Cricket Australia discussing moving Sheffield Shield to winter to expand Big Bash

[ManWithNoName]

What the hell is this?

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...244403432?sv=b5fe29be23ac59a7b870a2840cf9bd11

THE time-honoured Sheffield Shield could be shifted to winter under a radical plan to give the booming Twenty20 Big Bash room for expansion.

The Sunday Mail has been told leading Cricket Australia officials have discussed the plan, which would toss 119 years of history on its head by playing Shield cricket in the off-season months as early as August and at regional grounds.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...244403432?sv=b5fe29be23ac59a7b870a2840cf9bd11

I thought cancelling the Shield while the Big Bash was on this year was the worst idea ever, but I stand corrected.

 

[Bomber Bears]

Was about to post this article.

I wish there wasnt swear filters cos if anything deserves to say "are these c a r n ts ****ing serious" it's this article

 

[CAS79]

Before we get to uppity about it the article said discuss the plan.

25 people around the board table and one guy brings it up as a topic for discussion and 24 of them look at the other and say.... "You've got to be fu*ing joking"...........That's a discussion

You often see Newsltd papers report that a government is considering a crazy plan when one public servant put is a one paragraph option in a 4000 page report.

So just keep in mind the media are good at exaggerating a point when there is nothing else to write about.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Before we get to uppity about it the article said discuss the plan.

25 people around the board table and one guy brings it up as a topic for discussion and 24 of them look at the other and say.... "You've got to be fu*ing joking"...........That's a discussion

You often see Newsltd papers report that a government is considering a crazy plan when one public servant put is a one paragraph option in a 4000 page report.

So just keep in mind the media are good at exaggerating a point when there is nothing else to write about.

"I don't see anything wrong with playing the majority of the Shield competition out of the traditional summer months. It is something that is being talked about," a CA source told The Sunday Mail.

"It could definitely happen. It is probably a matter of not if, but when. A lot of Shield cricket could be played in August, or around that time."

 

[Admiral Byng]

I can't see many other options if you want to cash in the success of the BBL. I can't blame them for going after it, the BBL will make domestic cricket self-funding, something it has always struggled with. As much as we talk about how much we love Shield cricket, the simple fact is hardly anyone turns up to watch.

The only other option I can think of is to split the Shield and 50 over competitions and play them at opposite ends of the summer.

 

[Alexwce]

The only dilemma I have with it is that we need shield cricket being played parallel with test cricket. But the thinking behind the idea has potential.

 

[sherb]

Nothing Cricket Australia does would surprise me these days.

Slogball seems to be their over-riding priority, nothing else matters.

How can you have Test cricket in the summer here with no four-day cricket?

 

[sherb]

The only dilemma I have with it is that we need shield cricket being played parallel with test cricket. But the thinking behind the idea has potential.

That's enough on its own to make it a ridiculous idea.

 

[Alexwce]

That's enough on its own to make it a ridiculous idea.

Conceivably if test cricket started in October and November it wouldn't be such a ridiculous idea.

 

[Bradesmaen]

What.. the.. ****. It is bad enough that T20 exists, let alone this ridiculous idea. If it happens, I will stop watching Cricket and turn my attention to Basketball or something that isn't being stupid.

 

[ioppolo]

Surely this is a troll by cricket Australia?

 

[Bomber Bears]

Someone on another forum pointed this out. If for some reason this happened that would make it much harder for our players to get County contracts, given they couldnt commit to a season. County Cricket has long been a good honing ground for some of our players, from the Waughs to Warne to Katich Jaques Mcgrath etc etc

 

[sherb]

Surely this is a troll by cricket Australia?

No, CA is truly that moronic.

 

[Parquet Court]

this could almost be the beginning of the end for 1st class cricket...cricket moves to bite sized pieces of entertainment, 3 hours, result, everyone goes home.

a lot of the world have been waiting for something like this, they sort of liked cricket but a match was too much of a time commitment. cricket australia have been waiting to pounce on this opportunity to turn cricket into an AFL style league

if the one of the last bastions of first class cricket is scuttled by a t20 comp then it would only be a matter of time before south africa and new zealand follow. england will no doubt resist this forever

 

[Bomber Bears]

Didnt realise Dan26 was a CA board member

 

[Admiral Byng]

this could almost be the beginning of the end for 1st class cricket...cricket moves to bite sized pieces of entertainment, 3 hours, result, everyone goes home.

a lot of the world have been waiting for something like this, they sort of liked cricket but a match was too much of a time commitment. cricket australia have been waiting to pounce on this opportunity to turn cricket into an AFL style league

if the one of the last bastions of first class cricket is scuttled by a t20 comp then it would only be a matter of time before south africa and new zealand follow. england will no doubt resist this forever

T20 cricket was invented in England.

We're not talking about scrapping the Shield competition, just moving the dates. It's not the end of the world.

 

[sherb]

this could almost be the beginning of the end for 1st class cricket...cricket moves to bite sized pieces of entertainment, 3 hours, result, everyone goes home.

a lot of the world have been waiting for something like this, they sort of liked cricket but a match was too much of a time commitment. cricket australia have been waiting to pounce on this opportunity to turn cricket into an AFL style league

if the one of the last bastions of first class cricket is scuttled by a t20 comp then it would only be a matter of time before south africa and new zealand follow. england will no doubt resist this forever

No doubt in my mind that CA would love to be rid of the Sheffield Shield.

This would be a very effective first step towards achieving that goal.

 

[sherb]

T20 cricket was invented in England.

We're not talking about scrapping the Shield competition, just moving the dates. It's not the end of the world.

It's the first step in scrapping it. Like I said, I'm sure this moronic administration would love to be rid of the Shield. It costs them money and money is their major (if not sole) priority these days.

Rather than trying to rekindle interest in the Sheffield Shield (as best possible), they will be killing off any remaining interest by putting it up against the football codes.

 

[Admiral Byng]

What.. the.. ****. It is bad enough that T20 exists, let alone this ridiculous idea. If it happens, I will stop watching Cricket and turn my attention to Basketball or something that isn't being stupid.

Why the lack of love for T20 cricket?

 

[Admiral Byng]

It's the first step in scrapping it. Like I said, I'm sure this moronic administration would love to be rid of the Shield. It costs them money and money is their major (if not sole) priority these days.

Rather than trying to rekindle interest in the Sheffield Shield (as best possible), they will be killing off any remaining interest by putting it up against the football codes.

I don't see it that way. There is no way they'd want to be rid of the shield altogether. I think we need to face the reality that nobody turns up to watch it. Talk of rekindling interest in Shield cricket is moot, there's never been great interest in it.

Start the season earlier, play the entire competition out with the final in late December or early January. Play the test matches concurrently, from mid-November to early January. Then shut everything else down, play the BBL over the rest of January. When that is over play the 50-over stuff in February, internationals and domestic. It could work.

 

[Jimthegreat]

The Shield in winter. Love to to know where they are going to play given it's the footy season.

 

[Parquet Court]

I don't see it that way. There is no way they'd want to be rid of the shield altogether. I think we need to face the reality that nobody turns up to watch it. Talk of rekindling interest in Shield cricket is moot, there's never been great interest in it.

Start the season earlier, play the entire competition out with the final in late December or early January. Play the test matches concurrently, from mid-November to early January. Then shut everything else down, play the BBL over the rest of January. When that is over play the 50-over stuff in February, internationals and domestic. It could work.

the shield is not designed to get people to the cricket, its a training ground for australian test players and then CA makes money out of tests, ODIs and t20s

the shield has run at a loss for quite some time, it needs to be played in summer on the pitches that will present if they make it to the test grade.

not too sure what the test tracks are like up north but you definitely cant play cricket in perth in september or august. what about the victorian side? home games in cairns?

sounds a very silly idea, 1st class development will be sacrificed, the ipl fits in 2 months why cant this be over with after 6 to 8 weeks?

 

[The_Reaper]

The Shield in winter. Love to to know where they are going to play given it's the footy season.

NSW - North Sydney Oval
QLD - Allan Border Field
SA - No idea, Glenelg is used for SANFL
TAS - Cricket Tasmania own Bellerive
VIC - Junction Oval
WA - The WACA

 

[sherb]

I don't see it that way. There is no way they'd want to be rid of the shield altogether. I think we need to face the reality that nobody turns up to watch it. Talk of rekindling interest in Shield cricket is moot, there's never been great interest in it.

Start the season earlier, play the entire competition out with the final in late December or early January. Play the test matches concurrently, from mid-November to early January. Then shut everything else down, play the BBL over the rest of January. When that is over play the 50-over stuff in February, internationals and domestic. It could work.

Whatever the level of interest in the Shield may be, CA has an obligation to try to improve it, not kill it off.

How can you select Shield sides in August when there is no district cricket being played? (Which is the period mentioned in the article).

Are the selections based on district cricket form over five months old?

And we've seen the folly of playing Test cricket with no Shield running concurrently.

Do you seriously think all Test cricket should be played before the New Year as well? Just clear the entire deck for two months of revenue raising?

How does the Shield get any publicity/reporting in competition with the football codes out of interest?

It's a harebrained idea from an organization which is completely and utterly focussed on money at the expense of the game.

 

[Quadzilla]

NSW - North Sydney Oval
QLD - Allan Border Field
SA - No idea, Glenelg is used for SANFL
TAS - Cricket Tasmania own Bellerive
VIC - Junction Oval
WA - The WACA

... there should an oval at West Lakes available in 2014?