Too Much of a Good Thing

I love cricket. It is a truly fantastic sport, and while football is undeniably ‘the big one’ as far as I am concerned, cricket always followed soon after in my life. It is more than possible that at times I grew to enjoy it even more than ‘the beautiful game’, perhaps because unlike with football, I was actually half-decent at it.

This enjoyment of the sport had begun to wane however, primarily as a result of the excessive amount of cricket that is currently being played. It is absolutely true that ‘you can have too much of a good thing’, and modern-day cricket reflects this phrase perfectly.

All Holds Barred

*Listening to Suspicious for the Winter – Empty Streets*

Well ain’t that a relief. It’s August and the football’s back.

Typically, Norwich failed to get off to anything like a flyer, but  at least we are a full five goals better off than this time last season, eh? Optimism has crept up on me recently from somewhere, it’s sure to escape midweek when we no doubt crash out of the cup in something of a whimper. We’re no cup team.

The omens were against City from the off though, playing on TV and first game of the season are games rarely won by Norwich.

I think I may have missed something during pre-season, when did the rule come in that tackling was now outlawed? Not that anyone’s told Andrew Crofts though, especially last week against Everton.

Take Cardiff’s 1-1 draw with The Blades. Matthew Lowton, the next of their talented full-backs it seems, went in for a crunching 50-50 but was just beaten to the ball. Nothing malicious, just a good-old hard challenge from both players. Then over trots Premiership referee Peter Walton brandishing a red card.

It seems to have been getting worse  year on year but this could be breaking point. Then again, maybe it’s because of last seasons jaunt in League One, where that would have been a free-kick at best.

When you take into account diving, feigning injury, getting other players booked and the like, football is in a very bleak way.

So excuse me while I watch Pakistan fail to catch a cold instead of that pointless game at Wembley. There are too many tears for me.

Who Want’s To Be A Unicorn?

*Listening to Breaks Co-Op – The Otherside*

John Higgins-gate isn’t the only thing bring sport into disrepute this weekend, the disagreement in the ‘camp’ of the ECB Unicorns is right up there.

For those who don’t know, which will be most if not all, The Unicorns are a making-up-the-numbers side of out-of-contract cricketers taking Ireland’s declined place in the Clydesdale Bank 40 this season. And they’re unpaid but for expenses. The footballing equivalent would be say, Bury saying they’re declining to play in the Carling Cup and the FA selecting 20 or so released youngsters and seasoned pros to take their place.

They’re giving people who supposedly love the game a chance to play first-class cricket when they wouldn’t normally have, such as it goes when you’re without a county. A good thing for cricketers, experience for the young’uns and shop-windowing yourself at the same time.

Perfect.

Well apparently not. Two of the Unicorns, Carl Greenidge and Dave Burton are insisting on being paid. Because they’re missing out on the money they would have earned playing for nobody of note?

Just Ain’t Cricket.

*Listening to Foreign Office – Voices*

Cricket is not on a T20 life-support machine. It really isn’t. Just check ITV4.

The fad of the IPL and T20 cricket is obviously fading, in previous years the series was inescapable such was the furore, but this year it is nothing more than background elevator-muzak. It’s becoming comparable to mid-table Premier League football, everyone knows it’s there but no-one particularly cares. Test cricket is the top six.

There’s more in this Premier League mid-table analogy than you’d think too. For a start there’s a whole lot of hacking and swinging going on, shots aren’t exactly cultured. Fishing outside the off-stump has become something of a redundant phrase, it’s now more Homer Simpson fishing with dynamite.

Eoin Morgan must look at IPL in disgust at times as classless bludgeoning takes precedence, much like what Jack Wilshere must have thought when he rolled up next to Kevin Davies at Bolton’s training ground. Sure some of the cricket is impressive, but impressive like a dog wearing a hat. Fun at first but it soon gets old. It’s hoofball and cross blade swipes. Inability to catch and David James.

Tenuously Linked

*Listening to The Whigs – Mission Control*

The world of British sport (How confusing does that sound?) can’t help but set itself up for ridicule can it?

Just take the last week or so, we’ve had a defeat to Lithuania- a nation of three tennis players- resulting in the axe falling on the wrong shoulders; Iain Dowie somehow getting another job in management; one of the worst Grand Prix’s in history; and the endless furore over the World Cup squad.Aren’t we bright.

We really don’t care about the Davis Cup, especially when our only player who knows which end of the racquet to hold pulls out, but give Old Lloydy a break. He ain’t exactly working with the elite of the game, is he now?

To say the LTA isn’t using their budget too well (it’s a budget a Qatar football club wouldn’t sniff at too) is like saying Norwich are going up this season. It’s obvious (optimism isn‘t one of my traits but even Norwich can’t screw this up…).

At least the LTA won’t be bringing in Dowie though. Not only is he the worst manager in my lifetime to somehow keep getting jobs, he’s also the worst pundit in my lifetime to keep getting jobs. For some reason he always looks like there’s someone behind him tugging a rope tied to one of his shoulders.

If I was a Hull fan I’d be absolutely livid. Dowie is probably the only manager who would FAIL to get Norwich promoted from this position. And he’s brought in the ever-so successful Steve Wigley. He may as well just tape on the Championship badges to his Hull players kits now as they’ll be returning (along with the Canaries).