New fixture list adds to the confusion

Posted by Tony Hutton

I must admit that I have been somewhat pre-occupied in recent weeks completing my football blog for season 1953-54 (Grandad's football blog for new readers). This was a season when I followed the fortunes of League champions Wolves, cup Winners West Bromwich Albion and lowly Walsall who had to apply for re-election for the third season in succession. Enough of that, but thanks to John Winn for keeping the cricket blog going.
                                                                                                                                      Following the announcement of the county cricket fixtures for 2017 last week I have started work on my first draft of a cricket watching programme for the season. The first thing I noticed is how many gaps remain to be filled. I appreciate that the ECB's philosophy of trying to attract 'new' cricket watchers means that we must have blocks of fifty over matches and blocks of T20 games with county championship matches somehow squeezed in around them.

At least we seem to have more proper cricket in June this year, but the vast majority of county championship games seem to be either in April or September, when for most of the elderly spectators the cold weather can be quite a problem. That would have no effect on the ECB mandarins, still with their total lack of geographical knowledge and the fact that professional cricket watchers do watch other counties from time to time, apart from their home teams.

John Winn has already pointed out that during five of their seven championship home games Durham and Yorkshire are at home at the same time. However the classical case of this is the 5th September when all five northern counties, Yorks, Lancs, Durham, Notts and Derby are at home on the same four days. What absolute nonsense!
In addition the start days, which seem to be mainly on Friday, still change almost weekly back to Sunday again or in the case of Yorkshire's two visits to London a Monday start applies.

However I seem to have been making these same complaints for ever, so let's try to be positive. The gaps which already appear on my chart can be filled in with a variety of cricket for those of us keen enough to search it out. Minor Counties cricket, one dayers always on Sundays, three day matches on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are always a delight, but again the fixtures, provisional so far, have only appeared for four of the twenty counties.

We have the fixtures for the major universites against counties, but again the inter varsity two day fixtures will take some time to locate. Finally if all else fails there will be an absolute plethora of MCC out matches on almost every mid-week day mainly against public schools again on delightful grounds for the most part. Age group cricket both for juniors and seniors also comes into the equation, so the gaps will gradually fill as the season gets ever nearer.

One final whinge. Last season I seemed to suffer more than ever before of having to listen to other people's conversations at cricket matches. I think it was Jean-Paul Sartre who famously wrote 'Hell is other people'. How right he was. Perhaps the ECB might attract more new spectators by introducing quiet zones at cricket grounds similar to quiet coaches on trains. Although I have a nasty premonition that these new spectators might turn out to be even more noisy ones!