🍐 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
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.
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.
Thanks for flagging Sport inc. Richard! BTW I voted ‘yes’ to the existence of the spirit of cricket… Great newsletter as always!
Thanks Ed. Always like your takes too.