No 128, June 29 - The Grumbler's County Cricket Newsletter
🟢 Get behind County Cricket Day 🔴 All the Championship previews 🟣 Kimber's record-breaking double ton 🟤 Signings for Leics, Worcs and Surrey 🔵 Wright's absence explained 🐍 Snake stops play
It is County Cricket Day on Sunday.
For once, we have a wholesome initiative that literally everyone can get behind. Lancashire have sold out Southport and The Oval looks like being crowded*. Family allowing, I hope to get down to south London.
It is an idea unashamedly taken from Non-League Football Day. And why not? It works.
That has always taken place over an early international break in the Premier League campaign. This weekend’s event is perfectly timed on one of the few Championship Sundays in high summer.
For me, the enthusiasm for a hastily arranged, fan-led County Cricket Day once again demonstrates the residual interest in the game. But also how it must take control of its own story.
Sports media has been my business for 30 years. It is always going through major change but the knock-on effects of digital disruption and the size of the recent talent drain have been unprecedented. Unfortunately, cheap clicks now trump quality. Attention, in any form, is the be-all and end-all. We get the media we deserve and, alas, crap can pay the bills if you pile it high enough.
If Henry Winter, one of Fleet Street’s finest football scribes, can be let go by The Times then what hope is there for little old, long-form cricket? That said, the departure of experienced, important writers like Paul Newman, David Hopps and Dean Wilson in recent years is beyond lamentable.
When I first became a sports writer my plan was to become a full-time cricket writer in my later years. But, like so much of modern journalism, it is no longer a job that pays off a mortgage. That is why I decided to start busking for coffee tips with my writing.
In many ways, the communications of sports teams have not yet caught up with the digital revolution. They are still producing bland, managed press conferences and statements for established new sources when, as the election has shown, tweets and podcasts from outsiders possess just as much influence. The Sun will never again claim it is they ‘wot won it’ because, frankly, they are a waning force. There are few media gatekeepers for those wanting your attention. Though this is very much a double-edged sword.
And here’s the chance for a sport like county cricket.
Use the tools that are available.
Go make a podcast about your county, go write a blog, go start a YouTube channel. Your view IS valid, especially when no one else is saying anything at all.
If you are an artist, paint the game. If you are a photographer, go snap it. If you like crunching numbers, then crunch numbers. Find a niche and tell a story. Send your stuff to me if you like. I’ll give it a push.
Because the game needs as many storytellers as it can get right now and there is no business model for the mainstream sports media to cover it anymore.
Far too much of the digital discourse about county cricket is about destruction or static preservation, not creation.
That only allows the powers-that-be to ignore or pastiche those who actually pay to watch county cricket.
(Read that sentence again. Because it is an incredible state of affairs)
County Cricket Day clearly has the tacit support of the game’s establishment but it has been created and led by fans. We would not accept it any other way. Especially after the manner in which cricket has been run in recent years.
However, the groundswell of support in its first year suggests it is already fulfilling a need.
Now it is up to you to give that need a voice.
(* Yes, I know Anderson is playing and Surrey were doing their own promotion anyway)
☕️ When I started this newsletter I made two promises, it will be free forever and your data will never be misused. If you like this newsletter (and you can afford it) please consider buying me a coffee via Ko-Fi or subscribe via Patreon. All coffee buyers are name-checked in the next edition.☕️
PS. I am on Threads. Join me there as Twitter has been ruined. Also here are my social media links - Facebook | Instagram
PPS I have set up a County Cricket Chat space on Reddit - r/CountyCricketChat
PPPS If you want to get involved in any groups to change this situation. Then there is the County Cricket Members Group and, of course, the Cricket Supporters Association.
County Championship - previews
Click on a team name for a different preview
Division One
Durham vs Worcestershire
Hampshire vs Kent
Lancashire vs Nottinghamshire
Somerset vs Warwickshire
Surrey vs Essex
Division Two
Derbyshire vs Yorkshire
Gloucestershire vs Glamorgan
Leicestershire vs Middlesex
Northamptonshire vs Sussex
Last week, this happened…
County cricket: Louis Kimber rewrites records and Surrey crush competition | The Guardian
I was glued to the Sussex stream towards the end of Kimber’s innings. In contrast, I barely watched England’s semi-final defeat and entirely forgot the T20 World Cup final was on Saturday afternoon.
Here are the round-ups…
County Championship Division One roundup: Sam Hain hundred defies Hampshire | The Cricketer
Player news, moves and loans
Sai Sudharsan: Surrey re-sign India batter for key game v Essex - BBC Sport
Amar Virdi: Worcestershire sign Surrey spinner on one-game loan - BBC Sport
Zak Foulkes: Birmingham Bears sign New Zealand T20 seamer - BBC Sport
Glamorgan sign Scotland quick Chris Sole for Blast | ESPNcricinfo
Jimmy Neesham: Leicestershire bring in New Zealand all-rounder to replace Wiaan Mulder - BBC Sport
News, Views and Interviews
I have a soft spot for Leicestershire and I like much of what the leadership are doing to revitalise one of the smaller counties. But I have issues with their handling of this story.
The county cricket message boards are full of nonsense, half-truths, mischief-making and unfair criticism. Most of the time I subscribe to the notion of cock-up rather than conspiracy, especially in a sport still living in the long shadow of the ‘amateur blazers’. I met Chris Wright a few times during his spell at Essex. He’s a fine chap. I have always admired his ability and passion for the game. It was odd to see his move to Sussex collapse last year but, as the article says, family issues were cited. This sounded odd but plausible enough and the deliberately vague term deflected speculation. These days, we do not want to pry in such circumstances.
But assuming this story is correct and it was a failed drugs test, albeit a contested one, then this lack of openness has played into the hands of the troublemakers polluting social media discussion.
St Helen's: Swansea's memorable cricketing moments - BBC Sport
Worcestershire appoint Riley as new chair - The Worcester Observer
Simon Philip to retire from Club Chair position | Kent Cricket
England to pick Jamie Smith as wicketkeeper for West Indies Test series | Telegraph
Hartlepool drug recovery cricket team gets bats from Durham | BBC News
Bowler in legal threat over Cricket Scotland racism allegation | BBC News
Frank Duckworth, co-inventor of DLS method, dies at the age of 84 | ESPNcricinfo
West Yorkshire cricket club seeks ‘fairness not favours’ over funding | The Independent
Kent Spitfires skipper Sam Billings says underperforming squad must take responsibility for poor T20 Blast form | Kent Online
First-Class Counties Select XI squad named to face West Indies | ECB
Steve Bucknor is still raising the finger | Cricket Monthly
Finally, not county cricket but never seen this before…
The story of this newsletter
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