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A damp squib of a Test match
By Jonathan Liew last year, mid-December, 5 Comments »
Mike Selvey was seeing the Galle squelch-pit through uncharacteristically rose-tinted glasses in yesterday’s Guardian:
Already there has been insensitive and thoughtless talk about shifting the match back to Colombo - as if that is the sort of thing that happens when rain is forecast for Chester-le-Street, or the Old Trafford outfield has been damaged by concert-goers. It just goes to show how some people are incapable of seeing a wider picture beyond their wraparound shades: anyone who suggests such a thing has failed to grasp what this match at this ground means to Galle specifically and to Sri Lanka in general.
The point Selvey was making, I think, is that it doesn’t really matter if there’s any meaningful cricket or not in Galle: as long as everyone turns up and mumbles some vaguely heartfelt sentiments about how much it means to the region, it’s really rather immaterial that a Test series is ruined and the England fans who have travelled thousands of miles to see proper Test cricket are instead treated to something rather akin to the serious bits of Comic Relief.
Obviously - obviously - it’s great that Galle is getting back on its feet, and it’s also nice to see international cricketers recognising the existence of something more important than cricket. Yet at the same time, there’s a Test match to be played, and either the ground’s fit to stage it, or it’s not. If it’s not, then moving the Test would have been simple common sense. Not only that, but it would have given Galle time to make a grand, dignified re-entrance to the Test arena, rather than the sodden mess that looks like ensuing.
If it’s playable, then, you know, fine. Hoggy’ll like a bowl on it. But while this outpouring of generosity and consideration to a town still trying to remake itself is absolutely the right thing to do, you do wonder whether it could be done without also devaluing Test cricket, which is in the interests of nobody. Offering support and assistance to those in need is one thing; ruining an enthralling Test series to achieve it smacks of perversity.
5 Comments »Why do you read this blog?
By Will 2 years ago, mid-May, 16 Comments »
All sorts of blogging-related things and projects happening at the moment, which leads me to ask an annoyingly ambiguous question: why do you read this blog? Don’t worry, I’m not seeking praise or anything like that. I’m just trying to make head and tail of my readership, and of those who read blogs.
- Are you aware that this is a blog, or did you just think it’s a website?
- Are you a blogger?
- Did you come here because you knew about blogs, and wanted to find a cricket one?
- What makes a blog better, worse or different than - for example - just a fan’s cricket site?
- What other blogs do you read?
- Do you tend to read “personal” blogs (detailing people’s lives) or blogs focussed on a particular subject?
So, if you can answer things like those, that’d be great. It’s totally open-ended, so chat away. I think blogs have a slight identity crisis, and I’m trying to explain this to someone. On the one hand, essentially they offer nothing more than any other format. But on the other, the “instant” publishing means it’s as easy to blog as it is to email (which leads to its own problems, mainly a stream of incomprehensible waffle as Corridor readers are only too well aware).
The recent BBC/Reuters-led discussion was quite interesting. In some ways it was quite damaging to citizen journalism and blogging but, indirectly, it merely emphasised the importance of the new medium. They’re two of the largest and most influential news organisations in the world, and spent rather a long time discussing how they were best able to adapt to the “change” in media reporting. I predicted this (in private; I’m not boasting) shortly before I started blogging, but it took 6 months longer than I anticipated. We’re seeing the first wave of a bridge between established media organisations and bloggers - and I think it’s healthy to see.
In fact, I don’t necessarily do think it’s healthy or unhealthy. But I know it’s here to stay, and any news organisation who doesn’t react to blogs; to Web 2.0; to syndication; to citizen journalism and all that jazz, will perish. Which, on a slightly different topic, is why I’m concerned/fascinated by the future of print media. There have been recent revelations in the decrease of print advertising revenues; where to next for them?
And here endeth the stream of nonsense. Thoughts welcome; I know it’s not strictly cricket related but, nevertheless, you read the blog so you owe me your opinions on the format!o
16 Comments »Yet Another Ashes Book (YAAB): Is It Cowardly to Pray for Rain?
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of October, 2 Comments »
Yet Another Ashes Book (YAAB) - Is It Cowardly to Pray for Rain?. Published by The Guardian, its subtitle reads: “The Online Ashes Chronicle of a Nation’s Office-Bound Nervousness.”
Ah, nerves: tickles down to fine-leg, dropped-catches (hello Geraint, good evening KP), McGrath the bunny, Kasper the ghost with an airy flick over his shoulder and “JONES! BOWDEN!” Oh, sorry - where was I?
Yes, this book looks quite fun and is only about £6. The Guardian did over-by-over commentary all summer, most of which I missed to be honest - and the best bits have been summarised in this book. A reviewer at Amazon provides the best synopsis:
I don’t know what I’d have done without Guardian Unlimited this summer. Their over by over coverage of the game pioneered a format that all the papers seem to be nicking now, but the original remains by far the best. Office workers all over the land, shackled to their desks and far from the nearest tv screen, relied on their updates to see them through the day. Some of them nearly got fired for it. And more than just bringing the wickets and the sledging as it happened, the commentary is a work of genius in itself. Other sites might have told you it was overcast but no sign of rain, but where else would you read that skies were “John Major grey and about as threatening as meeting the former PM in a dark alley?” (Sean Ingle).
Hilarious even months after the events it describes.
Sounds good, eh?
2 Comments »Guardian linkage
By Will 3 years ago, mid-August, 4 Comments »
The Guardian’s website has made mention of my blog - hurrah! Thanks, Bobbie.
4 Comments »