16.8.10

Chaos Theory

More often than not Twenty20 finals day ends in thinly-veiled chaos.

Saturday was one of those days. It ended at nearly 11 p.m. with the faintly surreal sight of a middle-aged man with a pot of paint and a big stick emerging into the glare of the Rose Bowl floodlights to paint a couple of white lines on a strip of turf as many thousands of cricket fans laughed, drank, cheered and looked at their watches. Oh, and wondered who out of Hampshire and Somerset would end up winning the thing.

The cricket wasn't bad either, with Jos Buttler showing a wider audience the virtues which those of us who inhabit Gimblett's Hill at Taunton have known about for a while. A technique both unfussy and innovative, backed by the iron temperament of the natural finisher. No sooner has the world started to recognize the remarkable ability and potential of Eoin Morgan than someone else comes along with many of the same qualities.

And then there were two of the most naturally rhythmical left-arm spinners you could ever wish to see. For once, though, Murali Kartik was put in the shade by Hampshire's highly-impressive 19 year-old from the Isle of Wight, Danny Briggs. In a snatched post-victory interview Briggs said something along the lines of 'I didn't know this many people watched cricket'.

You'd better get used to it, Danny, because, where you might be heading, they assuredly do.

3 comments:

Dean @ Cricket Betting Blog said...

Hi Brian,

It was refreshing to see two young Englishmen performing well on the big stage, and in Biggs case, throughout the whole tournament.

I've put a piece on my blog about what a good night it was, it's good to see that the county circuit still has something good to offer.

Whether T20 is your game or not, you had to have enjoyed the drama of the night.

Lets hope some common sense prevails and the group stages are adjusted to be more realistic next year.

Brian Carpenter said...

I agree, Dean, I really enjoyed Saturday. as I usually do, even though I hadn't really followed the group stages as they just went on too long.

One or two things I've heard recently give the impression that there won't be any change to the number of games next season. Although attendances were poor at some counties, it's thought that the views of those who get good crowds (such as Essex and Somerset) will take precedence.

So we're probably stuck with an overblown competition for the time being (not to mention the 40 over stuff, which I think ought to be played over 50). I hope I'm wrong, though.

Dean @ Cricket Betting Blog said...

Thats an interesting point Brian.

If crowds at the smaller counties like Essex and Somerset (no offence meant to those counties) are not affected by overkill, then maybe there is a slight justification for keeping it the same.

Afterall they don't have a regular test match to fall back on, and would probably argue that point.


It could be that rather than being greedy (as appears to be the norm these days), some of the smaller counties need it for survival.

It would still be a hard balancing act though, as there is no point overdoing it and having no one turn up in 3-4 years.

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