The Reverse Sweep

Kevin Pietersen's retirement from limited-overs cricket: the case for the defence

For the second time in little more than a week we find ourselves in the unfamiliar position of defending Kevin Pietersen.

The ECB's petty decision last week to discipline Pietersen for his mild criticism of Nick Knight on Twitter seems to have cost them the services of their best batsman after KP today announced his retirement from limited overs international cricket with immediate effect.

Whilst the little Englanders and KP’s detractors in the media will doubtless point to the fact that he still intends to participate in the IPL, most of our sympathy lies with Pietersen.

The simple fact is that England play too much 50 over cricket; this summer there are 13 matches (or is it 14, it’s difficult to keep count) and then a further seven in India later in the year. Not only does it dilute the brand whilst sending even the most fervent pyjama cricket fan to sleep, it leaves the players tired of the format and spending too much time away from their young families.

Whilst KP’s timing isn’t great with England set to defend their World T20 crown in Sri Lanka in four months – a point made rather pettily by the ‘disappointed’ Hugh Morris in the wake of Pietersen's announcement, the ECB’s insistence of an all or nothing approach to limited overs cricket kind of made it inevitable.

Pietersen said he would like to be in Sri Lanka to help England defend the trophy that he played a major part in them lifting in 2010, but the intransigence of the ECB prevented this. KP is 31, has a young family and is financially secure for life, so when his employers decided to punish him for going public on his views on Knight, it seems that it was the final straw. Can anyone really blame him?

We’ve certainly got no bones with Pietersen’s decision. He’s served England well in the 50 over format and his retirement gives a younger player the opportunity to establish himself before the World Cup in 2015. Those referencing the IPL are barking up the wrong tree. We’re no great lovers of the tournament, but it lasts for six weeks of which Pietersen is unlikely ever to play a full part due to his Test commitments.

And let’s look on the bright side. As well as hopefully extending his Test career, we could be seeing a lot more of him in county cricket for Surrey. Isn’t there a T20 competition starting soon?

Where next?

Nick Compton: runs and jokes at Kevin Pietersen's expense

Kevin Pietersen is innocent (and right about Nick Knight)

It's not jealously KP, it's pure and simple indifference

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

West Indies' losing battle with the IPL

The Test series currently going on in the Carribbean between West Indies and Australia has been as intriguing as it has been attritional.

Australia are still a work in progress, but they have managed to forge a 1-0 lead with one Test to play in part to their renowned never say die attitude, but also due to Michael Clarke's attacking captaincy and Darren Sammy's side for their habit of having a poor session when ahead or level in the game.

But as Clarke acknowledged last week, his hosts have been severely weakened by several West Indian players putting a domestic league in India over the chance to beat Australia in a home Test series.

This is the topic of our column for All Out Cricket this week, and before we get accused of heresy it is not intended to be a dig at the IPL. Read West Indies v IPL: Cricket's Crucial Contest and let us know what you think.

Where next?

It's not jealously KP, it's pure and simple indifference

Cricket Heroes: Darren Sammy

The redemption of Michael Clarke

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It's not jealously KP, it's pure and simple indifference

"Engage brain before mouth" is a simple idiom, but one that time and time again Kevin Pietersen absolutely fails to comprehend, which in combination with his breathtaking and unorthodox strokeplay makes him compulsory viewing both on and off the field of play.

Pietersen's latest foot-in-mouth moment came when he suggested that negative attitudes in England towards the IPL can in the main be put down to "jealously".

Not for the first time, we believe that KP has got it completely and utterly wrong. We can only speak as one English cricket following enclave, but our feelings towards the IPL border on indifference rather than envy or anything more sinister, and we believe that the same is true for most.

First and foremost for all the glitz, glamour and money that is part and parcel of the IPL, it is after all to everyone bar one billion Indians (a not insignificant number, we grant) a foreign domestic league. As such, we care as little for the IPL as we do the Sheffield Shield or indeed Zimbabwe's domestic competitions.

Secondly, it's Twenty 20 cricket, a form of the game that leaves us cold. It has a place to widen the appeal of cricket beyond its traditional geographic, social and demographic groups and it undeniably has helped bolster the coffers of clubs and cricket boards everywhere, but to our tastes at least it is little more than two pumps and a squirt compared to the delights of four or five day cricket.

Finally and perhaps most relevantly, for the last two years, the IPL has started in exactly the same week as the first round of the County Championship - a competition dripping in tradition and history and which still holds a special place for the majority of English cricket followers. For most, a choice between the hit and giggle of a foreign Twenty 20 cricket league and the unique institution that is the domestic County Championship is a straightforward one.

If it wasn't for the fact that the money on offer to players for participating in the IPL was enticing the likes of Owais Shah, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Luke Wright and England players such as Pietersen himself away from County Cricket, the IPL would be a complete irrelevance for most English cricket fans.

We did try the IPL once in 2010, but crucially in that year it started one month before the County season and immediately preceded the World T20 in the Caribbean. This meant that seeing how the likes of Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara got on with their respective IPL sides was of a modicum of interest. As soon as the County season started, our interest waned.

KP seems to love attention, celebrity and glamour, so is likely to be drawn to the sometimes crass and over the top spectacle of the IPL. Perhaps he has forgotten that it was County Cricket that first gave him the platform to exhibit the innate and untamed talent that ultimately led to an international career with England where he has delighted and astounded in equal degree.

He has worked tremendously hard to achieve all he has, but without the opportunity afforded him by Nottinghamshire, would he still be a spinner who bats a bit struggling for a game in South African domestic cricket? Only the Gods of cricket know the answer to that.

From what we've read, heard or seen there isn't much jealously out there towards the IPL. A touch of anger maybe for the loss of an important player to one's county (or country in the case of the West Indies), even some good old fashioned English snobbery towards the nouveau riche, but for the most part it is pure indifference. It's just another cricket competition being played in the world at the same time as the revered County Championship, nothing more, nothing less.

Where next?

Kevin Pietersen's 2010/11 Ashes Diary

Wayne Rooney, County Cricket, the IPL, Luke Wright and loyalty

It's time to end the farce of Two-Test series - Johnny Rotten agrees

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including David Gower, Shane Watson, Justin Langer and Hedley Verity

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Wayne Rooney, County Cricket, the IPL, Luke Wright and loyalty

We've managed to get all of the above-titled motely crew into our latest piece for All Out Cricket. It's essentially a piece about loyalty, or the lack of loyalty and how the preference for mammon over honour and loyalty is becoming increasingly prevalent in cricket.

It's not as profound as we've just described but it is timely as Sussex kick off the county season shorn of their top all-rounder in Luke Wright, who is instead enjoying the balmy conditions in India, a wad of cash for his contract with Pune Warriors and the attractions of IPL Nights and assorted Bollywood actresses, not that we're jealous you'll understand.

Anyway have a read of Is Home No Longer Where The Heart Is? and see what you think...

PS: Since we wrote the article we've discovered that Paul Collingwood isn't in India with Rajasthan Royals after all, but is effectively on stand-by in the event that they need him, but the sentiment of the point we are trying to make still holds.

Where next?

County Championship preview: Our XI to watch in 2012

Read our Division 1 previews: Durham, Lancashire, Middlesex, Notts, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Worcestershire

Division 2 previews: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Virat Kohli's footballer tendencies

Let’s make one thing clear, we believe that Virat Kohli is an immensely talented batsman here at The Reverse Sweep.

In our view Kohli is at the head of a new generation of Indian batsmen including Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane that promises the handover of power from the old guard of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman may be much smoother than once feared.

Neverthless, Kohli’s reaction to his dismissal in the third ODI against West Indies in Ahmedabad yesterday was unacceptable. Standing his ground and glaring at the umpire was bad enough, but his mouthing of obscenities and general childish demeanour was more befitting of the type of behaviour seen at Premier League football grounds.

As someone who has grown up with the filthy lucre of the IPL and in the full glare of a cricket obsessed country and media, Kohli lives the luxurious and closeted existence enjoyed by the likes of Wayne Rooney and John Terry.

And just as the behaviour of the England rugby squad has plunged the depths as the rewards and endorsements have gone in the other direction – mirroring their football counterparts, so is the danger for the cricketers of the IPL generation.

Kohli has said on many occasions how his game has benefitted from watching Tendulkar at close quarters and listening to his wise counsel, so he would do well to also heed the example the Little Master sets in terms of his modesty off the pitch and respect for the rich traditions of cricket.

Where next?

Virat Kohli - The (Little) Master's Apprentice

Rohit Sharma: The Artist formerly known as Nohit

Cricket's warning from football

Who are cricket's likely future greats?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Samit Patel is an optimist

How do we know? Well, he must be if the reason he gave for pulling out of the IPL Auction is accurate.

Patel has foregone the opportunity to make a bit of extra cash in favour of setting his sights on securing a spot in England’s Test side:

“My biggest ambition is to play Test cricket and I need to score a high volume of runs in the County Championship to push my case. If I was selected for the IPL then I would miss several Championship matches and that won’t help me at a time when I need to do everything I can to impress the selectors.”

Whilst Patel’s decision will doubtless ingratiate him to Andy Flower and Geoff Miller, it’s hard to see Patel forcing his way into the England side.

Perhaps his best opportunity will come this winter, when England may deem it necessary to pick a second spinner in Sri Lanka and in the UAE against Pakistan. If so, England could replace a batsman with a spinner and move Matt Prior up to number six.

Patel isn’t in the same league as Monty Panesar as a bowler, but he does add more ballast to the batting, so it is conceivable that he has a chance – albeit just a morsel - of tucking into Test cricket.

So perhaps Patel’s sacrifice is a calculated move rather than a ridiculously optimistic one and his name will appear when the squad to tour the UAE is selected in the coming weeks.

Although given that we understand he has also pulled out of the Annual Nottingham Chapati Eating Contest to focus on being the slimmest cricketer on the county circuit come the start of next season, it would seem that Samit is a glass half full kind of guy.

Where next?

An XI of Asian Cricketers let down (for the most part) by England

County Cricket Preview - Players to watch: Samit Patel

Is it REALLY Jonathan Trott's fault?

India v England ODI series: England marks out of 10

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi - a Tiger with vision R.I.P

 
Whilst reading the obituaries of former Indian skipper Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, a number of things struck us about the man they called ‘Tiger’.

The most notable of these of course was the fact that his 46 Test career and 2,793 runs at a respectable average of 35 was achieved with just one eye. That is pretty amazing given how fundamental it is for a batsman to be able to see a cricket ball. Given that amongst other achievements prior to his injury, Tiger had beaten Douglas Jardine’s runs record at Winchester, it is highly likely that but for his impaired vision he would have been in the top echelon of Indian batsmen ever.

Like his fellow Wykehamist Jardine, Pataudi was an outstanding captain who led India in 40 of his 46 Tests and pioneered their usage of a three (and sometimes four) pronged spin attack, which for a short time in the early 1970s made them the top Test side in the world. Given that they had been one of the whipping boys of international cricket prior to Tiger’s ascent to the captaincy, it can be said that Indian cricket today owes a lot to the vision of Pataudi.

Finally, we also recognised that he was the only member of the BCCI’s governing council to admit culpability in the furore leading up to the sacking of Lalit Modi and the bloody aftermath that followed judging that the Board had: "failed in its role to monitor the IPL's administration and be more questioning of decisions taken."  This was a mantra he continued to preach until he died.

Tough, brave, visionary and incorruptible.

Sounds like a bloody good bloke to us.

Of all the losses suffered by Indian cricket this summer, the death of Tiger is unquestionably the worst.

Where next?

What next for Lalit Modi?

Are the BCCI about to solve its biggest 'problem'?

Heroes: Douglas Jardine

An XI of cricketers that died young

Historic India-Pakistan summit flounders due to cricket diplomacy

The best Indian test XI of the last 30 years

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Peter Trego and Somerset make us care about the Champions League...for ten seconds

There are many reasons why we are not tuning into the Champions League.

First, it is Twenty 20.

Then there is the fact that as we wrote last week, the whole franchise system and players like Kieron Pollard having a choice of whom to represent makes the tournament a bit farcical.

Finally, the tournament is so heavily weighted in favour of the IPL sides that we are surprised that the other teams aren't required to take the field blindfolded.

So we really couldn't give a monkey's left bollock about the Champions League.

But Somerset's win over Kolkata caused us to momentarily halt our antipathy.

Let's face it Somerset would probably finish second in one horse race, so there couldn't have been much hope for a side shorn of its England players Craig Kieswetter and Jos Buttler, without its talismanic captain and star batsman Marcus Trescothick and also deprived of the services of the aforementioned mercenary Pollard.

But led by Peter Trego - who may have bagged an IPL contract into the bargain - they did an impressive impersonation of David to beat the Goliath that is Kolkata and their international stars including Jacques 'toupee' Kallis, Brett Lee, Yusuf Pathan and Shakib al-Hasan.

Having been forced to care about something that would feature prominently in our Room 101 list, we are now worried that this might extend itself to other things such as Manchester United, Jordan (no, not the country) and Ed Miliband.

That is quite a frightening thought.

Thanks Somerset.

Where next?

The farcical Champions League and its band of cricket mercenaries

Cricket zeroes: The Harlot (a.k.a The Freelance Cricketer)

Our Top 20 Cricket Blogs

Read all our County Cricket coverage

The A-Z of IPL3 -  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

 

 

The farcical Champions League and its band of cricket mercenaries

Those that read this blog even occasionally will know that the Reverse Sweep is no big fan of Twenty 20 cricket - indeed we have likened it in the past to the 'two pumps and a squirt' format of the game.

But even the most ardent follower of the shortest form of the game must admit that a major downside of the franchise circus and freelance cricketer arrangement is that the supposed pinnacle of the Champions League is sullied when a player has a choice of two or more teams for whom to play for. Of course, no-one epitomises the cricket mercenary more than Kieron Pollard.

In our column for All Out Cricket this week - Franchise circus exposed by Champions League - we look at this very subject.

Some of you may not agree with us...

Where next?

Cricket zeroes: The Harlot (a.k.a The Freelance Cricketer)

Our Top 20 Cricket Blogs

Read all our County Cricket coverage

County Championship XI of the week #18

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Are the BCCI about to solve its biggest 'problem'?

 
Game 628 of IPL4 was in full swing, but the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the BCCI had more delicate matters to deal with as they met covertly with their Security Chief.

Chairman “So, you have an update on Target X. Go ahead”

Security Chief: “Yes, we now have a confirmed ID on Target X’s whereabouts. Incredibly he is living right under the nose of one of his biggest enemies”

Chairman “Which enemy? There are many…”

Security Chief: “Giles Clarke. Target X is in Londonistan”

Chairman: “Hardly a surprise. The British have a long track record of letting extremists in".

Deputy Chairman "Exactly. Look how they welcomed that Stanford chap? They let him land his helicopter at Lord’s for Sachin’s sake. How did you find him?”

Security Chief “From his Tweets. As you know he’s always been a prolific user of Twitter and recently his activity has doubled. That enabled us to establish his exact location”

Chairman: “Good, but that means he must be planning another spectacular. Any ideas?”

Security Chief “Well, it cannot be a coincidence that the Indian team arrives for their tour of England in July…”

Chairman: “True. And we still haven’t found out how Duncan Fletcher got appointed as coach? None of us actually voted for him. And there are strong rumours of Ashley Giles applying for Indian citizenship”

Security Chief: “We believe that Target X was behind that the Fletcher appointment and the Giles fiasco too. It must be linked to some grand plan for the whole Indian team.”

Chairman: “But what could this plan be? Do you think he is planning to sign the whole squad for some rogue T20 league in England? That could make the IPL worthless and deprive India of its national side? Imagine that? Irfan Pathan might have to be recalled”

Deputy Chairman: “By the blood of Sachin, not Pathan. Target X wouldn’t dare. Remember what happened to the ICL?”

Chairman” “Yes, but it was Target X that rendered the ICL impotent. Remember he doesn’t work for us anymore.”

Deputy Chairman: “So, what should we do?”

Security Chief: “I’ve been working on that too especially as Target X’s plans remain unclear for now. Have you heard of Seal Team 6? They’ve just solved a little problem for the US Government in Pakistan…”

Where next?

Duncan Fletcher's secret mission as India's coach

Historic India-Pakistan summit flounders due to cricket diplomacy

Revealed: New Pakistan Player Code of Conduct

Cricket XIs: Cricketing Criminals

10 reasons why Ian Botham may have worn sunglasses at the premiere of 'From the Ashes'

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

County Cricket, Duncan Fletcher & IPL Podcast

 
The Reverse Sweep was delighted to take part in this week's 'One Hand, One Bounce' podcast organised by our good friends at World Cricket Watch in Melbourne.

After Murray and David looked at the latest news from the IPL - we cannot think why we may have missed out on that - we joined to discuss the progress of the County Championship Season, Duncan Fletcher's appointment as India's new coach and Murray presented his weird and wonderful XI.

If you fancy a listen, click on the Play button below...

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Where next?

Our response to Alviro Petersen for accusing The Reverse Sweep of lying on Twitter

County Championship XI of the week #4

World Cup Podcast: Preview of final and England autopsy

Ashes Podcast: Two Poms vs Two Aussies - Part 1

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Time for a coup d'etat at the WICB over Chris Gayle cock-up

 
Judging by the pitiful batting performances from the West Indies in the first two ODIs with Pakistan, it would seem that they are missing Chris Gayle more than he is missing them.

Such is the scarcity of talent in West Indies cricket that the WICB can ill-afford an undignified slanging match with its best batsman and former captain.

Gayle really rubbed salt into the wound by scoring a blistering 55 ball hundred in his first match for Bangalore having just arrived by plane from the Caribbean – it would seem that Gayle is far too cool for jet lag.

The IPL versus international cricket conundrum could easily be solved by inserting a window for the IPL into the international schedule, and whilst we certainly have no love of the IPL here at The Reverse Sweep, this does appear to be the most sensible thing to do.

But until it does cricket boards like the WICB would be well advised to apply a more intelligent approach to its best players.

For example, the WICB could have publicly suggested to Gayle that they would allow him to miss the ODI series with Pakistan to play in the IPL, providing that he committed to participate in the Test series that follows.

Faced with the probable uproar that a refusal of this compromise would likely have provoked, Gayle would doubtless have complied.

As it is, the WICB is now faced with the very real prospect of a long-drawn out stand-off with its best batsman and possibly his premature retirement from international cricket. If even half of what Gayle says about the lack of communication from the WICB is true, then the WICB has made yet another colossal cock-up.

Whilst Gayle is not entirely innocent in this sorry tale, it is the WICB who should take most of the blame for the way they have completely mishandled the situation. Sadly, the lunatics took over that particular asylum a long, long time ago.

It takes a lot to make the PCB appear competent, but the continued ineptitude of the WICB is doing just that.

A coup d’etat at the WICB is long overdue. Now is the time to hand over the reins of power to the likes of Sir Viv Richards, Michael Holding and Clive Lloyd.

Like Obi-Wan Kenobi was for Princess Leia, that really is West Indian cricket’s only hope.

Where next?

The IPL? No thanks...

Cricket Heroes: Chris Gayle

An all-time West Indies Test XI

Check out all our Cricket heroes and zeroes

An XI of unlikely World Cup heroes and a not so heroic 12th man

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The County Championship: There's life in the old dog yet

 
Despite competition from the IPL, a severe financial crisis and having most of its matches shunted from mid-summer in favour of an over-elongated Twenty 20 competition, the latest round of County Championship games showed that reports of its imminent death have been greatly exaggerated.

As county aficionados who have had the good fortune to witness events will concur, the matches that finished on Friday or Saturday threw up a number of classics to emphasise just why first-class cricket will always surpass its impatient limited overs cousins.

Terrific turnarounds

Reigning champions Nottinghamshire (193 runs behind), Sussex (98) and Warwickshire (174) all faced big 1st innings deficits but all came back to win.

Thrilling run chases

Sussex (309) and Middlesex (328) both thrillingly chased down 300+ victory targets against Durham and Derbyshire respectively in topsy-turvy games at Chester-le-Street and Derby.

Shocks

Pre-season Division 1 favourites Somerset were on the receiving end of a second successive innings defeat, this time against Lancashire at Liverpool. Unpredictability is another facet of the County Championship – can you imagine Manchester United losing their first two games of the season heavily?

God loves County Cricket

Despite the ridiculously early start to the season, the Gods have been kind with the weather - for instance whilst the South of France (and we should know) experienced a deluge yesterday, the sun shone on England's green and pleasant cricket fields.

New stars

Wherever you looked, young players are really making their mark. A second successive double hundred from Varun Chopra and six wickets from Chris Woakes saw Warwickshire turn the tables on Worcestershire. 20 year old Luke Wells scored a maiden first-class hundred in Sussex’ssuccessful run chase and the likes of Alex Hales, Nathan Buck, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid and seventeen year old Reece Topley have also starred so far this season. The future does indeed look bright for England.

There’s certainly life in the old dog yet.

Where next?

County Championship XI of the week #2

County Championship XI of the week #1

Ten to watch in 2011: Adam Lyth, Jade Dernbach,  Rory Hamilton-Brown, Samit Patel, Alex Hales, Danny Briggs, Ben Stokes, James Harris, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid

An England under-23 XI - the future looks bright

County Championship Previews - Division 2: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire,  Kent,  Leicestershire,  Middlesex,  Northamptonshire,  Surrey

County Championship Previews - Division 1:  Yorkshire,  Worcestershire,  Warwickshire, Sussex,  Somerset,  Nottinghamshire,  Lancashire,  Hampshire,  Durham

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

The IPL? No thanks...

 
We haven’t really paid any attention to the IPL this season at The Reverse Sweep.

After a six week tournament of coloured clothing, blanket advertising and Mr Cliche himself Ravi Shastri, the last thing we wanted was more of the same.

And to tell the truth, we don’t care much for the Twenty 20 format of the game – two pumps and a squirt and it’s all over.

So watching a bunch of mercenaries play a bewildering number of matches for teams franchises we frankly couldn’t give a damn for is not high on our to do list.

We did take a passing interest in the IPL last year and even adopted a team - Delhi Daredevils – the intoxicating mix of Sehwag and Collingwood proving irresistible.

But that was mainly down to the fact that the World T20 immediately followed last season’s IPL. So it was worth tuning in to see how the England players were shaping up.

To tell the truth, most of the action passed us by and by week two of the tournament we had lost interest.

Don’t get us wrong, if we were Indian and in our teens or early twenties, we’d probably love the IPL especially if our home city was one of the franchises taking part.

And one cannot argue against the popularity of the IPL.

We’ve just got back from Kenya, where all the matches were shown live in the hotel bar. You'd think after their shambolic performance in the World Cup, the last thing that Kenyans would want to watch is cricket.

Against our better judgement we decided to tune in to the conclusion of the Kochi-Kolkata match.

Other than the garish outfits – Kochi’s orange and purple number really is something to behold – we’ve already forgotten what happened – Kochi may have won and they may have not.

So, whilst the IPL may be the biggest thing in world domestic cricket and more important to Chris Gayle than playing for the West Indies, we much prefer our pipe, slippers and a large dose of county cricket. 

Where next?

County Championship XI of the week (#2 2011)

What next for Lalit Modi?

Check out all our Cricket heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Back-to-back Ashes series? Doomsday is here...

 
We blame football and specifically the Champions League. The European Cup was a perfectly good competition, but UEFA and the leading clubs wanted more cash, so lo and behold eligibility was extended to sides finishing 2nd, 3rd or even 4th in their respective leagues and the cumbersome Group Stage was born. Tedium and money ensued.

Cricket soon followed suit. The World Cup may only come every four years, but the tournaments in South Africa and West Indies felt like they lasted that long. This year’s edition will feature 42 pointless matches before the real action starts in the quarter-finals.

Twenty 20 competitions around the world – particularly those in England and India have got longer and longer. There may be more money in the short-term, but eventually the patience of cricket fans will run out and attendances will fall – this is exactly what happened in last year’s FP T20 in England, which featured the mind-boggling torture of 151 matches.

The concept of less is more seems to be alien to cricket and football administrators alike. Rather than leaving their audiences wanting more, they leave them begging for the pain and torture to end.

But amidst all this overkill, at least there was the sacred Ashes. A five-Test series every two years was just perfect with plenty of time for anticipation to build and then the main event itself that always leaves you wanting an encore.

Until now that is.

Now we know that with the World Cup being held down under in 2015, staging an Ashes series in the same Australian summer wasn’t going to be viable. But rather than delaying the series by a year – meaning that the sequence would go England 2013, Australia 2015/16, England 2017, the greedy men in the ECB and Cricket Australia have come up with a doomsday scenario.

The result is a back to back Ashes series in 2013 – 10 Tests in six months. And then to compensate for what would be a three-and-a-half year gap until the next scheduled series in England in 2017, the men in suits are likely to sanction another series in England in 2015.

We love the Ashes – you may have noticed – but the prospect of back-to-back series is about as appealing as being trapped in a lift with Westlife and Simon Cowell.

Maybe its time for cricket fans to stage an Egyptian style revolt and unseat the faceless administrators that are ruining the game?

Where next?

Twenty 20 cricket’s very English crisis

151 = Pure Greed

Cricket’s warning from Football

100 stories about the Ashes

Full coverage of the Ashes 2010/11 series

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

KP's Ashes Diary: 12th January - I love the IPL even with the 50% pay cut

KPWe may have won the Ashes and the World Cup may be coming up, but let’s face it the main gig for me this year is the IPL because it pays the most. All that lovely wonga for hardly any work and then there are those glitzy celebrity filled IPL nights too, which are right up my street.

However, as much as I am looking forward to the IPL, I was flabbergasted that I’ve had to take a huge pay cut this year. I only fetched $650,000 at the auction last weekend, which is more than a 50% pay cut. Don’t they remember that I was the Man of the Tournament in the World T20 last season? I’ll have to cancel that order for a diamond encrusted Lamborghini now.

But do you know what the best thing about the IPL is? It’s that I get to change franchises. Sod loyalty. Now after playing for Notts, Hampshire and Surrey, I can now experience the pleasure of playing for Deccan Chargers after my time with Bangalore. Although as Deccan isn’t that close to Chelsea, I’m not sure if it works geographically.

Finally, I couldn’t help noticing that Cooky didn’t get an IPL contract. See I told you all that I should have been Man of the Series in the Ashes instead of him.

Where next?

Read all the excerpts from KP's 2010 Ashes Diary

Delve into our comprehensive Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including David Gower, Shane Watson, Justin Langer and Hedley Verity

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

KP's Ashes Diary: 11th January - The urn needs some bling

 
Well I, KP the magnificent we did it. KP we won the Ashes and gave the Aussies an almighty trouncing. I have to say though that I’m not impressed with the urn. It’s too small, it isn’t gold and it doesn’t have any diamonds on it. And as you can see from the picture above, you cannot even put any champagne in it. Maybe Lord’s should let me and Jess design a new bling version, so that next time we have a proper trophy to lift up?

Another sour point was Cooky getting the Man of the Series award. What did he do to justify getting that over me? I was the one who sacrificed the captaincy to get rid of Moores - without which none of this would have been possible. I was the one who scored a double century in a Test we actually won. And I was the man who got the key wicket of the whole series when I outfoxed Clarkey in Adelaide. Cooky scored a few runs granted, but compared to what I did at the Oval in 2005 it was small fry.

Anyway peeps, must dash as I have to get some shuteye before the T20 match tomorrow at the ground that should be re-named the KP Oval. I’ll talk to you about the IPL next time…

Where next?

Read all the excerpts from KP's 2010 Ashes Diary

Delve into our comprehensive Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes including Paul Collingwood, Douglas Jardine, Hedley Verity and Matthew Hayden

If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Twenty 20: Two pumps and a squirt and it's all over

 
God has been rather good to us recently. As a long-suffering England fan who had endured 24 years of hurt, the last six weeks or so have been manna from heaven.

And the cherry on top of the cake has been the South Africa-India Test series, which although we didn’t see enough of - due to the aforementioned Ashes, was compulsive viewing when we did. Watching those Three Masters – Steyn, Tendulkar and Kallis – at work in Cape Town was particularly satisfying.

So, as we said God has been rather good to us.

However, it only took the day after the night before for things to change dramatically. We were already reconciling ourselves to a diet of ODI cricket in the run-up to the over-hyped and over-long World Cup in six weeks – and incidentally why are Australia and England playing a SEVEN ODI series again?

But much worse was to come when we realised that the day after England had secured a 3-1 Ashes series victory in Sydney (and yes, we are going to continue to gloat and glorify about that for some time to come), was the obscenity that is the IPL Auction.

We gave the IPL a go last year and even picked an IPL team to support, but the whole spectacle of mediocre cricket, blanket advertising, dreadful television coverage and endless matches left us cold. And this year there’s not even Lalit Modi to make things interesting.

By now you may have deduced that we are not big fans of Twenty 20 at the Reverse Sweep. If Test cricket is like a long passionate relationship with gymnastic sex and one-day cricket is like a series of one night stands – some memorable but most eminently forgettable, then Twenty 20 takes you back to the dreadful sex you had as a spotty teenager. Two unsatisfying pumps and a squirt and it’s all over.

We endured the World T20 last year – but that probably had something to do with England winning the thing, and we’ve been known to watch the occasional match from the English domestic T20 competition, but in truth we don’t regard T20 as proper cricket at the Reverse Sweep.

So whilst this site won’t  be a completely IPL free zone this year, it’s safe to say that for the most part we’ll be concentrating on the longer and more satisfying form of the game.

Now where did we leave our zimmer-frame?

Where next?

The A-Z of IPL 3: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Read our Ashes 2010/11 coverage

Check out all our Reverse Sweep heroes and zeroes 

Follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep

Cricket's warning from football

Whilst we've been ensconced in a hospital in Nice with our new baby daughter, we have watched quite a lot of the World Cup in South Africa. It may have been the worst World Cup in living memory but trust us, it is a damn sight better than the rest of French television or the mind-numbing BBC World.

We watched in utter horror England's shambolic 0-0 draw with Algeria on Friday. In all our years of watching the England football team, this had to be the worst performance we have seen from them. Yes, we have seen them play poorly before, but have they ever been so passionless or lethargic? It is a World Cup, for Christ's sake.

As usual it was everyone else's fault. The ball. The pitch. The disloyal fans according to a certain Wayne Rooney. Injuries. The manager for being too strict or for naming the team only two hours before kick off. Of course, it was the mirror that would have told Gerrard and co where the fault lay. They keep telling us how good they are and that they are English football's golden generation, but if that is the case how can they be outplayed, outfought and outgunned by such footballing giants as Algeria and the USA?

If we England fans thought things were bad, we've got nothing on the French. Nicolas Anelka was sent home after telling French manager Raymond Domenech to "Go fuck yourself, you son of a whore" at half time in their crucial match with Mexico. Anelka was even given the opportunity to apologise the day after, but chose not to and was swiftly dispatched onto the next Air France jumbo leaving for Paris.

If this wasn't bad enough, the French players then decided to refuse to train to show their solidarity with the shamed Anelka. Now as inhabitants of France, we are used to the locals going on strike, but millionaire footballers? Well, that is a first even for the French.

A number of French people we have spoken to in the wake of this scandal agree with us that money has now well and truly ruined football. The lunatics (i.e. the players - quite an apt comparison we think) have well and truly taken over the asylum. Part of us even wants England to fail in their must-win match against Slovenia on Wednesday. Do these players deserve the plaudits and knighthoods that would follow should they turn it around and actually win the World Cup? Or do they deserve the ignominy of failing to get out of a group that was supposedly so easy that even the Bangladesh cricket team would have had an evens chance of progress?

Whatever, the fall from grace of football and the complete detachment from its working class origins presents a warning to cricket. For English football, it was the birth of the Premier League that sparked all the Sky hullabaloo, wags, money and primadonnas. The IPL has already seen a certain type of young cricketer emerging in India that seems to have more in common with Ashley Cole and John Terry then Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. The commonality of the freelance cricketer is not far away and how soon before players from the less rich test nations like Chris Gayle, Tamim Iqbal and Ross Taylor retire from international cricket and hawk themselves around the Twenty 20 leagues to the highest bidders?

Cricket, you have been warned.

151, English County Cricket and Pure Greed

Hands up if you thought the IPL seemed to go on for ever and ever? Well it actually lasted six weeks and comprised of 56 games. The interest of most cricket fans the Reverse Sweep knows started to wane after three to four weeks and when you have to put up with DLF Maximums, timeouts, Lalit Modi and Danny Morrison that is hardly a massive surprise.

English cricket and principally the self-interested counties have in their infinite wisdom decided to expand the domestic Twenty 20 competition from 97 to a whopping 151 matches this season, having moved from three leagues of six to two leagues of nine. These leagues will now run until the latter part of July, before the quarter finals, and then a short break before the finals day on Saturday 14th August.

Now the English version of Twenty 20 is a much more quaint version of the game than its richer and more garish Indian cousin. We don't have DLF Maximums or Danny Morrision thank God, but we do have Nick Knight's camp Sky advert and rather naff themed finals days (Wild West, anyone?). But this extension of the competition smacks of overkill and greed.

This year's competition has started off well enough with the highlight of reigning champions Sussex's win over last year's runners up Somerset in the opening match being Luke Wright's broken bat. That was followed by Kent's impressive run chase against a Ryan ten Doeschate inspired Essex yesterday. But how will jaded fans feel four weeks into the competition? Will they be tired of the bewildering schedule and have switched their attention to Wimbledon or the football World Cup?

The counties are hoping that the feelgood factor of England's World T20 win will have a positive effect on this season's competition and they may well be right. But you could also argue that with the FP T20 starting soon after that event in the Caribbean and the IPL coming just before it, that fans are already a bit tired of the T20 format at the moment. We shall see.

The greed shown by the counties could just be their downfall. 18 teams is at least eight too many for this competition and it would have been far more sensible to go down the franchise route. In this case, we are not talking about the smaller counties missing out whilst their bigger cousins with test grounds make hay whilst the sun shines. No we are talking about a similar franchise system to the IPL based on cities. Just imagine the interest if London were taking on Manchester at Lord's or Old Trafford in a televised Friday night match? Most of the money could be ploughed back into the counties coffers in any case.

A franchise system such as this could really challenge the IPL; if it is already not too late that is. Even better if a window was found so England players could participate in the competition - surely that is better than a pointless one day series with Australia? One of the teams could be a British Asian side. Such a team could comprise the likes of Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, Sajid Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Monty Panesar, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Ajmal Shahzad, as well as overseas stars from the subcontinent such as Shahid Afridi, Virender Sehwag, Tamim Iqbal and Kumar Sangakkara. That would create massive interest and could prove to be a unifying factor in the different Asian communities in the country.

Unfortunately, that is never going to happen whilst the counties are in charge of their own destinies; a turkey wouldn't vote for Christmas. So instead of a new, exciting and most importantly lean domestic Twenty 20 with no more than 10 sides, England gets an over-inflated and lengthy affair that smacks of self-interest. One could argue that in their own way the counties are just as greedy as Modi and his former acolytes in this regard.

Wake us up when it's over...