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Beaten by a country which is a dysfunctional war zone and whose women compete in the Olympics wearing kit which is one step removed from a burkha!

Somebody said that the Scottish players were docked 10% of their match fee for that defeat. So do these guys actually get paid for being as absolutely cr@p as that?

I believe that no other country has played so many cricket world cup matches and failed to win any of them. Indeed Scotland's abject ineptitude at cricket is maybe a good reason to reduce the number of teams taking part in the World Cup so their embarrassment can be saved. And even at that, how many of these "Scottish" players are actually third rate Antipodeans or from the Indian subcontinent?

On which subject, I heard a post match interview with the Italian rugby full back who sounded decidedly Southern Hemisphere.

Strange how The Empire seem to be much better at traditional British sports than we are.

I also wonder how this latest outcome is perceived among the ranks of the Nationalists?

Gutted at Scotland losing or delighted that we don't do very well in this quintessentially English acti

 

Beaten by a country which is a dysfunctional war zone and whose women compete in the Olympics wearing kit which is one step removed from a burkha!

Somebody said that the Scottish players were docked 10% of their match fee for that defeat. So do these guys actually get paid for being as absolutely cr@p as that?

I believe that no other country has played so many cricket world cup matches and failed to win any of them. Indeed Scotland's abject ineptitude at cricket is maybe a good reason to reduce the number of teams taking part in the World Cup so their embarrassment can be saved. And even at that, how many of these "Scottish" players are actually third rate Antipodeans or from the Indian subcontinent?

On which subject, I heard a post match interview with the Italian rugby full back who sounded decidedly Southern Hemisphere.

Strange how The Empire seem to be much better at traditional British sports than we are.

I also wonder how this latest outcome is perceived among the ranks of the Nationalists?

Gutted at Scotland losing or delighted that we don't do very well in this quintessentially English activity?

 

If you were not so obsessed with your risible attempts at stereotyping or professing support for a party one of who's spokespeople 'only has issues with negroes' it might not have escaped your attention that there is more than one poster on this thread who has, in other fora, expressed support for independence.

 

I have encountered few if any Nationalists who are in the least narrow minded far less so warped as to take delight in failure at a quintessentially English sport which, world wide, has almost as many followers and active participants as football.

 

Those of us who want a proper, progressive, grown-up nation to live in have more to think about than using sport as a jingoistic stick with which to beat other nations.

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I watched the Scotland innings last night before having to go to bed - they put in a great shift and had recorded what I thought would be enough!

Sadly, I was mistaken and Bangladesh reeled in the runs quite comfortably.

 

I heard the Scottish boy, Kyle Coetzer, who'd made 150+ being interviewed and was pleasantly surprised to hear a Scottish accent, despite the name. Seems he was born and raised in Aberdeen and his name is from his South African dad.

I assumed that most of the squad, as CB alluded to in an earlier post, were likely 'passport Scots' but it's really not the case.

 

12 of the 15-man-squad are either born here or have a Scottish parent.

Unlike in international football, there's no grandparent rule for cricket - the ICC scrapped that a while ago, but there is a 'residency' rule.

That's where the other 3 members of the squad become eligible. They've all lived in Scotland most of their life and indeed still live here. So, there are no ringers in Scotland's cricket team!!

 

Although not in this case, the residency rule is possibly a bit dubious as it's only a 4-year stipulation. That's too short in my opinion. Studying a four-year degree at a Scottish University would therefore allow that person to be eligible for Scotland at the culmination of their course.

I remember there was talk of this type of thing in football a few years back, with Nacho Novo stating he'd love to represent Scotland - but I do prefer a bloodline.

Interestingly, 4 of the cricket team are from Aberdeen!

 

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We could beat Sri Lanka and finish above England in table.

Actually it might suit Sri Lanka to lose and finish 4th in the group as they would probably rather play India in the next round than South Africa

 

But for Scotland to finish above England, not only do Scotland need to beat Sri Lanka but England would need to lose against Afghanistan.  In addition, Scotland would need to avoid being creamed by the Aussies as otherwise England would have a better net run rate.  Nevertheless, the fact that it remains possible with England having just one match to play is pretty depressing from an Englishman's point of view I have to admit.

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Beaten by a country which is a dysfunctional war zone and whose women compete in the Olympics wearing kit which is one step removed from a burkha!

Somebody said that the Scottish players were docked 10% of their match fee for that defeat. So do these guys actually get paid for being as absolutely cr@p as that?

I believe that no other country has played so many cricket world cup matches and failed to win any of them. Indeed Scotland's abject ineptitude at cricket is maybe a good reason to reduce the number of teams taking part in the World Cup so their embarrassment can be saved. And even at that, how many of these "Scottish" players are actually third rate Antipodeans or from the Indian subcontinent?

On which subject, I heard a post match interview with the Italian rugby full back who sounded decidedly Southern Hemisphere.

Strange how The Empire seem to be much better at traditional British sports than we are.

I also wonder how this latest outcome is perceived among the ranks of the Nationalists?

Gutted at Scotland losing or delighted that we don't do very well in this quintessentially English activity?

To your point about them being "as absolutely cr@p as that". I dont know a lot about cricket in Scotland so I'm not qualified to say whether they were or weren't cr@p. I do, however, think they have done well to have qualified for the competition the last five times. Winning the qualifiers on two of those occassions. I believe there's some thirty odd non Test nations who compete for four places so qualifying is an achievement in its own right. Scotland has only been a member of ICC since 1994 but were not eligible to enter competition till 1999. They do not have the advantage of playing Test cricket so are down there with the dysfunctional warzones of the world.

 

Now to answer your last questions. I, as a paid up member of SNP, have no feelings one way or the other towards the successes or failures of a Scottish cricket team. I dont like the game, have no interest in it and couldn't care one way or the other who does or doesn't do well be they Scottish or Martian.

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To your point about them being "as absolutely cr@p as that". I dont know a lot about cricket in Scotland so I'm not qualified to say whether they were or weren't cr@p. I do, however, think they have done well to have qualified for the competition the last five times.

 

 

They didn't actually qualify in 2003 and 2011 but have done so on three occasions - 1999, 2007 and 2015 and have lost all 12 games to date when they have qualified.

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We could beat Sri Lanka and finish above England in table.

Actually it might suit Sri Lanka to lose and finish 4th in the group as they would probably rather play India in the next round than South Africa

 

But for Scotland to finish above England, not only do Scotland need to beat Sri Lanka but England would need to lose against Afghanistan.  In addition, Scotland would need to avoid being creamed by the Aussies as otherwise England would have a better net run rate.  Nevertheless, the fact that it remains possible with England having just one match to play is pretty depressing from an Englishman's point of view I have to admit.

 

I have no difficulty at all with England enjoying success at cricket and was pleased when they made the Ashes more competitive but the fact is for a large nation with the longest cricketing heritage of all they fall woefully short at the 50 overs game and, in terms of tactics and approach,are a dozen years behind how the other top nations approach the game.

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I have no difficulty at all with England enjoying success at cricket and was pleased when they made the Ashes more competitive but the fact is for a large nation with the longest cricketing heritage of all they fall woefully short at the 50 overs game and, in terms of tactics and approach,are a dozen years behind how the other top nations approach the game.

 

Agreed. I did hear a cricket journalist on the radio earlier today make a similar point, suggesting that England's approach to the shorter game is influenced far too much by the traditional attitude to the format which lasts for the best part of a week before being rendered a draw by some rain, despite one side absolutely dumping on the other. (Well he didn't QUITE put it that way!)

The comments brought back memories of  a chronically immobile Colin Cowdrey (under 50s need not recollect) returning six blocking shots straight to the bowler, whose maiden over was promptly hailed by that time honoured round of slow, pedantic, laboured applause.

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I have no difficulty at all with England enjoying success at cricket and was pleased when they made the Ashes more competitive but the fact is for a large nation with the longest cricketing heritage of all they fall woefully short at the 50 overs game and, in terms of tactics and approach,are a dozen years behind how the other top nations approach the game.

 

Agreed. I did hear a cricket journalist on the radio earlier today make a similar point, suggesting that England's approach to the shorter game is influenced far too much by the traditional attitude to the format which lasts for the best part of a week before being rendered a draw by some rain, despite one side absolutely dumping on the other. (Well he didn't QUITE put it that way!)

The comments brought back memories of  a chronically immobile Colin Cowdrey (under 50s need not recollect) returning six blocking shots straight to the bowler, whose maiden over was promptly hailed by that time honoured round of slow, pedantic, laboured applause.

 

 

Test cricket has it's own charm and pace even if the skills, subtleties and nuances are clearly lost on some....

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I have no difficulty at all with England enjoying success at cricket and was pleased when they made the Ashes more competitive but the fact is for a large nation with the longest cricketing heritage of all they fall woefully short at the 50 overs game and, in terms of tactics and approach,are a dozen years behind how the other top nations approach the game.

 

Agreed. I did hear a cricket journalist on the radio earlier today make a similar point, suggesting that England's approach to the shorter game is influenced far too much by the traditional attitude to the format which lasts for the best part of a week before being rendered a draw by some rain, despite one side absolutely dumping on the other. (Well he didn't QUITE put it that way!)

The comments brought back memories of  a chronically immobile Colin Cowdrey (under 50s need not recollect) returning six blocking shots straight to the bowler, whose maiden over was promptly hailed by that time honoured round of slow, pedantic, laboured applause.

 

I am sure the English establishment's focus on Test cricket as being the pinacle of the game seriously impacts on the one day mindset.  Test cricket is all about not taking risks whilst the one day game is quite the opposite.  However, England have a large number of Test matches in the coming few months and I rather fear that it will emerge that we are not very good at that version either.

 

As for the likes of Cowdrey and Graveney I have to say they were great to watch.  One of the great things about cricket in those days was that you did not have to be an athlete to play the game.  Their skill was in an eye for the ball, judgement of which ball to hit, superb timing and pinpoint placement of their shots.  They would gently lean into a slightly over-pitched delivery and send the ball racing between two fielders to the boundry.  You rarely see such skills in the modern game.  Test cricket is a game  of subtle skill and nuance and for me the way the game can ebb and flow and be changed by the weather and the wearing pitch is so different from any other sport that it offers an attraction all of it's own.  In a world where everyone is in such a hurry to do everything, fewer and fewer people find the time to learn to appreciate and then to watch the game.  It has certainly changed a lot but I fear it may not survive in it's present format for too much longer.

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Test cricket is a game  of subtle skill and nuance and for me the way the game can ebb and flow and be changed by the weather and the wearing pitch is so different from any other sport that it offers an attraction all of it's own.  In a world where everyone is in such a hurry to do everything, fewer and fewer people find the time to learn to appreciate and then to watch the game. 

“The English are not very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity” - George Bernard Shaw.
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  • 3 weeks later...

Although I don't follow cricket much, the first thing I did this morning was look up the result of the game!

The Afghanistan match is next for Scotland - on paper their most realistic chance of getting that elusive first win...although, like most of the 'Associate' sides, are no mugs!

I just found out that disappointingly, the next World Cup in 2019 is being reduced to not 12, but just 10 teams - what a slap-in-the-face for these developing cricket nations!

It'll probably be the 10 Test playing nations.

Surely that's a backward move if the ICC are wanting to make it a truly global sport. I'm only following this tournament because Scotland are involved, but if it was the 10 Test nations, I would barely acknowledge it!

Read today that the plan to reduce the numbers to 10 is to appease the broadcasters (sound familiar?).   Presumably the ICC feel they will get more income to support the development of cricket in other nations by taking a larger sum for televising a more elite competiton.  But it is not just about the money - cricket will develop elsewhere if players get the opportunity to play against better opposition.  Perhaps a fairer way of formatting this would be to have more of the test playing nations required to participate in the qualifiers.  In that way, not only would the emerging nations have more chance of getting to the finals, they would also have the opportunity to play against test playing nations whether they qualified or not.  Secondary TV contracts would also provide a bit more exposure and money for the game.  It might also spice up the matches between the test playing nations as the rankings following the ODIs between them would determine whether they were required to compete in the qualifiers or not.

 

On a lighter note I was amused to read the tweet sent by the Japan Cricket Association to the England and Wales Cricket Board which read  "Dear @ECB_cricket, this might not be a great time, but as there's room in your schedule, fancy a game in Japan on your way home?".   Thankfully the ECB declined the kind invitation.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am not sure that a tour of the West Indies against a weakened and disorganised test side is ideal preparation for the forthcoming Ashes series. The mini test series against New Zealand next month will be a better barometer.

 

English cricket has been in disarray and riven with internal conflict but with the departure of Paul Downton there is real potential to get it right and modernise the structure with a view to dragging the playing side both at test and, more particularly, one day level up to date.

 

I would like to see someone such as Alec Stewart or Michael Vaughan given a role more akin to that of an international football manager with the old fashioned and outdated selection committee being consigned to history.

 

As for the Ashes, difficult to see past an Australian series win but it would be nice if it was at least competitive.

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I am sure administrative changes are needed but I think the root cause of England's demise lies far deeper than that.  You can have a great structure but it is great players that win matches and there are fewer and fewer coming through the system because youngsters simply don't spend the time playing the game.  I am sure there are a range of social factors here (and the weather doesn't help) but it does seem that in the UK we have developed a culture in which playing ball games either informally with your mates or as part of organised coaching set up is not seen as cool. 

 

I was in Auckland a couple of years ago and the contrast was stark.  On a Saturday morning one large area of parkland was absolutely packed with 20 - 30 games of cricket going on - far too many for the space available but this was presumably a reflection of the demand.  Elsewhere seeing groups of youngsters or family groups with bat and ball was common place.  Perhaps rising cases of obesity and diabetes among the young will help a return to a culture where kids are once again encouraged and want to go outside and play.

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For me he was as good a sports commentator as is possible to have, in a way the cricketing equivalent of what Bill MacLaren was to rugby.

 

I found him incredibly engaging to listen to as he always had his finger on the pulse of any game 

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