It pains me greatly even to mention the antics going on in Australia with over paid international cricketers engaging in childish behaviour as they prance about from bars, to airports to press conferences where everything is recorded by the scandal mongering media.
You do feel however that if anyone deserved a proper head butt it might be the England selectors who have blighted the career of Johnny Bairstow for far too long, first leaving him out of the team and taking him round the world as drinks waiter, then refusing him permission to play county cricket and now batting him at number seven to look after the tailenders! Some of them don't seem to know which end of the bat to hold.
Words almost fail me but there has been a glimmer of good news with the announcement of the county cricket fixtures for 2018 in their now familiar truncated form. In addition a splendid article by Paul Hayward in today's Daily Telegraph which tells the story of England's oldest living Test cricketer Don Smith of Sussex. Smith is now 94 years old and lives in Adelaide where tomorrow's second Test is being played, needless to say day/night with pink ball!
Smith will not be there to watch. He shares my own philosophy about present day Test cricket, saying
'I stopped going to matches years ago because I can't stand the noise. I just want to see my beautiful game of cricket'. His memories are from a different age and reading his story you can't help to surmise a better one.
Now to return to the newly announced first class fixtures, preceded of course by the T20 fixtures a day earlier. The ECB have no doubt on which side their bread is buttered. They continue their policy of alienating the core supporters of the game, the county members, by cramming the proper cricket (county championship games) into early and late season. Perhaps it is time for The Government to instigate a survey of the death rate of senior citizens caused by hypothermia due to watching cricket during April, May and September.
There is still the lack of geographical knowledge in that Durham and Yorkshire are often at home on the same dates, when many northern cricket watchers are members of both counties, but I forget members are no longer important, as the powers that be search for their wonderful (if non existent) 'new audience'. Even the admirable Minor Counties are introducing a T20 competition and will play their one day trophy games in coloured clothing, although the number of championship fixtures at least remains the same.
As I say there are glimmers of good news - proper cricket will still be played at Scarborough (including even an Under 19 Test Match), at Cheltenham, Chesterfield, Colwyn Bay, Southport and Swansea. Even the odd day at the building site that will be Headingley might be possible. We await the county Second XI and League cricket fixtures with baited breath so that we can plan our visits to the many beautiful grounds still available to watch cricket.
It would be stretching the imagination too far to expect two England victories in Australia this week, but if our Rugby League side can win the World Cup in Brisbane tomorrow that will be a start.
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