No 95, July 8 - The Grumbler's County Cricket Newsletter
🍐 Worcs lose bowlers to Notts 🟤 Does the 'Spirit of Cricket' exist? 🟣 Middx host 'dementia-friendly' games 🟠 Do we need a transfer system? 🐸 Yorkshire kiss frogs 🔵 Liverpool's pavilion listed
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Suddenly, the 'spirit of cricket' is a thing.
Of course, there are plenty saying that it isn't, and never was, anything of the sort.
I disagree. The very fact that we have been talking about it for most of this week means that some sort of concept exists or has existed in our minds.
But, as with most things in cricket, it’s complicated.
I like to feel I have an appreciation for the origin story of the English game. For my Masters in the Sociology of Sport, I wrote a dissertation on it. That involved a thorough examination of the key book - Derek Birley's Social History of English Cricket.
It is well established that the early game was full of immorality - gambling, violence, charlatans, self-serving entrepreneurs etc. Its first superstar, WG Grace, was a Johnsonesque, amoral rogue. As it moved on, the game became full of shamateurism and elitism. Duncan Stone's recent book has outlined how early decisions designed to protect enrich and entrench the powerful were made and then sold as beneficial to all. The ICEC report showed this is still happening.
But, along the way, cricket became imbued with a certain morality. Fraudulent though it may be and, again, often designed to support the ruling elites, these customs, traditions and symbols are critical links in our chain of attachment.
So, even if we know it is idealistic and artificial, why not support a concept that seeks to make us better?
As I get older, I worry about social behaviour and what it means for our future. Just look at post-Covid Britain, kids do not want to go back to school, adults just want to work from home, over 50s have left the workforce entirely while strikes and dissent are everywhere. The unrest behind this behaviour is not all due to lockdown but it seems to have been the spark for the usually restrained UK population to unshackle itself.
Sport has always been an important pressure valve for society. My Masters' tutors called it a "civilizing process". It is also a barometer of tension. The spike in football hooliganism in the 1970s illustrated Britain's desperate socio-economic problems at the time and there was serious unrest at sporting events immediately after lockdown.
I have just finished coaching a boys U16 football team because of aggression and poor behaviour from other teams. We were one of the only sides playing with some concept of fair play. We were on our own, it stressed me out so I quit and the team will disband. For me, the bad guys won. But thinking about it, I asked my players to control themselves when every other force is telling them to revert to the mean-spirited game they see everywhere else.
When I watched the England women win the Euros final last year, it worried me that Jill Scott was lionised for her overaggressive, swearing reaction to a tackle. That is just following the nonsense that has permeated the men's game - claiming decisions you know to be untrue, kicking the ball away (it never used to be like that), deliberate intimidation and all the other garbage. You start on that path and the logical conclusion is Jose Mourinho basing his tactics on pressurising referees and deliberately covering his deficiencies by stoking up anger against the officials if decisions go against him. That, in turn, incites physical violence against referees.
This, my friends, is a sport without spirit. I want cricket to be better than that.
The problem is that we are drawing all these moral lines in our imagination. There will never be an agreement because we cannot define what we cannot truly see. That is why the Aussies are amused by our moralising, they simply see the game in a different way. Who are we to say their vision is incorrect?
And, of course, adhering to any concept of morality means restraint and sacrifice for the greater good. We must police ourselves. If the MCC members truly believed in the spirit of cricket then they would not have reacted in the way that they did. The very concept is ephemeral enough that I go as far as saying it only truly exists when it is tested.
Or, as one of my first sports teachers told me "The umpire is always right… but especially when he is wrong".
My concern is that cricket, like the rest of society, is telling itself tales simply to justify what it wants to do.
Leave the decision to the umpire, that is what he is there for = cheating is OK
A player should earn as much money as he can while he can = unfettered greed is OK for the talented
Those denying the existence of the spirit of cricket would probably say these sorts of unspoken biases has always existed. And they are right.
There is no video of WG Grace refusing to leave the pitch when bowled, no tweets showing the occasions when Colin Cowdrey (a famous walker) stood his ground. Sainted sportsmen yet serial adulterers like Muhammad Ali and Wilt Chamberlain would have been cancelled early in their careers if camera phones had existed. Social media has not made us all hypocrites but it has exposed the way we interpret our world on our own terms.
Capturing one moment when Jonny Bairstow bent the rules or England ran someone out the same way means little. The everyone-is-as-bad-as-each-other argument is the last ploy of the desperate, immoral politician.
We want to live in a world of the logical, the clear and the factual but so much is illogical, emotional and difficult to process.
You cannot define the spirit of cricket. But then you cannot define love either.
We betray that all-important emotion to our families in small ways every single day. Tiny lies, little grumbles, acts of disrespect, selfishness and minor arguments.
Yet we spend our lives trying to find true love.
All I am saying is that a constant, perhaps fruitless, search for the spirit of cricket is a noble pursuit as well.
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County cricket moves and departures
Signings: Lloyd (Glamorgan to Derbyshire, 3yr), Rickelton (Yorkshire - Champ, overseas, 3 games), Pretorious (Durham - Champ, overseas, 3 games), Young (Nottinghamshire - Champ, overseas, 3 games)
Contracts: Crocombe (Sussex - 2yrs), Carson (Sussex - 3yrs)
England's Josh Tongue set to leave Worcestershire for Nottinghamshire (Telegraph)
“Tongue is one of a number of homegrown, out-of-contract players who could leave Worcestershire at the end of the season. Pat Brown looks set to join Derbyshire, while Dillon Pennington has also held talks with other clubs, including Nottinghamshire. Jack Haynes, the young England Lions batsman, is also attracting interest.”
Nottinghamshire sign Josh Tongue & Dillon Pennington from Worcestershire for 2024 (BBC Sport)
Peakfan's blog: Transfer fees or compensation needed? (Peakfan)
So I read this piece and thought, hmmmmm, Leus du Plooy. He would be an excellent replacement for Dan Lawrence at Essex. He is South African, but plays on a Hungarian passport and has proved his worth in county cricket.
But then, what about Feroze Khushi, Robin Das, the youngsters most likely to profit from Lawrence's departure? Nottinghamshire are being hammered for signing two bowlers from Worcestershire rather than growing their own.
Derbyshire blogger Peakfan throws around the idea of a proper transfer system. You could argue that would only help the moneybags counties but the trend of big teams taking from poorer ones is strong right now. With no remuneration. This way there is an incentive to develop quality cricketers and a smaller county could sell and invest cleverly to force their way up the table.
Of course, it is a minefield too. What do we do with the franchise events nabbing players mid-season? Doesn’t this just usher in the era of 12-month contracts with those multi-team IPL conglomerates?
It needs much more thought. I am going to pitch it to The Cricket Paper for my column next week.
Let me know what you think in the comments
Sussex announce Ravi Bopara departure after captain not offered new contract (Cricinfo)
Marcus Harris to return home to Australia after the Ashes (Gloucestershire CCC)
Paul Downton: Kent director of cricket to retire at end of season (BBC Sport)
Leicestershire: Alfonso Thomas and James Taylor to remain as interim head coaches - (BBC Sport)
News, Views and Interviews
Saqib Mahmood: Lancashire and England fast bowler suffers recurrence of back injury (BBC Sport)
Have you heard of Surrey's fast bowler Gus Atkinson yet? You soon will (Cricinfo)
Apparently, Atkinson was discussed for the England role the Josh Tongue has taken this season. The prevailing view is that it was a bit too soon.
Glamorgan break overall Blast group stage attendance record | Glamorgan Cricket News (Glamorgan CCC)
Two-bed apartment next to Somerset County Cricket Ground (Somerset County Gazette)
It is nice. If you have a spare £350k.
Peakfan's blog: Transfer fees or compensation needed? (Peakfan)
Yorkshire claim mystery investor secured but deny Saudi links (Telegraph)
Yorkshire hope to secure financial future imminently (Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
Quote of the week from the Yorkshire CEO: "I really did kiss a lot of frogs, I carry Lipsil around with me I've kissed so many.”
A thought-provoking blog from Ed Warner on the ICEC report. He thinks they have gone in too hard and that approach will stoke up resistance. That could be true. And his comparison with Seb Coe’s work at World Athletics is pertinent. Ed is a former chair of UK Athletics so he knows boardrooms much better than I do. But, I’ll say this, softly, softly has not worked thus far.
Also, on a wider point, so few people Type Ks really and truly seem to understand the advantage they have.
If we have true social mobility in British society and cricket, then that group loses out. Put a more diverse group on the top table and some of them must vacate their seats. The Ks become ks. You cannot just increase the number of spaces.
Sorry, I just do not see that happening anytime soon.
Liverpool Cricket Club's pavilion in Aigburth awarded Grade II listed status (ITV)
What a beautiful building.
Middlesex Cricket will be hosting two dementia friendly match-days (Middlesex CCC)
This is fabulous. For reasons I spelt out a couple of weeks ago, this issue is close to my heart. However it is also the social and community work that a sport like cricket can perform.
We have an ageing population who are increasingly isolated. Keeping them connected and healthy is a fine social cause. Keeping them alive is also an issue due to the Tories cost of living crisis. Actually, no. Right first time, it is ALL down to the Tories.
Given pensioners’ rising cost to the public purse via the NHS you can see this in purely financial terms if you must. Whether it is dementia care, fitness, social events like Walkers and Talkers or just helping people keep warm and fed in the winter, county cricket clubs (especially those in town centres) can be used to connect a particular demographic. Even if it is the local authority paying a reduced fee to hire an exec box when they are left empty then directing fans towards the scheme being pushed that day. That is what community clubs do. I did a podcast with a Tranmere Rovers director on their strategy of revenue-raising social schemes in conjunction with their local council. And county cricket is not like football, because you hang around all day and can wander in.
It’s hard to play cricket if your school’s got no sports field (Guardian)
Couple of stories from further afield: Can Microsoft's Satya Nadella Sell Cricket in America? (Bloomberg) and Japan and Cricket: Why? Here is why! (LinkedIN)
Ten-team World Cup 'bit of a kick in the teeth' for Scotland - Kyle Coetzer (BBC Sport)
What is it with cricket wanting to contract and stay small when every other sport looks to expand?
Finally, there was a recent Twitter thread on Wisden’s in unusual places. This was my winner
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The spirit of cricket exists, but, Cheshire Cat-like, it fades with every invocation, until pretty soon all that will be left will be the smug grin of the bacon and eggs who refer to it constantly. England made an absolute balls of the Bairstow incident but Carey only tried it because Aus had whipped themselves up into a frenzy over the Starc ‘catch’. Similarly the Indian self-righteousness of ‘you play by the spirit, we’ll play by something that’s actually written down’ would be fine were they not constantly pushing those lines too. We need to spend less time thinking about it, talking about it, pushing for or against it, and more time just letting it manifest.
If we want to retain cricket as a team game we have to restore pride in counties (there are too many cities for cricket). We need to find some way of curbing the power of agents who profit from and thus encourage this sort of thing.