Cricket In Full Swing

The Footy season is well and truly over. So too is that annoying limbo period where we get nothing but horse racing. That only means one thing, that Cricket season is back and better than ever with the promotion of what will surely be a slightly more competitive Ashes series. So why not blog about it. There are a few things that have been getting up my goat lately.

The Barmy Army
So many people are saying how good it is to have the Barmy Army at the cricket. Kochie on Sunrise even started a campaign to let the trumpet player into the ground because it’s “good for cricket.” In the end the people in charge of the Adelaide Oval sensibly refused to let him in, as it would set a precedent for following events. The Barmy Army are continually dancing and chanting. How can a distraction from watching the cricket be good for cricket? They only good thing about them is that they are helping Australian venues sell-out for all 5 days of a test. A bit of clever and witty sledging from the crowd is good, I rate that. The occasional song or chant is good as well. But carrying on all day is ridiculous. People should go to the cricket primarily to watch the cricket, secondarily to enjoy the atmosphere. For me the Barmy Army would create too much atmosphere and hence hinder the primary purpose.

Bill Lawry’s Commentary
I have disliked Bill Lawry’s commentary for a long time now. It’s like he has no idea of how the game is played anymore. What he says doesn’t seem to relate to what we see on the screen. His favourite line, “It’s all happening here!” comes more often than not when absolutely nothing is happening. I am enjoying the commentary team as a whole and the new additions to the commentary team, such as Michael Slater, are fantastic and are contributing more to the commentary than Lawry ever has. Richie Benaud is the only original member of the commentary team that should dictate on his terms when he will finish. As for Lawry, it’s time to trim the fat.