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‘Football mentality’ at Twenty20?
By Will 1 month ago, 1 Comment »
While the rain spat over Edgbaston yesterday, I armed myself with a dictaphone and set upon the unsuspecting crowd. Most were more than happy to share their thoughts, two of whom were teachers (bunking off school. No, they were!).
I was chatting to them about the influence of Twenty20, and it was fascinating to hear them talk about what they termed a “football mentality” which fuels their fear over cricket’s latest format. Having not been to as many Twenty20 as the rest of you, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. Have a read, and offer your opinion below.
1 Comment »Beer’s up
By Will 4 months ago, 3 Comments »
A sojourn from the cricket with the news that Alistair Darling, the bushy-eyebrowed bastard who controls our taxes, has added 4p to a pint of beer, 14p to a bottle of wine and generally raised his “six taxes” at an extraordinary rate. This simply will not do, and Fraser Nelson provides further info on the travesty at the always-excellent Coffee House:
3 Comments »The biggest story in today’s Budget – ie, what will hit the public immediately – is the booze hikes. From 6pm tonight, they take effect. An extra 4p on a pint of beer, 3p on a glass of wine (touchingly, the Red Book says 175ml is typical – has anyone from the Treasury ordered a glass recently?), and 55p on a 70cl bottle of spirits. These increases will rise at 2% in future years on top on inflation (itself expected to be 2%). So, congratulations Gordon: a line of cocaine (on Dec07 street prices) is now cheaper than half a pint cider. What a wonderful country we live in.
Do any CoffeeHousers know of research that suggests such prices rises actually deter drunkenness? I don’t. Drink has become steadily more expensive, and the mayhem on the streets has hardly calmed. I suspect the Friday night chaos the BBC loves to show us has more to do with the scandalous fact that the number prosecuted for being drunk-and-disorderly has collapsed from 30,700 prosecutions to 16,400 each year between 2000 and 2006 as police chased other targets – and started imposing these daft £40 fines instead of taking people to the cells.
Notes from the pavilion for October 27th
By Will last year, at the end of October, 2 Comments »
- Andrew Flintoff ‘drink disgrace’ on tour - Fletcher’s book is going to be fascinating reading for sure…
- Murali is last hope for Wallaby wannabe - A terrific piece - read it
- Rudolph considers England future - Another South African threatens to split…
- Warne says the county game is a source of England strength -
Sunblock? Rumblock
By Will last year, at the end of March, 1 Comment »
Last week I wrote about the Trinidadians’ clever use of a zip-lock bag to sneak in contraband (contrabanned, more like), which the authorities in the Caribbean prohibit. That was clever, but not nearly as ingenious as the use of a bottle of sunblock!
I love the expression on that bloke’s face, behind, raising his glass of rum. Well done, Trinis! (thanks Ryan)
1 Comment »One pint too far for greedy ICC
By Will 2 years ago, mid-May, 2 Comments »
What, in England anyway, is most associated with watching cricket? Fun? Most certainly, it’s great fun. Good food? Nah. Picnic eggs and £10 heart-attack burgers are the best you can hope for. No, so it’s perhaps why most people have always enjoyed a drink or three “at the cricket”. But the ICC are trying, and have already partially succeeded in, outlawing booze from the game.
To be accurate, they’re banning people from bringing their own alcohol into grounds. It’s already happened in the Caribbean, and smacks of commercialised greed (i.e. forcing people to pay over the odds for drinks inside the ground). It’s beer tax.
So long considered the stuffy great-uncle of cricket, Lord’s continues to be the groundbreakers. They’re the only ground to refuse the ICC’s ruling, and good on them. I spoke to them last week and fed the info to my boss who has written it all up here.
For some time, however, there was a threat that the ICC were about to poop the party. They were thinking of imposing their worldwide ruling that no-one would be allowed to bring glass or tin containers into grounds. Members spluttered and the MCC, still a private club, took a stand. Allowing women in the pavilion is one thing, but barring wine and champagne was a bridge too far. The result is that, for this year at least, there will be no ban on people bringing in bottles to go with their lunches.
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Sadly, at all other venues in England - and around the world - we are likely to see a repetition of spectators having alcohol and soft drinks removed by overzealous security guards and then queuing to buy the very same product, only with a large mark-up.
Thoughts?
2 Comments »An insight into Australian club cricket
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of January, 4 Comments »
No, I’m not talking about the bloke who last week threatened to kill an umpire (true). This gem comes from Stu - whose blog is one of the many I don’t have time to read as often as I’d like - who was a regular here during the Ashes, when everyone went Kricket Krazy.
4 Comments »Here’s a copy of an email I received this afternoon from my cricket club, which I feel beautifully displays the nature of the majority of Australian Club Cricket (this is verbatim!):
Subject : Thursday Night Training
Watto wishes to let all players know there will be no Thursday night
training this week, due to Australia day Public Holiday and the expected heat
conditions.
However Browny has expressed his desire to open the bar. If
anyone if interested in training or attending the Bar can you give him a quick
ring.
I’m not chasing loose women
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of January, 5 Comments »
Far be it for me to turn this into a public “Where’s Will” thing, but I felt it pertinent to reply to Scott’s shameful accusations of me “chasing loose women.” More’s the pity. I’m not doing that, nor am I entrenched in an alcoholic stupor…I’ve got bloody flu again, and feel like death warmed up. The closest I’ve come to anything Scott has inferred is being high on Day Night Nurse…!
5 Comments »