THE Friends Life t20 gets underway this week, and what was once the highlight of the domestic cricketing summer, is in danger of sinking without trace – and I’m not just talking about under the never-ending rainfall.
Northants Steelbacks kicked-off their campaign on Thursday night with the abandoned clash at the County Ground against the Welsh Dragons, or Glamorgan as they are known in their four-day guise, and here’s hoping we at least get some cricketing fireworks this year.
It’s fair to say that the t20 fare served up at Wantage Road in the 2011 season was about as exciting as watching snail racing (in fact, snail racing would probably have the edge...) with the Steelbacks batters in particular struggling to get the ball off the square.
T20 is all about the crash, the bang and the wallop, and all three were in short supply last summer. It was more the swipe, the miss and then the leading edge to extra cover.
Australian Cameron White, fresh from a productive and hard-hitting stint in the IPL, has been brought in to beef up the Northants batting, and here’s hoping he can rise to the occasion and provide some entertainment for those of us that like our cricket in bite-size chunks.
It was only a couple of years ago that the T20 was the highlight of the domestic cricketing summer, with games being played out in front of packed houses.
But then the powers-that-be got greedy, scheduled in too many games, which led to overkill and a watered-down product, and that has turned the punter off, rather than dragging more in through the gate.
Crowds have been dwindling, and I reckon this is a serious watershed season for the game that was designed to be all about fun and entertainment, rather than the money-making machine it became for the counties.
Another poor season of low scores and ball dominating the bat, and I feel it could turn people off the format for good. When T20 started out, it was all about scores of 170 to 200 from 20 overs, now it seems teams are happy to score 130, even less, and win. That’s a testament to the skills of the bowlers and the excellence of the fielding, but it’s not much fun for those that have forked out anything up to £20 to watch the ball be bashed to all parts of the ground.
So here’s hoping the sun shines, the fours and sixes fly, and T20 becomes fun again. And then the crowds might just come flocking back.
ENGLANDgot their Euro 2012 campaign off to a solid start with the 1-1 draw against France, and I felt Roy Hodgson’s men deserved the point.
It wasn’t exactly an exhilerating display, in fact, it was pretty boring, but England did the job.
France did enjoy more possession, and looked the better side, but they struggled to create any chances against an organised England side, and being hard to beat is the bedrock of any successful side.
Just ask Chelsea...
SO here’s the scenario... England have drawn with France and beaten Sweden (fingers crossed...), and the team has played well.
They have their final group game against Ukraine on Tuesday, and striker Wayne Rooney is available after his suspension - so does Hodgson pick him?
If a draw is going to be enough to secure progression, I would leave Rooney on the bench.
I don’t think it would send out the right message to the rest of the squad if he was just thrown straight back into a team that has been doing well without him.
It’s probably different if the Sweden game doesn’t go well and England need to beat Ukraine.
If that is the case, I would unleash Rooney on the game from the start.
He will be chomping at the bit, and after his woeful showing at World Cups of 2006 and 2010, he is a man who still has a lot to prove at the very highest level.
And a winning goal in a game where England really need one would be a good place to start.