shops promote merchandise, kit, flags, equipment, etc.
More people pass through the grounds to watch county cricket as their players, who have played and won for England, draw in the crouds their status grows, which leads to TV endorsements, increasing the coverage of the sport still further.
When we win, the people come out to see the team parade the streets. The kids start playing the sport in the steets and on the fields, we have role models and idols from the sport, as a result, more talent is unearthed from the young kids and the sport benefits long term.
There will always be times when interest drops off a sport, we saw this with darts, stock car racing, ice dance, etc in the 70s and 80s.
Until Torvill and Dean revived interest in their sport at the olympics, the sport had been very low key.

If the public are being forced to pay a license fee for “free” television, then UK laws should back this up and retain free access for all to our national sports events, without exception.

Sportsmanship in todays sporting world is hard to come by.
Footballers barracking referrees when decisions don’t go their way, fighting between two teams out on the pitch (not just in football), etc, there’s a blame culture in sports, which is all to often excused by “it’s the pressure in today’s sport!”

Money is a major factor and occurring all to often, is the view that participants in sport will do anything to get a slight edge over their opponent.
As in everyday life, those who show compassion and a sense of balance towards people, are seen as weaker in some way, than those who must win at all costs!

Bobby Robson was a fine example of how a person can succeed without exploiting others and shows clearly that winning at anything, is down to skill and good judgement.

Two sporting incidents highlight the differences perfectly:
Ashes third test match: As the first days play was delayed by rain until late afternoon, Ricky Ponting (Australian captain) had submitted his team sheet for the test match. Unbeknown to him as he tossed a coin to decide who was to bat first, Brad Haddin, their wicket keeper and middle order batsman, had sustained a fractured finger in the warm up.
As are the rules, Ponting had to ask for permission from the England captain Andrew Strauss, to bring in a last minute replacement.

Andrew Strauss was within his rights to take advantage of this misfortune and force Australia to play Haddin, with his injury!
Strauss displayed good sportsmanship and allowed Ponting to bring in Graham Manou as a last minute replacement, putting the Australian side back to full strength.
It had no real bearing on the rain affected match, but with all the “pressure” on teams to do well in todays sporting world, all the sledging in cricket, this shone out for me like a beacon.
Good sport Andrew Strauss, had he forced Australia to play an injured player and won, it would have been a hollow victory against a weakened side.
English Cricket is all the more stronger for it, a fine example to set the young people who are fans and players of the game.

Michael Schumacher’s return to formula 1: Felipe Massa’s life threatening injury has opened the door for Schumacher to return to formula 1 and race in his place as he continues to recover.
Under formula 1 rules, only special dispensation can allow a driver to test drive a race car during the season.
Ferrari wrote to all the teams taking part in this year’s championship to ask for permission for Schumacher to have a days testing prior to the European grand prix.
Seven teams gave their permission, three teams refused permission!
Williams, Toro Rosso and Red Bull all turned down the request, disgraceful!

What happens when, god forbid, Schmacher drives the car, untested, at the next grand prix and he has a bad accident?

Would one days testing really make that much difference? Are they really that worried?
There is an opportunity here to display good sportsmanship and set an example for those following the sport and the youngsters around the world, that there is more to life than taking advantage of others misfortune, by refusing a days testing, these three teams have displayed complete arrogance towards the “sport” they take part in.

As in real life, progressing at anything should not be by standing on others, what goes around – comes around, good sportsmanship is a lesson everyone in todays world, would be well advised to learn!

English cricket has taken a small step to climbing the test match world rankings and given a new lease of life, to all the fans, of which I am one.

The first test at Lords, against the Windies, resulted in a brilliant (if some what fortunate) result of a win by 10 wickets on just day 3.

Bopara had a lucky but effective knock with the bat, Swann’s status as one of our best off spinners, reached new heights (he didn’t do to badly with the bat either), along with most commentators, I agree that Graham Onions our medium-fast seam bowler, who openly admits he has little swing, is a blessing in disguise!

England’s cricket team are predictable, they go with fast seam bowlers who can be effective in damp cloudy conditions, but in the sunshine, prove hardworking but lacking in wicket taking.
Onions, like Swanny, is unpredictable, just what we need this summer.
When Onions bowls it can be one of two bowls, a short delivery which gets to the batsman at chest to head height, forcing him to play the delivery, or its right in front of his feet catching the batter flat in front of the stumps lbw.
Wether by design or accident, it causes the batsman problems, with the added edge, that each bowl is not a set maximum fast pace, it can be medium or fast, which creates yet more doubt for the batsman.
A brilliant performance over the two innings in this test, just what we needed. Well done that man!

In Swann, he also has unpredictability. Not only can he be used alternately to Onions, changing pace and mixing speeds can force into the batter mistiming his shots, but he also has a clever grip on the ball as he lets go, which is almost identical to the ball that goes straight on and the ball that turns out.
If the batsman plays as if its going straight on and it turns, he’ll get an outside edge and more than likely a catch, if the batsman plays expecting it to turn out, it often goes straight through the gate and takes out the batman’s wicket.

Last time England won a first test, was four years ago, against Bangladesh, in the warm up test series before…. our Ashes victory!
Dare the barmy army start singing again? Let’s hope so…

Tickets for the fifth day of the first test in Cardiff go on sale on the 10th March 2009.

The first four days of the opening Ashes test match have sold out. The Test starts on July 8, and hospitality packages are still available for the first four days.

Tickets – priced at £25 for adults and £15 for juniors – can be purchased by phoning 0844 967 0701 or by visiting the Glamorgan website. They go on sale at 9am, so be quick!

Click here for Glamorgan cricket club’s website

What is going on over there, with the state of the pitches?
Batsmen (yes english ones) scoring hundreds of runs, bowlers toiling in the field lucky to get 6 wickets before a declaration comes, then easily hanging on in the second innings to play out time and it all ends up a draw – very odd!

I’m used to an England mini collapse or a glorious victory against the odds, rescued from the jaws of defeat, is it the wickets? or could it be the bowling attacks of both teams?

The only other explanation I can see is that the bowling lacks bite or flexibility to change from swing to medium or spin, the ability to mix it up, etc.
As pleased as I maybe to see England’s batting order scoring healthily, I’m not convinced that they are doing as well as I’d like on merit.