Some cricket happened…
If I remember correctly the Champions Trophy went away for a while and then
came back. Anyway a 50 over mini world
cup is something all the international teams want to win and interests me
enough to tune in the radio. England
were crap and were well beaten in all their three matches with a batting line
up that didn’t inspire too much confidence and a bowling attack that would have
looked perfect anywhere but the sub continent.
Joss never seemed a natural captain to me and for the ODI team the only
way is up. We’ve been here before and
the result was spectacular.
But even with England under performing my biggest gripe lies
elsewhere.This tournament was billed as
a triumphant return for Pakistan as an international venue but politics got in
the way and India ended up playing all their matches in UAE which effectively
gave them home advantage.To be fair
they would probably have been favourites anyway, like they were last year at
their own World cup last year where they famously choked.Redemption for the billionaire superstars but
it does seem like it was put on a plate.
I’ve enjoyed being an armchair rugby fan again lately, the
six nations have been excellent even though I mostly don’t really know why the
ref has blown his whistle.France have
been brilliant, at their best as good as any team I’ve seen yet somehow England
managed to beat them.I complained about
it a year ago but the amount of Saffers, Kiwis and Aussies masquerading as
Scots, Irish and Italians devalues things for me but this is just accepted
without a word, I shouldn’t get too smug just because England’s pacific
islanders haven’t been playing.England
finished runners up with a team full of home born players (except one who could
have chosen to play for Scotland) and when they look back they might think that
haven beaten France they should have completed the Grand Slam?The French deservedly topped the table in the
end, another team without dodgy imports, fair play.
I’ve always followed my local football team and when I was
young we had a great team that won at Wembley, my Dad and I were ever present
at home games watching top level football and getting change for a quid. But even then the pull of the waterside was
strong and I was spending most of my free time fishing before Sir Bobby moved
on. In the years since then I went to a
few games most seasons but as time speeded up and I became more contrary this
dwindled away to nothing. I fell out of
love with football. But I still follow
the Town and I always will though nowadays I do so from a far, listening to
radio or following internet coverage. In
recent times even this has been fraught/emotional/both at crucial times,
culminating in the Town’s return to the premier league. Tempting as it was I didn’t really think I’d actually
make my way to a game, they were all selling out and I never made the effort
but when a spare ticket was offered I thought ’why not?’
So for the first time in maybe five years I found myself
following the ritual that thousands do as a matter of course for ten months of
the year.I was in a carload of friends as
we made a slow snaking chain of tail lights into town, the journey was barely walking
pace and seemed to take hours. Eventually
we squeezed our way into a space outside another friend’s house, this was a
short walk from the ground.Half an hour
before kick off, I was way outside my comfort zone, in with a dozen or more
people squashed into a kitchen, drinking tea and talking football.Most of these people were proper football
junkies, they talk the talk, buzzwords and cliches, I felt that any utterance
from this outsider would have fallen flat.
We walked down the hill and managed to step into the throng
of people poring towards the ground, everyone heading in the same direction, we
got in line and march along.I’d
infiltrated the ranks of the believers and was carried by the throng towards the cathedral.At the bottom of the hill our
group split into two, most head south but we go west.Since I first joined the cult in the
seventies this ground has changed dramatically; three of the four stands have
been rebuilt in that time and all the structures have been spruced up inside
and out.Nowadays the drab concrete is
screened by lots of blue and white, decorated with images of great players and
great days.To do what this team has
managed to do will be added to that history in the future, for a club of this
size the premier league is massive.
We queued at the turnstiles, the lines moved slowly and I
was surrounded by voices belching more football chat, the devout were exalted.Thousands of people, we all wanted the same
result, we had a common goal yet I didn’t feel part of it.Once I belonged here completely, now I felt
like an imposter.Eventually we made it
through and there were just a few minutes to go before kick off. My prolonged absences mean the ground is now
unfamiliar and this was the stand I’d spent the least time in so it took a while
to find the right entrance, before even that we needed to piss.Eventually after several flights of stairs
and an apologetic shuffle we found our seats which were bang on the half way
line, with seconds to spare.There was a
minute’s silence for someone whose name I didn’t catch then the game started
with a roar.
Ten minutes later things had quietened down considerably,
the visitors – Brighton had all the play and the Town couldn’t touch the
ball.Thankfully we were not made to pay
and as the half went on our team grew into the game and actually looked the
more likely side to score, testing the goal keeper twice; the volume rose, the
chants resounded.Once I would have
known all the words to all the songs and would have been bellowing along.Nowadays I don’t know half the players let
along the words to the jingles.This old
ground has changed on the inside too, nowadays everything is so much bigger
though maybe higher would be a better word.To my left what was always called the North stand. The rough and ready
terrace that always lead the chants and carried the mood.To my right the old stand was called
‘Churchmans’ after the tobacco factory behind it.This was our stand when I was a kid, always a
good atmosphere but less volatile than the North stand.Nowadays the old firm sit at this end where
they can keep an eye on the away fans.A
half chance! But Omari took the wrong option when Burns would have been through
on goal…
Half time came too soon, the scores were level and the mood was
optimistic.But that was as good as it
got, the second half saw Town miss another chance early on but Brighton mostly dominated
and it was no surprise when they took the lead after an hour.Until this point I’d barely noticed the away
fans opposite, I’d never have known they were there but as the game went on
they just grew louder.After going
behind Town seemed to lose belief and never looked like equalising, likewise
the home crowd couldn’t get any vocal momentum in fact where we sat it was
totally flat and not the kind of faces I used to stand shoulder to shoulder
with. The game drifted away and the
visitors ended up comfortable 2-0 winners.
We joined the throng of people, the tide now going in the
opposite direction, this time the stream had more pace and carried us back up
the hill.We landed back in the crowded
kitchen for tea and a debrief, there few good points for the Town tonight but
even the proper football fans were happy just to see their team playing at this
level once again.
So the cult of football, I’d sneaked in for an evening and
although I felt like an imposter who’d jumped on a bandwagon I think I manged
to escape without giving the game away or leaving too many bad smells.But this isn’t me anymore, I’m not part of it
and have no desire to be.I don’t want
to parrot the cliches, I can’t buy into the one eyed optimism, fucking football
banter bores the bollocks off me!I
watch sport objectively these days though I’m not sure I like this
development.The world of football has been
warped by the pull of money, it’s been yanked in one direction while I’ve tried
to tip toe in the other.Capitalism
ruins everything.
The World Test Championship cycle has come to an end with a
final table which doesn’t make sense to me but to be fair I have made no
attempt to understand how points are awarded.I think the way the fixtures in these two year cycles are arranged means
some teams have an easier schedule than others.For example in the latest cycle South Africa have beaten Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West indies twice, drawn with India but lost to New
Zealand and haven’t played England or Australia at all.Somehow they ended up topping the table. England
may have been inconsistent lately but finishing sixth out of nine teams doesn’t
seem right, even with the penalties for slow over rates.Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand all
finished above England even though we've beaten these teams both home and away
in recent series, though I’m not entirely sure when the latest schedule began.Of the others we have a win and a loss
against India who finished third as well as a draw and a loss against Australia
in second.Maybe one day we’ll get a schedule
where we don’t play Australia or India?
Going back to the over rate penalties, assuming these are
brought in to give fans more value for money, can anyone honestly say they’ve
been short changed watching England?Pundits
and commentators bang on about over rates and they have a point but half a
dozen overs lost rarely makes a difference to a good day of test cricket. It’s the other eighty odd that count.
Another potential controversy is bubbling with suggestions for a 'two tier' test championship being made. I don't like the idea of this because I couldn't imagine a cricket world where England don't play against West Indies on a regular basis. But if this format is to be the future there has to be some kind of promotion and relegation involved, even if this means one of the big teams occasionally take a tumble.
The final will be contested between South Africa and Australia,
I think it will be held at Lords this time around which seems as fair as anywhere
for a match between these teams.With
this announced ahead of time it implies England would have had a home advantage
had they made it to the final.This doesn’t
seem right any more than a final featuring India being held in Dubai.Anyway, I still maintain a focused England is
the best Test team in the world and I don’t care who wins this years final as long as it
isn’t Australia.