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Australia is coming to get you guys.
Maybe they should have concentrated on South Africa
anyway after the way England preformed in India, a series they should have drawn at least, hopefully they have a good tour of the windies, then bring it on 
Australia will win the Ashes 3-1.
England will embark on this Ashes series with our usual mixture of unpreparedness, blind optimism and utter complacency, having enjoyed a brief holiday in the West Indies. At least two of our main bowlers will be injured, having been on a continuous treadmill of pointless county cricket and endless international cricket without a break for the last year.
Meanwhile, Australia will go back to to basics, pick a team built on mental toughness, earn a well-fought out draw in South Africa, have a sensible period of rest and recuperation before arriving at Heathrow and proceeding to kick our backsides up and down the country for the next two months.
Oh, and for good measure, no bugger will be able to watch the Ashes because we sold the rights to Sky in order to continue to finance the utterly pointless County Championship and millions more will not be able to go to the games because they will be held in decrepit tiny little stadia such as Sofia Gardens and Lords’ (where some of the cheapest tickets will be on sale for £100).
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You’re fairly happy with the state of English cricket then, Andrew
I have to confess that I’m fairly ignorant of club cricket in other countries – how do the various setups differ to our rather limp-wristed mockery?
Australian cricket is the ideal model. Six first class teams and a streamlined system of grade cricket underneath that. The small number of teams means that the domestic game is more intense than our game. On top of that, the game is organised along the principles of:
1. Successful national team
The domestic game is subordinate to the national team, it does not make a profit or attract huge crowds, its sole function is to provide a competitive environment in which two groups of players can be tested prior to international call-ups. The first are those youngsters identified at U15 U17 or U19 level (they are also likely to have spent some time in the Academy). The second group are those late developers that may have been missed by the youth system. State sides have salary caps imposed centrally.
2. Access to that national team for as many people as possible
So cricket legally must be free to air in Australia and, whereas we are expanding the number of Test grounds, Australia concentrate on improving access at their existing grounds. The MCG holds 80,000 spectators and the others are pretty good. Ticket prices are low, encouraging people to attend. Because our capacity is small, our ticket prices are high.
3. Investment in grassroots
The ECB say they are doing this, but there remains some doubt about how much money actually goes in this direction. At least 50% of ECB revenue goes to the counties and there is no say in how the counties spend it.
Domestic cricket in India is a ramshackle affair, with the state-based Ranjitsinhi Trophy the main tournament, but there are others, little co-ordination and no-one really knows where all the money goes. But they do have such a reservoir of talent, that somehow they keep turning up great players.
Most of the other countries are similarly poor, with the standards in the West Indies declining alarmingly in recent years. Sri Lanka continue to throw up unorthodox but talented players, something of a miracle, but I think they also have comparatively few domestic teams so perhaps there is more of an intensity to their cricket.
Interestingly, South Africa restructured their domestic game a few years back, reducing the number of teams to 6, thus increasing the competitiveness of their second tier cricket. Perhaps it is just coincidence that they are resurgent.
We have the only fully professional domestic game in the world. For a long time, the vast majority of Australian cricketers were not professional. Indeed, though we had 450 professional cricketers we were regularly thrashed by a country who had barely 50.
No predictions yet, but…
Still have to fancy that Aussie batting line up (hard to see Hayden travelling now though) but am struggling to see where their 20 wickets come from. A lot depends on form and fitness. Lee has looked increasingly ineffective and is about to go under the knife, Siddell looks raw, Clark (Stuart) seems to have been more sussed out in recent times (and is also injured), Hauritz and Krejza may just about get to Ashley Giles’ standard.
Shaun Tait looks mentally fragile but is likely to be picked when available following a bit of a breakdown and Shane Watson is permanently crocked. Mitchell Johnson is the only gimme.
If they’re all fit and firing the pace attack would be reasonable but it looks long odds against that at this stage.
Mike
I think Siddle has a touch of the Merv Hughes about him. Clark will be solid in English conditions and if Lee can get fit, with Johnson that gives a decent attack. They may not be world beaters, but then they don’t have to be – they’re only playing England.
We haven’t yet seen Noffke, Hilfenhaus or Bollinger. And I think you’re a bit harsh on Krejza. He’s a proper Aussie style off spinner in that he gives the ball a big tweak. He’s a little expensive, but I think Warne was too in the early days. Hauritz is indeed Giles-lite.
Just going back on the county championship i know it’s not everyones cup of tea(i love it) i think it’s a little harsh saying it’s utterly pointless. Justin Langer said in an interview on ‘sky’
last season that the division one was the most competitive league he has ever played in. hard to believe i know but it cant be all bad.Charles Darwin to conquer the World
Perhaps that is a little harsh – there is no doubt it is a stronger league than it used to be. But the problem is that English cricket is run entirely by the counties for the counties. County cricket doesn’t make money, it doesn’t generate any interest and it still is not producing sufficient international Test quality players.
What’s more the counties have resisted every single reform to improve the national team, from two divisions to central contracts. It was the counties who wanted the Sky television deal that at a stroke denied millions of people access to the national team. Now they see T20 as a chance for them to become financially viable, for the first time in decades. If the two T20 leagues do generate a lot of money for them, I wonder how long it will be before they decide to abandon the county championship altogether? The ECB wouldn’t be able to stop them because the ECB IS the counties.
Going back to the formation of the county championship, it was a reluctant concession to those who wanted a regular competition to establish which was the best team. But all of the clubs were and have remained private members clubs. At the time it was thought vulgar to go out of one’s way to attract spectators or to make money. Hence, the entirely illogical beginnings of the county championship as a three day tournament, which necessarily meant most spectators couldn’t attend most of the cricket. It might easily have begun as a one or two day competition, playing at weekends, to maximise attendances or income, but the counties weren’t interested in that.
Though I have great affection for Worcestershire, there is no justification for their remaining as a professional club, subsidised entirely by the England team. Personally, I would cut the subsidies to the counties by a third or a half, more than enough to force the weaker counties to go to the wall and then restructure the domestic game around the surviving bigger counties, such as Warwickshire, Lancashire, Middlesex, Surrey and possibly Yorkshire or Durham. Instead of spreading the England money around, this should be concentrated on developing the tiny little grounds we have into bigger stadia, enabling more people to go and see the national team and bringing down ticket costs. (£75 at Edgbaston to see one day’s cricket this year – around £100 at Lord’s).
In London, there is a good case for using the Olympic Stadium for cricket after 2012, turning Lord’s into a museum and selling the Oval for redevelopment. It is ridiculous that the premier cricket ground in the country has a capacity of less than 30,000. It would be like going to watch the England football team at the Molineux or the City Ground. The Olympic Stadium would rival the MCG for facilities and size and ticket prices could be slashed. £10 a ticket to watch England v Australia? And a London-wide advertising scheme to attract as many people as possible.
But as I am once again foaming at the mouth, I will desist.
Mervyn is a legend. He had a bristly tache, a God-fearing haircut and more than his share of guts.
Though I have great affection for Worcestershire, there is no justification for their remaining as a professional club, subsidised entirely by the England team. Personally, I would cut the subsidies to the counties by a third or a half, more than enough to force the weaker counties to go to the wall and then restructure the domestic game around the surviving bigger counties, such as Warwickshire, Lancashire, Middlesex, Surrey and possibly Yorkshire or Durham.
Stick Somerset in the top six and you’ve got a deal
Charles Darwin to conquer the World
If Somerset are to be one of only six first class counties, they may need to extend Taunton’s capacity to accomodate a fourth man or a second dog.
found this on the website. behind Worcester they like watching ponds
SOMERSET have been rated third out of the first class counties in an on-line ECB spectator satisfaction survey.
The survey was carried out on line by the ECB across the season at random using a data base of those who purchased tickets for a particular one-day match. The aim is to help the ECB understand supporters’ experiences at cricket with a view to making any necessary improvements.
The County Ground came out with an overall score of 80% which places it third behind only Trent Bridge and Worcester.
Somerset gained high rating in the categories for: People making a repeat visit to the ground and recommending it to friends and family; Information on tickets; The view from seats and getting through turnstiles quickly; Stewards performance; Fair pricing – a key motivator for customers returning.
However, also included in the report were some areas where the County Ground needed to improve upon including: The comfort of seats, the speed of being served food and drinks along with the wait time for toilets; Facilities in case of bad weather.
Somerset chief executive Richard Gould was happy with the result but said the club would be correcting the faults.
He said: “We are all very pleased with the way that the County Ground has come out of the ECB survey and to be placed third in the overall ratings is very excellent, however, we are not resting on our laurels.
“A couple of the areas that we didn’t score so well on were the length of queues for toilets and getting to the refreshment outlets.
“This survey was carried while we were in the middle of a substantial amount of building work and before we opened the new West Stand which contains a large number of both male and female facilities and catering outlets, so hopefully some of these issues have been corrected already and the service we provide in 2009 will be of an even higher standard.”
Next season, with the new West Stand fully operational, the County Ground will have a capacity of 7,500.
Charles Darwin to conquer the World
I’m sure Taunton is a perfectly lovely ground. The perfect setting for amateur minor counties cricket, which is what the likes of Somerset, Worcestershire, Northants and co should be playing.
7500? The Banks’s Stadium holds more than that and it is one of the smaller grounds in League One. I think the idea of fewer counties would be that each would be capable of holding England games, ideally with capacities in the range of 40,000+. After all, it’s England games that people really want to watch.
The 7,500 is with the west stand finished, rebuilding of the county ground will continue through the up and coming season, although when finally completed will hold if true to reports around 20,000 still not big enough i know but the hope is it will stage one day international matches plus if the 20/20 continues to be popular increased revenue to help with finances.
edit; might be 15,000 when complete not sure couldn’t find any details, enough room anyway for myself and dog.
Charles Darwin to conquer the World
In London, there is a good case for using the Olympic Stadium for cricket after 2012, turning Lord’s into a museum and selling the Oval for redevelopment. It is ridiculous that the premier cricket ground in the country has a capacity of less than 30,000.
Dreadful idea…..
Impossible to envisage anyway. who would sell the ovalfor a start?
As for the ashes, Australia’s bowling attack is rubbish frankly. Even asdie from the injury lee has lost pace and seemingly some heart. Hes had his problems admittedly… Clark is so so and if johnstons the "gimme"..well
The batting is ok but the one genuinely frightening batsman (Ponting) is very erratic at the moment. if Katich is really the form player then (no disrepect to him) england willbe happy enough. He has his flaws
Australia willbe hammered in SA i believe and the internal ructions will blow up further. The mental state of a side is crucial and SA are simply getting stronger all the time
anyway after the way England preformed in India, a series they should have drawn at least, hopefully they have a good tour of the windies, then bring it on 
last season that the division one was the most competitive league he has ever played in. hard to believe i know but it cant be all bad.
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