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The Demise of Cricket

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Cricket died when Sky took over schedules and then decided to muck around with the umpires integrity which lead to cricketers bending rules etc and the way things have gone football is not a sport but somethink akin to wrestling ,play acting false loyalty very fit they may be but sportsman ....never,used to be more sporting down Sparkhill Park any day of the week years ago,must stop i`m getting a touch of the Victor Meldews !!!
 
Cricket never lived much at the county level and three day matches did not receive much attendance; especially on week days when work and school called. Still it was followed via the news on the radio and in the newspapers. Whenever I went to Edgebaston there was always plenty of room in the stands...not so much on weekends. Quality tuition was only obtained at schools that I suspect most of us would never have any hope of attending but that fact did not stop us from playing with whatever equipment that was available and did not stop us from having our favourite county players.
I don't know if three day county matches are still the rule, or if finances are much greater than were the case 50 years ago but doubt that amounts of money approach soccer levels. In many ways I think that the beauty of cricket is at the local team level that many can aspire to play in. It was an escape from every day worries for a day and the end result was never anything to ponder after the gear was all put back in the bag. One's own performance was something to cherrish...or not. We played in whites and the coloured attire seems strange to me. I think helmets are a good idea though. Soccer is more of a clutch and grab affaire now but doubt that any team from fifty years ago could win now even against the lower teams and fitness levells certainly would be a factor. Gil could still play though. The thing about cricket was that it was a medium for contact with commonwealth country's...more so than soccer was. Not so important now maybe.Pity
 
Hello Ed, I can only agree with what you have said, it was the truth in what you say that stopped me from being a supporter of either sport a number of years ago. I do nowadays however have much more enthusiasm for the World Olympic Games and the smaller meetings of most types of gymnast sport.
stitcher
 
Stitcher i can only think of one sport where honesty and integrity reign and that is golf pity it`s so boring to watch :)
 
Again you are so right, I used to play 9 holes 5 mornings a week when I was a Hackney Carriage driver on nights. I have to admit it is much better to play than to watch.
I am surprised that post 17 did not attract any comments because I feel it is most important for the game and for the youth of todays cities.
 
Stitcher i remember when i played cricket & football for St Johns C of E and there was always a strong rivalry played out on the field never on the streets and at Golden Hillock was where i lost my desire for active sports and decided that watching was safer than playing so i watched the Blues/Villa and then gang warfare started on the terraces ,so any pastime which takes the aggression of the streets is to be recommmended.
 
In the late 1940s Warwickshire CCC used to run a cricket coaching scheme in a vast, disused and partly bombed-out warehouse in John Bright Street. Usually in attendance, amongst others, were Tom Dollery, Eric Hollies and Tiger Smith - a great thrill for young lads who were mad about the sport.

I was lucky enough to attend several of these sessions in company with a number of junior members of our local cricket club. Does anyone else remember anything about this?

Chris
 
Chris, I am sure the sort of scheme you mention should be re-instated ASAP, and Ed, I can only agree with you.

If this conversation goes much further someone will say it is too political but I will just say that if children are encouraged to play together it will be far better than just letting them grow bored and start fighting each other. Oh well; we live in hope.
stitcher
 
I believe that the road on first photo seen behind the spectators is "Raglan Road" , Edgbaston and although not in view of this shot, to the far left of the house was our house No5. Paul
 
Never liked cricket, found it rather complex and 'technical, always preferred football - until big business, mostly foreign, took over and sport disappeared and money ruled. Where there is money there is often cheating and corruption . Do not follow any professional sport now. Eric
 
I always liked cricket as a game, but only on two occasions have I seen it 'live' - first a county match at Edgbaston when I nearly went to sleep, and later a test match at Edgers (against Australia) which was marginally more exciting. In my view, cricket is a game made for TV - when it gets really boring, like when Boycott is having his interminable say, you can get up and make a cup of coffee, or paint the shed, or whatever. Football - I was a season-ticket holder at the Villa for years, and really got stuck in. Sadly, in recent years, football has become a branch of show-business. Rugby - I played in my youth and will always watch England, even before Eddie Jones put some fire into the game. Some of the televised club matches are also worth watching. I can also watch golf on TV, even though I've never played in my life. At least the participants don't have weird hair-styles and multiple tatooes..... However, this year, even apart from the Olympics, some of my best TV sport watching has been the cycling.

G
 
Strangely enough, the one game which in all the years I 'went down the Villa' that sticks in my mind is their 2 - 1 win over Bournemouth in an 'old' Third Division match during the 1971-72 season. That game was remarkable for two things: first, an attendance of 48000 which I think remains an unbeaten record at that level in the English game; second, for the incredible flying header goal by Bournemouth's Ted McDougall, which has to be one of the greatest goals ever at Villa Park. It certainly made McDougall a star, and if I'm correct he left Bournemouth for Manchester United at the end of that season.

In those days, it was said that the Villa could get 10000 turn up just to watch their kit drying on the washing line.....

G
 
Strangely enough, the one game which in all the years I 'went down the Villa' that sticks in my mind is their 2 - 1 win over Bournemouth in an 'old' Third Division match during the 1971-72 season. That game was remarkable for two things: first, an attendance of 48000 which I think remains an unbeaten record at that level in the English game; second, for the incredible flying header goal by Bournemouth's Ted McDougall, which has to be one of the greatest goals ever at Villa Park. It certainly made McDougall a star, and if I'm correct he left Bournemouth for Manchester United at the end of that season.

In those days, it was said that the Villa could get 10000 turn up just to watch their kit drying on the washing line.....

G
I was at that match, but I must say that my old man used to say "10,000 would turn up to see the shirts dry" about the team in the 1940s! He was probably right as 76,588 turned up for the FA Cup in 1946.
 
my generation has a problem of all the kissing and hugging, and wearing outlandish clothes, which has now entered Cricket, in the days of Fred Truman, during the mid late 50s was the best time for me, (I would have loved some one to have tried to kiss Fred), they would have been on their back in no time. Paul
 
I was at that match, but I must say that my old man used to say "10,000 would turn up to see the shirts dry" about the team in the 1940s! He was probably right as 76,588 turned up for the FA Cup in 1946.

I was right behind the goal at the Holte End that day, and as you'd expect there was a stunned silence when McDougall scored.

The 'watching the shirts dry' quote comes from when Docherty was manager, but from what you say it wasn't original! That 76588 crowd was before I was born - was it a semi-final between the Villa and Derby County?

Just out of interest, what would it cost me today if I went to watch the Villa?

G
 
I was right behind the goal at the Holte End that day, and as you'd expect there was a stunned silence when McDougall scored.

The 'watching the shirts dry' quote comes from when Docherty was manager, but from what you say it wasn't original! That 76588 crowd was before I was born - was it a semi-final between the Villa and Derby County?

Just out of interest, what would it cost me today if I went to watch the Villa?

G
Hi Big Gee,
The match in 1946 was, and still is, a record crowd for Villa Park. It was not a semi final as all such matches were played on neutral grounds. It was, in fact, a sixth round match in the FA Cup. Now that grounds are all seating I doubt that it will ever be exceeded. I have stopped attending matches myself now but I believe the cheapest tickets at Villa Park are about £35 each. This is much cheaper than the top London clubs charge,
Now to get back to the thread subject. I, myself, started this thread on 7th December 2010 almost exactly 6 years ago. Many of the posts referred to the fact that many school playing fields were being closed and school sport was becoming a thing of the past. The end result is that we are now complaining of obesity amongst our school children. Their town councils are now reaping the results of a stupid policy.
Chris Beresford (Old Boy)
 
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