The Indian Premier League (IPL) has became a fixture in the international cricket calendar and the sixth edition of the IPL got under way yesterday. This makes it an appropriate time to consider the club verses country debate but from a cricketing angle. This has already began with Eoin Morgan being at the center of this debate, many people believe that he should be with his county Middlsex this week playing in sub zero conditions in a pre-season friendly against Kent. The ECB have made it clear that they prefer their test players in England preparing for the summer's cricket rather than in Indian playing in a twenty twenty competition. Lets be honest last summers KP debacle was all because he was making sure he could play in future IPL tournaments but at the same time not risk losing his England place.
This debate can easily be solved by the ICC and respective national cricket boards by carefully managing the international and domestic cricket calendar. This country is 100% guilty of playing too much cricket both internationally and domestic. Players should be given the opportunity to play in lucrative tournaments like the IPL where they can get earn some money and help increase the global image of the game. In today's blog I'm going to begin to solve this debate by suggesting a couple of changes to both the domestic and international calendar 's that will settle the issue if players like Morgan and KP should be playing in the IPL.
The first change I would make is I would have distinct blocks during the calendar when international cricket is played. The first is the international season for fixtures played in England. England needs it's own distinct period because we are the only country that plays cricket in what we call summer May-September. All international cricket played in England needs to fit into these two distinct windows end of May and June then the second window through August and September. In these two periods you play seven test matches and a triangular one day series against the two touring nations. There is no need to fly India or Australia over just to play one cricket it has very little meaning.
The reason I have left July free is so our domestic twenty twenty competition can take place and by having England players available we increase the standard of competition and hopefully help counties get bigger crowds to the games. There is no reason to play test cricket in England prior to the last week of May because the chances of getting a completed test are very slim and it free's time up in the schedule. During this time the first two rounds of county championship cricket can take places sufficiently preparing England players for test cricket. I would also make dramatic changes to the championship structure for many years I have felt a 16 game schedule is far too much. It gives players little time to train or develop their tactical awareness and a coaches job is more like a team bus driver. I would adapt the championship to be a three tier championship each division having 6 teams in who everyone plays home and away making 10 fixtures a season. This makes every single game competitive and important for each county to win their division, which should not only help the country produce better and more tactically aware cricketers but help counties sell tickets as each game actually matters.
That sort of touches upon the domestic changes to help the burden on the cricketing calendar, I could go on for ever and discuss each change in more detail but I'm not sure I have the time to write it all down. With the international calendar I would make another couple of windows. First of all October would be a free month where no cricket is played unless its a world cup year and the extra time is needed. All international cricket needs to be played within these two windows first one November through to 2 weeks into January this allows home series in the sub continent to be played and Australia and South Africa. It also allows traditions such as boxing day and new years test matches to remain. Then there is the second window which is late February and all of March for countries who might not have been able to play home tests in the previous window like New Zealand and West Indies to schedule in home series.
This then leaves the IPL to be played in the month of April and that month only. I currently believe the IPL has too many fixtures and people loose interest however I for one minute do not think they will ever reduce the number of games played because of income reasons. Therefore I suggest the IPL plays its games much more rapidly. It's twenty twenty cricket teams do not need a week to rest between fixtures they could even play two nights in a row. In my eyes it should look something like an NBA schedule where a team plays 3-4 times week. This would allow all the world's best players to play in the IPL without creating conflict between them and their country.
I know like most of you this all looks well and good on paper but in the real world would never happen. There are too many nations that need to agree on playing cricket at certain times and all would fear it has a negative financial impact on them. This is where I would challenge them every change I have made I have done it with the idea that it would have a positive financial impact either through increasing competition or given the calendar more structure so interest is not lost. I will demonstrate this further in a future blog where I discuss international cricket and having a test match league but for now enjoy the IPL.
Thursday, 4 April 2013
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Fourth era of the European Cup
The greatest measure of success in European football has to be winning the European cup or more commonly known as the Champions league, for any football club. When looking at the competition and the winners in more detail it is clear to see that the European cup has gone through three era's and I would argue is about to enter its fourth. We are therefore entering a critical period in club football within Europe where the balance of power is about to be shifted.
1. The competition began in 1956 and up until the late 1960's was dominated by capital cities of Fascist regimes. Eight of the first eleven European Cups where either one by Real Madrid from the capital of Spain or Benfica from the capital of Portugal. This was the first era of the European Cup. As I go through the different era's do not make the assumption that it is only these footballing powers that win the competition during that period time. We can all point to un-likely winners in many sporting competitions and the European cup is no different, all I'm suggesting is as you look back over the competition three era's can be distinguished and we may even be entering a fourth.
2. By the end of the 1960's and early 70's smaller industrial towns began to dominate the landscape of European football. In the 1970's small industrial towns like Rotterdam, Amsterdam Liverpool and Nottingham all with populations at the time of under 1.5 million all won the European cup. These at the time were incredibly small towns and cities in comparison to capitals like London, Paris and Madrid. This era was aided by the industrial revolution, people from neighbouring towns and villages flocked to these cities in the search for employment and so they rapidly grew. The factories of these towns and cities were and still are linked to football clubs which aided their growth rise in power.
3. The next phase began in 1980's but there where a number of factors that happened over the next three decades. Money entered football like it had never been seen before, TV contracts grew, we had the first "million pound man" and freer movement of players through the "Bosman" rule. This meant the team with the most fans could sell more tickets and merchandising and attract better players. This lead to the diminishing of those small industrial towns because they did not have the population to support the clubs. In some cases Leeds United, Deportivo La Coruna and Fiorentina crippling them economically and competitively Teams in bigger cities started to expand their stadiums and take advantage of being surrounded by a bigger population. This would lead you to think that the bigger cities in Europe like London, Paris and Istanbul would be the most successful. In fact they were too big. These cities were just too big to generate brand interest and loyalty in fact most were filled with tourist who had no idea about football. In fact you wanted a city of about 2-4 million which could produce the required fan base, filling a large expanded stadium and be the vocal point of that city generating global attention. Hence the rise of Milan, Manchester, Munich, Madrid and Barcelona all of these cities have clubs which have dominated this era of European football.
4. This final phase I believe we are entering and began last year with Chelsea winning the European Cup. This is the rise of money clubs which will probably be linked to European Mega cities. The financial landscape of football is changing we now have mega rich owners who treat football clubs like toys and can spend what ever money they like on them. I'm talking about Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris St Germain and Anzhi Makhachkala. These clubs are fueled by rich owners who will do anything to win or buy the European Cup. Money has always dictated in some way where the power in European football lies I would be interested to see how many European cups these types of teams win over the next 20 years.
1. The competition began in 1956 and up until the late 1960's was dominated by capital cities of Fascist regimes. Eight of the first eleven European Cups where either one by Real Madrid from the capital of Spain or Benfica from the capital of Portugal. This was the first era of the European Cup. As I go through the different era's do not make the assumption that it is only these footballing powers that win the competition during that period time. We can all point to un-likely winners in many sporting competitions and the European cup is no different, all I'm suggesting is as you look back over the competition three era's can be distinguished and we may even be entering a fourth.
2. By the end of the 1960's and early 70's smaller industrial towns began to dominate the landscape of European football. In the 1970's small industrial towns like Rotterdam, Amsterdam Liverpool and Nottingham all with populations at the time of under 1.5 million all won the European cup. These at the time were incredibly small towns and cities in comparison to capitals like London, Paris and Madrid. This era was aided by the industrial revolution, people from neighbouring towns and villages flocked to these cities in the search for employment and so they rapidly grew. The factories of these towns and cities were and still are linked to football clubs which aided their growth rise in power.
3. The next phase began in 1980's but there where a number of factors that happened over the next three decades. Money entered football like it had never been seen before, TV contracts grew, we had the first "million pound man" and freer movement of players through the "Bosman" rule. This meant the team with the most fans could sell more tickets and merchandising and attract better players. This lead to the diminishing of those small industrial towns because they did not have the population to support the clubs. In some cases Leeds United, Deportivo La Coruna and Fiorentina crippling them economically and competitively Teams in bigger cities started to expand their stadiums and take advantage of being surrounded by a bigger population. This would lead you to think that the bigger cities in Europe like London, Paris and Istanbul would be the most successful. In fact they were too big. These cities were just too big to generate brand interest and loyalty in fact most were filled with tourist who had no idea about football. In fact you wanted a city of about 2-4 million which could produce the required fan base, filling a large expanded stadium and be the vocal point of that city generating global attention. Hence the rise of Milan, Manchester, Munich, Madrid and Barcelona all of these cities have clubs which have dominated this era of European football.
4. This final phase I believe we are entering and began last year with Chelsea winning the European Cup. This is the rise of money clubs which will probably be linked to European Mega cities. The financial landscape of football is changing we now have mega rich owners who treat football clubs like toys and can spend what ever money they like on them. I'm talking about Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris St Germain and Anzhi Makhachkala. These clubs are fueled by rich owners who will do anything to win or buy the European Cup. Money has always dictated in some way where the power in European football lies I would be interested to see how many European cups these types of teams win over the next 20 years.
Sunday, 31 March 2013
March madness
As March draws to a close with only a few hours to go what an appropriate time to reflect on what is the premier month of college basketball. For those of you who follow me on twitter (@michael_hume6) will have noticed how engrossed I get with what is referred to as March Madness. It is unlike any other sporting competition we have other here in the UK due to its unique structure. The closest event we have to it which receives mainstream media attention is Wimbledon but this is obviously very different as its a global event with only a couple of players playing per country.
During March 64 colleges compete for the national championship in a single eliminated tournament. This includes the 31 Division I conference winners who are automatically entered into the tournament and then 37 additional teams selected by the NCAA committee heavily determined by season record. The teams are then selected into regions and seeded putting teams into brackets within the region. During each stage the winner of the match progresses on to the next round. The first round is 4 games between the lowest ranked teams to leave the 64 teams heading into the second round. Teams are split into 4 regions the winner of each region will progress to the national semi finals or more commonly known as the final four before the winners competing for the national championship.
This format creates so much tension and drama as fans follow their team through the tournament. It also creates so many upsets such as this year Wichita State the 9th seed in the West region have knocked out power houses such as 1 seed Gonzaga and 2 seed Ohio State. In that regards it is similar to the FA cup where we get lower league clubs beating Premier league teams.
This year I have followed the whole tournament but paying particular attention to the college I have followed for several years now in football and basketball. Those of you following me on twitter will no-doubt know I'm referring to Michigan Wolverines. Who have played some sensational offensive basketball lead by All-American Trey Burke. The guard has been undefendable at times with his driving runs into the paint and taking on more of a leadership role and bringing other players into the game through his assists have made him the best player in the tournament so far. This is without discussing that unbelievable and close to the best shot I have ever seen, 3 pointer against Kansas to take it to over time.
You can see how excited I get from the tournament helped by my be-loved Wolverines going into the final four but can you imagine if we had something similar in this country. Maybe the twenty twenty cup in cricket where county's are seeded after their group stage and put into a much larger bracket format. I mean Sky would go for it because you could in essence create 4 finals days by splitting teams into regions of 4 teams the winner of the regional finals day goes on to the the national final. It would create loads of drama and provide unrivaled entertainment.
I love March and I'm gutted its ending in just hours time all because of college basketball. Good Luck Blue in the final four and great coverage from CBS.
During March 64 colleges compete for the national championship in a single eliminated tournament. This includes the 31 Division I conference winners who are automatically entered into the tournament and then 37 additional teams selected by the NCAA committee heavily determined by season record. The teams are then selected into regions and seeded putting teams into brackets within the region. During each stage the winner of the match progresses on to the next round. The first round is 4 games between the lowest ranked teams to leave the 64 teams heading into the second round. Teams are split into 4 regions the winner of each region will progress to the national semi finals or more commonly known as the final four before the winners competing for the national championship.
This format creates so much tension and drama as fans follow their team through the tournament. It also creates so many upsets such as this year Wichita State the 9th seed in the West region have knocked out power houses such as 1 seed Gonzaga and 2 seed Ohio State. In that regards it is similar to the FA cup where we get lower league clubs beating Premier league teams.
This year I have followed the whole tournament but paying particular attention to the college I have followed for several years now in football and basketball. Those of you following me on twitter will no-doubt know I'm referring to Michigan Wolverines. Who have played some sensational offensive basketball lead by All-American Trey Burke. The guard has been undefendable at times with his driving runs into the paint and taking on more of a leadership role and bringing other players into the game through his assists have made him the best player in the tournament so far. This is without discussing that unbelievable and close to the best shot I have ever seen, 3 pointer against Kansas to take it to over time.
You can see how excited I get from the tournament helped by my be-loved Wolverines going into the final four but can you imagine if we had something similar in this country. Maybe the twenty twenty cup in cricket where county's are seeded after their group stage and put into a much larger bracket format. I mean Sky would go for it because you could in essence create 4 finals days by splitting teams into regions of 4 teams the winner of the regional finals day goes on to the the national final. It would create loads of drama and provide unrivaled entertainment.
I love March and I'm gutted its ending in just hours time all because of college basketball. Good Luck Blue in the final four and great coverage from CBS.
Friday, 29 March 2013
A blog in the life.... Part IV
It's been a while followers and I apologies for my almost 2 weeks without a blog. The internet at home has been killing me but all is sorted now and BT may even be installing the fiber optic in a week or two. So much has happened in the world of sport over the last couple of weeks from the disappointing cricket in New Zealand to march madness in college basketball.
I will start this come back with a traditional blog and my favorite one, that of course is the blog in the life of Desmond Trufant. For those of you who do not know what this concept is. It's a unique blog I do every couple of weeks that looks at Desmond Trufant following his pathway from college into the NFL. In the first three parts I looked at Desmond's background, college career and then followed him through the senior bowl and NFL combine. Once Desmond is drafted in a months time I'm going to follow his NFL career closely regardless of what franchise he ends up at.
The last two weeks have again been another busy couple of weeks for Desmond. The draft is exactly one month away and so a couple of weeks ago at the University of Washington he held his pro day. This is very similar to the combine but the participants now have home field advantage They can script their workouts to suit them and be more picky in what exercises they participate in. Trufant decided to stand by his 40 time he clocked at the combine and did not run a 40, he did participate in lots of field drills and once again showed of his fluid movement and athletic ability. It was reported ten teams where in attendance at the pro day including the Seahawks, Colts and Jaguars.
The final phase of the process to getting drafted is private workouts with teams. Teams like to try and keep these unknown in some chases so other clubs do not know who they are interested in. Other times they make it more public as it can increase the trade offers for a certain pick. The workouts can also take place either at the college of the participant or even at the clubs facility again making it hard to gather information on who has been meeting and workout with who. It has been confirmed that Desmond has already had private workouts with the Falcons and Jaguars, both teams are in need of help at the cornerback position. Desmond is more than likely going to participate in more of these work outs right up to draft day.
The NFL buzz surrounding Trufant is also gather he has recently appeared on the NFL network in which he came across really well and gained extra attention. All the draft expects from a variety of sources are locking him up as not only a first round draft pick but also one of the top three cornerbacks in the draft.
I will do one more blog on Desmond leading up to the big day in a couple of weeks time.
#goblue for tonights big sweet 16 game.
Saturday, 16 March 2013
Helping the Legacy
Over the past few months I have been critical towards the government and national governing bodies towards how loyal they have been to the Olympic legacy. See my blog on UK Basketball for further evidence. However some good news has been announced from the Prime Minister this morning that £150 million pounds will be invested into primary school sport. A further £150 million will be invested by Sport England to aid primary schools link up with local sports clubs through the county partnership projects.
The money for this scheme will come from three departments, firstly the department of health will provide £60 million while the department of Education £80 million and £10 million by the department of sport and culture. However this investment does not begin to match the investment that was in place through the school sports partnership scheme which was dismantled by Mr Gove just two years ago. It is some what of a U-turn for me while not putting back in all of the money that was taken away from primary school sport.
The money that primary schools receive will be ring fenched therefore it will have to be spent on sports and not other areas. However the investment does give head teachers some flexibility as to how they spend it either in getting coaches into schools through NGB, teachers training or equipment. All in all they should have a positive impact upon the primary school pupils and their sporting experience.
This investment while only short term ( check the small print this is only a two year investment) will go a long way. It will help get pupils playing more sport not only in school but outside through the club links. Hopefully inspiring our next great Olympic athletes like Jess Ennis. Getting more children physically active through the introduction of new and old activities will help solve the burden childhood obesity is putting on the health system. These positives from the investement have been described as measurable hence why the government is so supportive of it but how can you measure the enjoyment of positive feeling a young child gets through playing sport. For me that's un-measurable and what makes investments like this one great.
I'm not for one minute going to criticise the investment any investment into school sport is welcomed by me. However I did read something really interesting which I think summed this investment up best. It ticks the box for supporting the Olympic legacy and most defiantly at its lowest level, it has NGB involvement it has ring fenching of sporting money and goes towards correcting the huge mistake made by the government of removing the school sport partnership. I just hope this investment is not a tick boxing exercise by the government but more an attempt to get children doing more exercise.
Sorry for the lack of blogs this week, still having major Internet issues here in the Hume household!!
The money for this scheme will come from three departments, firstly the department of health will provide £60 million while the department of Education £80 million and £10 million by the department of sport and culture. However this investment does not begin to match the investment that was in place through the school sports partnership scheme which was dismantled by Mr Gove just two years ago. It is some what of a U-turn for me while not putting back in all of the money that was taken away from primary school sport.
The money that primary schools receive will be ring fenched therefore it will have to be spent on sports and not other areas. However the investment does give head teachers some flexibility as to how they spend it either in getting coaches into schools through NGB, teachers training or equipment. All in all they should have a positive impact upon the primary school pupils and their sporting experience.
This investment while only short term ( check the small print this is only a two year investment) will go a long way. It will help get pupils playing more sport not only in school but outside through the club links. Hopefully inspiring our next great Olympic athletes like Jess Ennis. Getting more children physically active through the introduction of new and old activities will help solve the burden childhood obesity is putting on the health system. These positives from the investement have been described as measurable hence why the government is so supportive of it but how can you measure the enjoyment of positive feeling a young child gets through playing sport. For me that's un-measurable and what makes investments like this one great.
I'm not for one minute going to criticise the investment any investment into school sport is welcomed by me. However I did read something really interesting which I think summed this investment up best. It ticks the box for supporting the Olympic legacy and most defiantly at its lowest level, it has NGB involvement it has ring fenching of sporting money and goes towards correcting the huge mistake made by the government of removing the school sport partnership. I just hope this investment is not a tick boxing exercise by the government but more an attempt to get children doing more exercise.
Sorry for the lack of blogs this week, still having major Internet issues here in the Hume household!!
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Good business
Free agency is less than an hour away and many pundits will be flying round the cliche, good business. I think the best bit of business has already been done, yesterday the Seahawks traded for Harvin from the Vikings.
The reason why its such a good bit of business is the Seahawks came so close this season from the championship game. They are not a million miles away from making a serious run at the Super Bowl. The offence has been dynamic this season with Wilson at the head of it yet it does not possess too many home run weapons. Harvin is most defiantly that he can go to the house in a variety of ways receiving, running or returning. Giving Wilson extra weapons as he enters his second year is absolutely vital as teams are going to be watching him all through the off season preparing how to stop him to make his second year much more difficult. By giving the offence this new extra dimension it gives defensive coordinators a nightmare trying to plan for the Seahawks offence.
As for the Vikings they received a few low order draft picks and the Seahawks first round pick this season. The Vikings did not have much of an option than to trade Harvin a player who wanted out and was actively seeking a trade. The Vikings need to find value with their two first round draft picks they needed offensive weapons before Harvin left now they need multiple weapons. The Seahawks have done some good business already this off season now the Vikings need to show they have too.
The reason why its such a good bit of business is the Seahawks came so close this season from the championship game. They are not a million miles away from making a serious run at the Super Bowl. The offence has been dynamic this season with Wilson at the head of it yet it does not possess too many home run weapons. Harvin is most defiantly that he can go to the house in a variety of ways receiving, running or returning. Giving Wilson extra weapons as he enters his second year is absolutely vital as teams are going to be watching him all through the off season preparing how to stop him to make his second year much more difficult. By giving the offence this new extra dimension it gives defensive coordinators a nightmare trying to plan for the Seahawks offence.
As for the Vikings they received a few low order draft picks and the Seahawks first round pick this season. The Vikings did not have much of an option than to trade Harvin a player who wanted out and was actively seeking a trade. The Vikings need to find value with their two first round draft picks they needed offensive weapons before Harvin left now they need multiple weapons. The Seahawks have done some good business already this off season now the Vikings need to show they have too.
Sunday, 10 March 2013
First test review
Sorry for lack of blogs over the weekend the usual busy weekends preventing me from blogging. Starting with a quick review of the first test between England and New Zealand today.
It was not the way the England team thought they would kick of this fantastic year of test cricket especially against a much weaker opposition. However it was typical England they have been slow starters in all of their first test matches in recent tours. The last three India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have all been awful first days and now you can add New Zealand to that list.
I thought they got the team wrong personally as I mentioned last week I would have taken five bowlers and even more so when Swann was ruled out just before the test match. England's bowling is currently not strong enough to knock over an opposition twice and so therefore needs that quality fifth bowler and for me it would be Onions.
Having said that I would have played him in replace of Nick Compton who scored a vital century in the second innings to prevent defeat. This innings was a really important knock on a pitch that did not allow him to be his fluent best. It does mean he will bat out the series as the opener and probably the first test against the same opposition at home. Captain Cook stepped up in the second innings with a century of his own after a very poor shot in the first innings. I thought Trott and Bell actually looked in very good touch and on a pitch where they can express themselves a bit more I will expect a lot of runs from them. They both look good for at least a century in the series. KP is KP and you get these type of tests from him. Root was the worry for me he did not look as confident and as assure of himself as he did in India but it is just one game and he will get another chance.
The bowling attack only got one opportunity and was usual James Anderson was the pick of the bowlers. The pitch did not suit the England bowling attacking not offering a lot of assistance or pace. However I still have fears about Finn he bowls too many boundary balls for me, that is not saying he is not dangerous but I want to see him have more consistence in applying pressure. Broad looks a long way from his best but it was always going to be slow journey back and Monty did a job. He is defiantly going to get a lot of overs if England persist with this 4 man attack.
The next test is just days away and England need to make massive improvements. I predict no changes but a change in performance and result. England win the second test.
It was not the way the England team thought they would kick of this fantastic year of test cricket especially against a much weaker opposition. However it was typical England they have been slow starters in all of their first test matches in recent tours. The last three India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have all been awful first days and now you can add New Zealand to that list.
I thought they got the team wrong personally as I mentioned last week I would have taken five bowlers and even more so when Swann was ruled out just before the test match. England's bowling is currently not strong enough to knock over an opposition twice and so therefore needs that quality fifth bowler and for me it would be Onions.
Having said that I would have played him in replace of Nick Compton who scored a vital century in the second innings to prevent defeat. This innings was a really important knock on a pitch that did not allow him to be his fluent best. It does mean he will bat out the series as the opener and probably the first test against the same opposition at home. Captain Cook stepped up in the second innings with a century of his own after a very poor shot in the first innings. I thought Trott and Bell actually looked in very good touch and on a pitch where they can express themselves a bit more I will expect a lot of runs from them. They both look good for at least a century in the series. KP is KP and you get these type of tests from him. Root was the worry for me he did not look as confident and as assure of himself as he did in India but it is just one game and he will get another chance.
The bowling attack only got one opportunity and was usual James Anderson was the pick of the bowlers. The pitch did not suit the England bowling attacking not offering a lot of assistance or pace. However I still have fears about Finn he bowls too many boundary balls for me, that is not saying he is not dangerous but I want to see him have more consistence in applying pressure. Broad looks a long way from his best but it was always going to be slow journey back and Monty did a job. He is defiantly going to get a lot of overs if England persist with this 4 man attack.
The next test is just days away and England need to make massive improvements. I predict no changes but a change in performance and result. England win the second test.
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