The ECB the biggest disgrace in this country....

[The Large One]

No more 'marvellous scenes...'

 

[Pevenseagull]

gutted

 

[Chesney Christ]

...the world cup last year, Zimbabwe this year

The Zimbabwe situation was not their fault. The ICC should have dealt with it. If the ECB had pulled the players out of either the world cup match or the recent tour the ICC would have given them an almighty punishment and would have alienated them from international cricket.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The ECB announced that Sky Sports will gain exclusive rights to the live broadcast of all home international and domestic cricket in England and Wales, while Five has gained the rights to show highlights of home international cricket on prime time television - action from every day's play, apart from day/night games, will be shown at the peak time evening slot of 7.15pm-8.00pm.

Any chance of Five getting on to terrestrial TV out here?

What sort of gesture is that?

 

[Donny Osmond]

Is this just for home test matches or home and away?

 

[mona]

The title of this thread is worthy of the Sun.
Lets see every issue in simple black and white ok.
Without this money the counties would mostlikely have been forced to merge. I disagree with a lot of ECB decisions but they spend far more of their cash in developing young players than the FA do.

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

I can't even get f***ing Channel 5 where I live!

Oh well -- TMS for me. And I CAN get 5 Live sports extra which is a bit of a relief.

But I agree with almost everything said a bove. ECB - bunch of wankers.

 

[Pevenseagull]

The title of this thread is worthy of the Sun.
Lets see every issue in simple black and white ok.
Without this money the counties would mostlikely have been forced to merge. I disagree with a lot of ECB decisions but they spend far more of their cash in developing young players than the FA do.

MONEY BIT:

the difference in the money over the term is quoted (on the ECB website no less) as being 10%.

the suprise sucess of 20/20 cricket has resulted in a significant injection into the county side's coffers - this revenue from this will be even greater this year as the competition has been enlarged considerably.

It is disturbing to think that, even with this unexpected windfall, the county game is in such a financial mess that it needs to snatch at every available penny, irrespective of the uncontrovertibly detrimental long term effects on the game.

LIMITED AMOUNT THAT THE ECB ACTUALLY DO BIT:

County sides receive currently a little over £1,100,000 per annum as an annual sum from the ECB generated from the ECB's activities (there is no requirement for reporting how the money is used). Ignoring revenues from tests and other activities if ALL of the money distributed came from broadcasting rights and the 10% was passed on to the counties this would be a little over £100,000. I have sounded out a number of friends who play for club sides and they are unaware of any club side receiving more than £500 from the ECB.

PROFILE OF CRICKET BIT:

Next summer there is no competition - no Euro/World Cup football, no Olympics, no Ryder cup - The Ashes is THE biggest sporting event of the summer. A competitive Ashes series will raise the profile of cricket hugely.

Leaving aside established cricket fanatics, a major factor in the wider public's experience of this HUGE event will be the comprehensive terrestrial coverage that C4 will provide. The team that they have working on test cricket is superb and impressively inclusive, it's fun without being remotely condescending and features such as Simon Hughes' analysis give a superb, enthralling insight into some of the finer points of the game.

ECB HIPOCRISY BIT:

The ECB’s vision for cricket (from their site):
“To ensure that England becomes and remains the most successful and respected cricket nation in the world, and to encourage the widest possible participation and interest in the game throughout England and Wales.”

How can this decison encourage the widest possible interest in the game when the majority of the population will no longer be able to watch it live?

And what are non SKY subscribers left with? Forty 5 mins of highlights (probably less than 30mins of action once adverts etc are factored in) on a channel that is rightly renowned for atrocious programming standards - scheduled to go head to head with established family viewing. (that's if you can receive C5)

Perhaps they should revise and simplify your vision of cricket as follows:

"To take every short term opportunity to increase our coffers, even if the decision results in the marginalisation of interest in the sport and subsequently reduces participation."

SICKENING MURDOCH RICHES BIT:

Home test matches were removed from the list of 'crown jewels' in 1998 - the sporting events that the Government has stated must be available through terrestrial channels (FA cup Final, England football games in the finals of major competitions, Olympics, Wimbledon and very few others)

The '05 Ashes has the potential to reinvigorate the general public's interest in cricket like no event since the '81 series. And for anyone who wants to watch the following year they will have to cough up to SKY.

What timing!

I'm absolutely livid

 

[Hungry Joe]

Damn I'm really depressed now. Got up cos I'm having one of my insomnia bouts. No wonder I can't sleep! As a cricket fan this is nothing short of a tragedy for the game and it's followers. I too don't have, and have no intention of getting, Sky. My Dad doesn't either. He's 74 and a lifelong cricket fanatic. We used to watch whole Test matches end to end together on the box, it was an integral part of our Summer. To think that he will now miss out on this simple pleasure in his latter years makes me f***ing furious.